kyudo

Kyudo is Japanese archery. Bow and arrow were tool for hunting and war in old days. Now they are tool for mental and physical training.
Current kyudo has 2 faces. One is as a game. Each player aims at the target and the person who hits most times is winner. The other is as a mental training. It needs not only hitting the target, but also style.
It's not easy to draw the bow every time everywhere in the same way. The target doesn't move. The player use their bow and arrow. But mind changes player's motion. Kyudo is training to exercise self-control.

Yumi -Bow- is made of bamboo, which is about 2 meters and has 7 joints. It is easily affected by heat and damp. The bowstring is made of hemp. Sometimes it break when player aims at target. There is a detailed rule to manage that.

Mato -target- is made from wood frame and paper printed circle with a diameter of 32 centimeters. The distance between player and target is 28 meters. Mato is buried into earth called "azuchi." It's not problem where the arrow hit in the target. Especially when the game is not decided, the archer needs to hit close to center.


fitting arrow to the bowstring	drawing bow to full extent