Tokumeikan

Heki Ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha

One shot, one life.

Kyudo, translated as 'the way of the bow', is the practice of traditional Japanese archery.  The Heki school of archery was founded (circa 1483) by Heki Danjo Masatsugu and was the first organized school of combat style archery, as such it is a military as opposed to a ceremonial style, and was practiced by such legendary samurai as: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The Bishu Chikurin branch of Heki Ryu, developed by a Buddhist monk named Chikurinbu Josei, is now practiced around the world under its current headmaster Shibata Kanjuro XX, onyumishi (master bow maker) for the emperor, and founder of Zenko International.  Although developed from the classical battlefield systems of archery, the primary goal of kyudo is not to strike the target but simply to shoot.  Deeply rooted in Zen, kyudo is practiced as a form of moving meditation.  The archer commits only to the pure shot, releasing all attachment to the outside world and living solely in the moment the arrow is loosed.

Our Practice

Tokumeikan hosts a small group dedicated to the practice of  Heki Ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha Kyudo.  We currently do not hold a regular training session but with the help and guidance of several of Zenko International's senior instructors, spend as much time at the makiwara as possible between intensives.

"The yumi is the teacher."

                                     Shibata Kanjuro XX