 | |
| Focus | Weaponry -Bow |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Competitive |
| Country of origin |  Japan |
| Creator | No single creator |
| Parenthood | Historical |
| Olympic sport | No |
Kyūjutsu (弓術) ("art of archery") is thetraditionalJapanese martial art of wielding a bow (yumi) as practiced by thesamurai class of feudal Japan.[1] Although the samurai are perhaps best known for theirswordsmanship with akatana (kenjutsu), kyūjutsu was actually considered a more vital skill for a significant portion of Japanese history. During the majority of theKamakura period through theMuromachi period (c.1185–c.1568), the bow was almost exclusively the symbol of the professional warrior, and way of life of the warrior was referred to as "the way of the horse and bow" (弓馬の道,kyūba no michi).[2]
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The beginning of archery in Japan is, as elsewhere, pre-historical. The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are from theYayoi period (ca. 500 BC–300 AD). The first written document describing Japanese archery is the Chinese chronicleWeishu (魏書; dated around 297 AD), which tells how in the Japanese isles people use "a wooden bow that is short from the bottom and long from the top."[3]
The changing of society and the military class (samurai) taking power at the end of theHeian period (794－1185) created a requirement for education in archery. This led to the birth of the first kyūjutsuryūha (流派, style), theHenmi-ryū, founded by Henmi Kiyomitsu (ja:源清光) in the 12th century.[4] TheTakeda-ryū (ja:武田流) and the mounted archery schoolOgasawara-ryū (ja:小笠原流) were later founded by his descendants. The need for archers grew dramatically during theGenpei War (1180–1185) and as a result the founder of theOgasawara-ryū (Ogasawara Nagakiyo), began teachingyabusame (mounted archery).[5]
During theKamakura period (1185–1333), whenMinamoto no Yoritomo established theKamakura shogunate, archery became more and more popular, especially the three types ofmounted archery:yabusame,inuoumono, andkasagake.[6]
From the 15th to the 16th century, Japan was ravaged by civil war. In the latter part of the 15th centuryHeki Danjō Masatsugu revolutionized archery with his new and accurate approach calledhi,kan,chū (fly, pierce, center), and his footman's archery spread rapidly. Many new schools were formed, some of which, such asHeki-ryū Chikurin-ha (ja:日置流竹林派),Heki-ryū Sekka-ha (日置流雪荷派) andHeki-ryū Insai-ha (日置流印西派), remain today.[7]
Theyumi (Japanese bow) as a weapon of war began its gradual decline after thePortuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 bringing firearms with them in the form of thematchlock.[8] The Japanese soon started to manufacture their own version of the matchlock calledtanegashima and eventually the tanegashima and theyari (spear) became the weapons of choice. However, becausetanegashima took a long time to load, were inconvenient in rainy weather when damp gunpowder would not fire, and were not exactly subtle in terms of noise, theyumi did not go out of fashion and continued to be used as an important military force on the battlefield.[9][10]
The tanegashima was far more powerful than the yumi and also did not require as much training, allowingOda Nobunaga's army consisting mainly of farmers armed with tanegashima to annihilate a traditional samurai cavalry in asingle battle in 1575.
During theTokugawa period (1603–1868) Japan was turned inward as a hierarchical caste society in which the samurai were at the top. There was an extended era of peace during which the samurai moved to administrative duty, although the traditional fighting skills were still esteemed. During this period archery became a "voluntary" skill, practiced partly in the court in ceremonial form, partly as different kinds of competition. During this period, an archery contest calledTōshiya was popularly held at the Buddhist templeSanjusangen-do. Many samurai competed to hit an arrow at a target 133 meters away, nearly the width of the Buddhist temple.[10] Today, thisTōshiya contest is held as an annual event on Coming of Age Day, January 15, with women archers participating, but with the distance to the target shortened to 60 meters.[11]
In the early Edo period, Morikawa Kōzan founded theYamato-ryū (ja:大和流), which was based onOgasawara-ryū etiquette andHeiki-ryū shooting methods, and also incorporatedShinto ideas.[6]
During the changes to Japan brought by opening up to the outside world at the beginning of theMeiji era (1868–1912), the samurai lost their status. Therefore,kyūjutsu was considered obsolete and began to decline. Kyūjutsu practitioners establisheddojos to survive and began to spread among the common people. In 1896, a group of kyūjutsu masters gathered to save traditional archery. Honda Toshizane, the kyūjutsu teacher for theImperial University of Tokyo, merged the war and ceremonial shooting styles, creating a hybrid calledHonda-ryū (ja:本多流生弓会). In 1919, the name of "kyūjutsu" was officially changed tokyūdō, and following the example of other martial arts that have been systematizing for educational purposes, kyūdō also reorganized and integrated various forms of shooting that had been used up until then.[6]
TheOgasawara-ryū (ja:小笠原流) is a school that has been handed down in theOgasawara clan for generations, and in the middle of theMuromachi period (1336–1573), The school was noted for three things, archery, horsemanship, and etiquette, originally taught by Ogasawara Nagakiyo[12] TheOgasawara-ryū is famous foryabusame. The school performsShomen-uchiokoshi (正面打起し), one of the bow positions derived from mounted archery in standing archery.[6]
TheTakeda-ryū (ja:武田流) has its origins in the fact that the founder of the school learned archery from the prince ofEmperor Montoku. The characteristic of this school is different from other schools in the action of taking arrows out of theyazutsu (quiver) duringyabusame. Another characteristic of this school is that they wear aoni mask on theirkasa (hat) when they performyabusame. This school ofyabusame is performed at theMeiji Shrine Autumn Festival.[6]
TheHeki-ryū (ja:日置流) was founded in the Muromachi period by a samurai,Heki Danjō Masatsugu. This school emphasized actual combat, and the shooting methods of this school influenced other schools. There are also many branches of the Heki school, including theSekka-ha (雪荷派),Dōsetsu-ha (道雪派),Chikurin-ha (竹林派),Izumo-ha (出雲派),Insai-ha (印西派) andYoshida-ha (吉田派).[6]
TheYamato-ryu (ja:大和流) was founded by Morikawa Kozan in the earlyEdo period (1603－1868). Morikawa Kozan, a student of one of the most prominent families in the school ofkyūjutsu, trained for more than 10 years and mastered various styles ofkyūjutsu. He established theYamato-ryū by incorporatingShinto,Buddhist, and Confucian ideas into thekyūjutsu, with the Shinto philosophy he had learned during his training at its core. This school developed by referring to theOgasawara-ryū for etiquette and theHeki-ryū for shooting techniques.[6]
In combatkyūjutsu at the time just beforekyūjutsu was replaced bykyūdo, there were five methods of shooting and six things that were important for thekyūjutsuka (kyūjutsu practitioner) to acquire. These are referred to as the "Gosha Rokka (Gosha Riku-ka, 五射六科, five shootings and six school subjects).[6]
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