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Kyudo

The way of the bow.

Japanese archery with a tall asymmetric bow, practised as a path of discipline and calm as much as a sport.

Fact file

Country
Japan
Type
Weapons
Sources: All Nippon Kyudo Federation · International Kyudo Federation

History

Kyudo, "the way of the bow", is Japanese archery. It comes from the samurai, who were first of all mounted archers, and over the centuries became a discipline of body, mind and etiquette.

In the Edo period the "toshiya" contest at the Sanjusangen-do temple in Kyoto made archers famous: in 1686 Wasa Daihachiro shot 8,133 arrows the length of the temple veranda in 24 hours. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation was founded in 1949.