Kyudo Equipment

The yumi (Japanese bow) is exceptionally tall (standing over two metres), surpassing the height of the archer (kyudoka). Yumi are traditionally made of bamboo, wood and leather using techniques which have not changed for centuries, although some archers (particularly, those new to the art) may use synthetic (laminated wood coated with glassfibre or carbon fibre) yumi. Even advanced kyudoka may own non-bamboo yumi and ya (arrows) due to the vulnerability of bamboo equipment to extreme climates.

Ya shafts were traditionally made of bamboo, with either eagle or hawk feathers. Most ya shafts today are still made of bamboo (although some archers will use shafts made of aluminium or carbon fibres). Ya feathers are now obtained from non-endangered birds such as turkeys or swans. Every ya has a gender (male ya are called haya; female ya, otoya); being made from feathers from alternate sides of the bird, the haya spins clockwise upon release while the otoya spins anti-clockwise. Kyudo archers usually shoot two ya per round, with the haya being shot first.

The kyudo archer wears a glove on the right hand called a yugake. The yugake is typically made of deerskin with a hardened thumb containing a groove at the base used to pull the string (tsuru).

The kyudo archer will typically begin a practice session by shooting at a straw target (makiwara) at very close range (about seven feet, or the length of the archer's strung yumi when held horizontally from the centreline of his body). Because the target is so close and the shot most certainly will hit, the archer can concentrate on refining his technique rather than on worrying about where the arrow will go. After warming up, the archer may then move on to longer distances; shooting at a target called a mato. Mato sizes and shooting distances vary, but most matos typically measure thirty-six centimetres (or 12 sun - a traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to approximately 3.03cm) in diameter, and are shot at from a distance of twenty-eight metres.