Every year on 16th September take place at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura (Japan) a Yabusame ceremony.

Yabusame is a particular type of kyudo. It’s the Japanese Arcery performed while riding a horse. The archers shoot to three targets riding down the 255 meter track at high speed. Since both hands are required to manage the bow the horse is controlled only by the archer’s legs.

The images refer to the 2008 event which I had the fortune to see.

On youtube it’s possible to find everyday more kyudo related video. I created a youtube kyudojo channel where I will try to catalogue all the most interesting video about kyudo. You will find the kyudo youtube channel at the address:

www.youtube.com/kyudojo

Every suggestion about kyudo videos is welcome.

The next EKF (European Kyudo Federation) seminar and the examinations for the attainment of kyudo dan will be held in Frankfurt (Germany).

C Seminar (Mudan and Shodan):

• Registration: 15 July 2009
• Seminario: 16-18 July 2009
• Examination: 19 July 2009

The makiwara is a kyudo training target used from a close distance. It’s made of rice straw cut and bound together.

Kyudo beginners start to shoot to makiwara (Makiwara-mae) before moving to 28 meters shooting 28 (Mato-mae). Makiwara however, is not only used by beginners but also by  expert kyudoka, both as warm-up at the start of kyudo training session and to study certain aspects of their shooting without the “distraction” of the target.

In this type of shooting it’s used an arrow that differs from the one used in the 28 meters shooting for two characteristics:

• it has very small or no wings. These are not necessary due to the short distance covered by the arrow to reach the makiwara
• It has a different kind of tip. This tip, ogive shaped, is designed to minimize the impact of the arrow on the straw and then allow a longer life to makiwara.

On September 23 the final of the kyudo (Japanese Archery) national competition for women, “41st Empress Cup”, took place in the Meijijingu dojo (Tokyo). The kyudoka reached to the final were 20 and competed at best of 10 arrows.

At the end of the competition, two kyudoka scored 9 hits while other 3 kyudoka stopped to 8. It was necessary a tie break to decide the top three.

The ranking is as follows:

1. Tomomi TATENO  - 6th dan Kyoushi

2. Midori OOKI - 6th dan Kyoushi

3. Naomi YAMADA - 6th dan Kyoushi

First classified in the ranking points: Chiyoko IIJIMA - 7th dan Kyoushi

Heki Danjo Masatsugu (1443-1502) is one of the archers who most influenced the kyudo history. His historical existence has been questioned but recent studies tend to confirm it.

Heki Danjo Masatsugu

It was the legendary founder of the kyudo (called kyujutsu at that time) Heky Ryu school. The school, founded in 1483, was the first, concerning the war shooting style, to codify the technique of use of Japanese bow. Several branches have developed from the original school, some of which still survive today.

The successor to Heki Danjo Masatsugu in leading the Heky Ryu was Shigeki Yoshida (1463-1543).

kyudojo

Dojo literally means “place where follow the way”. The term is common to all the Japanese martial arts. As an example the place where  kendo is practiced is called kendojo and the place where judo is practiced is called judojo. In the same way the place where kyudo is practiced is called kyudojo.

Entering in a dojo it is necessary leave behind all the problems of the everiday life, practice with a pure spirit and engage themselves always to the maximum in order to achieve improvements in the own art. It is moreover necessary to conform to the rules of the dojo and demonstrate respect for the place and others kyudoka. Every rule, than to a profane can seem a useless formalism, has instead its very specifies origin and ragion of being.

Dojo literally means “place where follow the way”. The term is common to all the Japanese martial arts. As an example the place where  kendo is practiced is called kendojo and the place where judo is practiced is called judojo. In the same way the place where kyudo is practiced is called kyudojo.

Entering in a dojo it is necessary leave behind all the problems of the everiday life, practice with a pure spirit and engage themselves always to the maximum in order to achieve improvements in the own art. It is moreover necessary to conform to the rules of the dojo and demonstrate respect for the place and others kyudoka. Every rule, than to a profane can seem a useless formalism, has instead its very specifies origin and ragion of being.

The dojo shuould always be kept in a perfect state of cleanliness. Before and after the practice in the dojo is required to dedicate the necessary time to this activity. The cleaning is done by the archers and also this activity should be considered as a part of the practice of kyudo. The importance of the cleanliness go beyond the obvious necessities tied to the hygiene, is related to the respect to place where the practice take place.

Although often for practical reasons the kyudojo consist of a gymnasium or any other place that has enough space to carry out the practice, the dojo standard structure, layout and measures defined. The width varies depending on the number of mato (targets), which can accommodate.

Before entering in a dojo is necessary, just as it does in Japanese homes, remove the shoes. The area in which you move the kyudoka during the practice has the wooden floor, is covered with a ceiling and is open in side facing the targets.

1.The distance between the line shooting (shai) and the target (mato) is 28 meters.

2. Yamichi: The area crossed by arrow (usually green or sand) to reach the target.

3. Azuchi: è un “muro” di sabbia pressata con inclinazione di 15-20 gradi nel quale vengono posti i mato (bersagli).

4. Matoba: It is a “wall” of sand pressed with inclination of 15-20 degrees where are places the mato (targets).

5. Kantekijo: It is the place where the kanteki stay during the kyudo practice.

6. Yatori-michi: A corridor, often overcast, that kyudoka cover to recover the arrows after the shooting.

7. Kamiza: It is the place, facing south, where the kami are placed and accepted guests of honor.

8. Shai: The line where the kyudoka is positioned, with the face turned towards kamiza, to shot.

9. Honza: Starting line.

10. Makiwara:  The area is where the makiwara (target training) take place.

Meijijingu Annual National Competition

平常心 (heijoushin) is written in Japanese with three kanji. 平 (hei) means flat, uniforme. 常 (jou) means daily, constant. 心 (shin) means hearth, spirit. It’s a very important concept not only in kyudo but in all the martial arts. It concerns the ability to maintain a calm, constant and firm spirit also in the situations that can put in agitation our spirit.

In the past the concept of heijoushin had for samurai a great importance. Independently from the time that a samurai dedicated to the learning of its art, its life was often decided in a fight that was concluded in few moments. In such moments it was vital to maintain the lucidity necessary in order to express the own abilities at best. That that was decided was the life or the dead.

As in every budo art also in the kyudo heijoushin it is important. It’s necessary to succeed to practice kyudo in the important occasions with the same calm and lucidity that we have in the practical daily. It is an aspect of the kyudo that should  be learned and that is index of the maturity of a kyudoka.

Ogasawara Nagakiyo (1162-1242)

Nagakiyo Ogasawara, founder of the Ogasawara-ryu, came from Yamanashi  prefecture.

At the age of 26 he become horse archery and ceremonial archery  personal teacher of Minamoto no Yoritomo (founder of the Shogunate and first Shogun).

The Ogasawara-ryu  is the most ancient kyudo school of Japanese Archery that survived until today. The Nagakiyo Ogasawara original technique were however lost because his school split into several branches.

The Tokugawa Yoshimune Shogun(1684-1751) charged a progeny of the Ogasawara family, Ogasawara Heibei Tsuneharu (1666-1747), to recuperate the original technique of the school by studying several text about kyujutsu, coming from various parts of Japan. The Ogasawara-ryu technique that we know today was thus defined.

Kyudo Organization	Numer of persons
	Hanshi	Kyoshi	Renshi	Dan/Kyu	Total
Japanese	107	1.794	4.361	124.005	130.267
German		1	5	1.126	1.132
French		1	12	345	358
American			9	233	242
Italian		1	4	146	151
Swiss			2	109	111
Belgian			1	81	82
English		1	2	77	80
Dutch		1	2	67	70
Austrian				68	68
Finnish				58	58
Spanish				52	52
Norwegian				25	25
Swedish				21	21
Portuguese				15	15
Icelandic		1		13	14
Luxembourg			1	13	14
Total	107	1.800	43.999	126.454	132.760

As we can see in the above table more than 98% of the kyudoka, having at least a kyudo dan/kyu, belong to the Japanese federation. This shows how, although other federations are by now active from various years, kyudo is still a martial art not so popular and relatively little practiced outside Japan.

It’s interesting the distribution of kyodoka between the several federations except the Japanese one. It emerges that nearly half of the non Japanese practicing belongs to the German federation.

The data is updated at the end of October 2005.

Source: official website of International Kyudo Federation (IKYF)