Kyudo Bow Making: Demonstration with Shibata Kanjuro XXI Sensei

Shibata Kanjuro XXI Sensei is coming from Kyoto to teach in Boston and will demonstrate the art of Yumi (bow) making! Shibata Sensei is Yumi Maker (Onyumishi) to the Japanese Imperial Household and master archer of The Heki-Ryu Bishu Chikurin-Ha School of Kyudo (Japanese traditional archery).

JSB participants will join local students of Kyudo from the Boston area, members of Byakko Kyudojo (White Tiger practice group), in observing how a Yumi, more than six feet long when finished, is assembled from seasoned, selected bamboo and other woods. We will be able to see the glueing, roping, and shaping with bamboo wedges, that form the curves of the finished bow.

Byakko Kyudojo was established by Shibata Kanjuro XX, Sendai, in 1981 when he was invited to teach in the United States. It is one of several across the country and in Europe.