History

[ HEKI-RYU BISHU CHIKURIN-HA FAMILY TRADITION STYLE FROM THE KANJURO SHIBATA FAMILY ]

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[ RENMEI STYLE OF THE JAPANESE KYUDO FEDERATION (ALL NIPPON KYUDO FEDERATION)]

[ HEKI-RYU BISHU CHIKURIN-HA FAMILY TRADITION STYLE FROM THE KANJURO SHIBATA FAMILY ]

THE ORIGINS OF THE CHIKURIN STYLE

During the feudal period in Japan, the bow was the weapon of choice for the warrior class, the Samurai. At that time, the various fighting styles were not codified. Around the middle of the 15th century, a warrior by the name of Heki Danjo Masatsugu (1443-1502), who had distinguished himself on the battlefields of Kyoto, developed a method that revolutionised Japanese archery. He is said to have passed on his technique to the Yoshida family. The Yoshida-ryu was then divided and passed on to two branches of successors. Legends are also passed down, and they are sometimes contradictory as to the authorship of schools and styles.

Heki Yazaemon Noritsugu (1394-1427) is also remembered as the founder of the Heki tradition and the Chikurin style. The Heki Chikurin school was subsequently divided into several branches of successors, including the Kanjuro Shibata lineage, from the 16th century onwards.

Bishu is the region of Japan associated with the Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha style, the one we practise at Kyudo Québec.

From the 16th century onwards, with the gradual introduction of firearms, the use of the bow as a combat weapon gradually disappeared. And, under the growing influence of Zen Buddhism, Kyujutsu (bow technique) was transformed into Kyudo (way of the bow). Formerly a weapon of war, the bow became a tool for personal development, and the Dôjô a place to meet with oneself where the true target is within.

After the Second World War, the Japanese Kyudo Federation set itself the goal of standardising the teachings of the various Kyudo schools. However, the Heki Bishu Chikurin-ha school was not one of them. Kanjuro Shibata XXth (1921-2013) refused to subject his students to any classification system.

CHIKURIN IN THE WEST

Kyudo is very popular in Japan today. In some schools, it is often practised as a sport where hitting the target is very important. Sensei Shibata XXe does not share this point of view; for him, Kyudo is a means of helping to polish the spirit of the Kyudoka, and it is the dignity of the shot that is most important.

In 1980, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987) invited Kanjuro Shibata XXe to the United States, to teach Kyudo to the Shambhala community. Together they founded Ryuko Kyudojo in Boulder, Colorado, where Shibata-sensei took up residence.

Within a few years, Shibata-sensei had established 25 Kyudo dojos in the United States, Canada and Europe. Shibata-sensei gave each new dojo a tiger's name: Seiko, Enko, Toko, Suiko, Kinko, Kanko, Koko, Reiko, Monko, etc. All the tiger dojos were overseen by Ryuko Kyudojo (the tiger-dragon), who became Zenko International in 2005.

KYUDO IN MONTREAL

In the early 90s, a few people in Montreal and its suburbs aspired to practise Kyudo. In September 1991, Kanjuro Shibata XXth sensei led an intensive course in Vermont, at the Seiko Kyudojo in Karmê Chöling; it was there that they were initiated. In October of the same year, Guy Hince, Gilbert St-Laurent and two others founded Kyudo Québec, with the mission of promoting Kyudo in Quebec and encouraging its practice in its traditional form.

At one of the first seminars he led in Montreal, Kanjuro Shibata XXth sensei named the Montreal dojo "Suiko" or "Water Tiger", inspired by the fact that the city of Montreal is an island.

TEACHING: KANJURO SHIBATA

Kanjuro Shibata XX, from his birth name Yoshimune, was born on 29 December 1921 into a Samurai family in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. He is the twentieth generation of an unbroken line of Kyudo Masters.

Munekazu Shibata, the first to hold the title of Kanjuro Shibata, lived in the mid-sixteenth century on the island of Tanegashima, off the coast of Kyushu. He and his ancestors served the Shimazu clan as bow makers, with the title of Yumishinan or Master Archer.

The Kanjuro Shibata family received the more honorary title of Onyumishi, meaning 'bow-maker and archer' from the Shogun, a title that has been passed down from generation to generation ever since.

At the age of 8, Shibata-sensei began learning Kyudo and bowmaking from his grandfather who, as well as holding the title of Onyumishi, had been the official bowmaker of the Imperial family since the eighteenth generation of Kanjuro Shibata, at the request of Emperor Meiji in 1889.

As official manufacturer, Kanjuro Shibata was responsible for making the Goshinpo Yumi, the sacred bow used for the purification and consecration of the altar at Ise, the main temple of the Shinto religion, which takes place every twenty years.

Kanjuro Shibata XXe died on 21 October 2013, in Boulder, Colorado. His son-in-law, Kanjuro Shibata XXI, succeeds him as head of the Heki Bishu Chikurin-ha school and Zenko International. He is the twenty-first generation of traditional archers and bow-makers in the Shibata lineage.

DON SYMANSKI

Don Symanski began practising Kyudo in 1980 with Kanjuro Shibata XXth sensei, in the style of the Heki Bishu Chikurin-ha school.

He was one of Shibata-sensei's very first students and, since that time, has dedicated his life to the study, practice and teaching of Kyudo. Over the years, Mr Symanski has led numerous Kyudo seminars in the United States, Europe and Canada. He also spent over two years in Kyoto studying the art of making traditional Japanese bows (Yumi) with Kanjuro Shibata XX sensei's son, Kanjuro Shibata XXI sensei.

KYUDO QUEBEC INSTRUCTORS

Since 1991, a number of people have been instructors at the Montreal dojo, for varying periods of time:

Guy Hince (co-founder of Kyudo Québec), Marcel Charron (co-chief instructor - 1994 to 2020) Jean-Pierre Poggi (co-chief instructor), Carmen Frenette, Albert Simon, Arlette Nadon, Nicole Bouchard, Patrick Le Duc, Michèle Turcotte, Michel Régnier, Mike Otabe, Monique Lebire, Benoît Newberry, Mélanie-Joëlle Gorton, Marc Pape, Ghislain Duchesneau, Karim Aktouf, Ivy Yukiko Ishihara Oldford et Olivier Latanicki.

[ RENMEI STYLE OF THE JAPANESE KYUDO FEDERATION (ALL NIPPON KYUDO FEDERATION) ]

References

Japanese Kyudo Federation (All Nippon Kyudo Federation - ANKF):

https://www.kyudo.jp/info/english.html

International Kyudo Federation (IKYF): https://www.ikyf.org/

History and development of Kyudo

The book ''Kyudo - Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery'' by Hideharu Onuma and Dan and Jackie DeProspero is a leading reference book for anyone interested in Kyudo and/or practising and studying this martial art.

Chapter 2 deals with the history and development of Kyudo from the prehistoric period (7000 BC to 330 AD) to the so-called modern period (1912 to the present).

We invite you to refer to this guide for detailed information on this subject, or to the "Summary" below.

The website of the International Kyudo Federation (IKYF) also provides information on the history of Kyudo in Japan and the spirit in which the art is practised:

- https://www.ikyf.org/history.html

- https://www.ikyf.org/shin_zen_bi.html

- https://www.ikyf.org/rei.html

Summary

In the second half of the 17th century, more and more ordinary people took up archery, and ceremonial archery became predominant. According to some sources, it was Morikawa Kozan, the founder of the modern Yamato (Ryu) school, who first used the word Kyudo at this time. It would take another two hundred years or so for the concept to catch on everywhere: peace had set in and the introduction of new, more effective firearms made it inevitable that archery training would shift from combat to mental and spiritual development.

The Meiji Era (1868-1912) saw Japan take the path of rapid modernisation. Suddenly, everything European became fashionable. And naturally, traditional culture suffered and Japanese archery was in danger of disappearing.

But at the turn of the century, Honda Toshizane, professor of Kyudo at Tokyo Imperial University, combined elements of war shooting with those of the ceremonial style to create a hybrid method that he taught to his students. Until then, the two styles had been taught more or less separately. The traditional schools, of course, did not tolerate this new method but their protests, on the whole, went unheard and Honda Toshizane continued to teach his students his original style. As time went on, his teaching spread outside the school system and what later became known as Honda Ryu found favour with the general public. Today, Honda Toshizane is recognised as one of the most influential masters of the modern era. Some say that he was not only responsible for the new direction of Japanese archery, but also for its survival into the twentieth century.

The modern period

Once Kyudo was no longer under the exclusive control of the traditional archery families, and its practice began to gather an increasing number of students, it became necessary to establish some shooting standards at a national level. At the beginning of 1930, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (Greater Japan Martial Values Association) invited the various archery schools to take part in drawing up regulations. This provoked enormous controversy and it took long discussions before a semblance of agreement was finally reached in 1934. And although the new standards were ignored by the major archery schools, Kyudo enjoyed a resurgence in popularity that lasted until the end of the Second World War. After the war, the practice of Kyudo and other martial arts was banned by the occupying forces. But in 1946, various Kyudo masters and other influential people urged the High Command to grant them permission to form a new Kyudo organisation.

The first attempt failed to win the approval of the occupying authorities, however, and it was not until 1949 that definitive permission was given for the formation of the Zen Nihon Kyudo Renmei (also known as the All Nippon Kyudo Federation or Japanese Kyudo Federation). In the summer of 1953, the Zen Nihon Kyudo Renmei published the Kyudo Kyohon (Kyudo manual), which set out the current standards for forms, behaviour and shooting. From then on, Sharei, ceremonial shooting, was constantly refined.''

(Kyudo - Essence and practice of Japanese archery by Hideharu Onuma and Dan and Jackie DeProspero)

Renmei style in Montreal

In the fall of 2020, Kyudo Québec (KQ) is opening up to the Kyudo "big family" and announcing the addition of the Japanese Kyudo Federation's Renmei style to that of the Kanjuro Shibata family's traditional Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha style.

The decision to add the practice of the Renmei style to that of the Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha style is the culmination of a long process of reflection that began several years ago, and is motivated by our desire to promote an experience of Kyudo that is not only stimulating and enriching on a human level, but also offers the opportunity for each individual to develop to the full extent of his or her aspirations, with a view to a future built on solid foundations.

OBJECTIVES

[ TO BROADEN OUR HORIZONS ]

To establish new contacts and exchange ideas with other dojos in order to enrich our collective practice of Kyudo.

To open up to a vast "network" of Dojos and Kyudo practitioners.

[ENRICH AND DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRACTICE OF KYUDO ]

Enrich and deepen our understanding of Kyudo practice by exposing ourselves to the practice of the Renmei style in addition to that of Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha.

Have access to additional teaching material to that available to us for the practice of the Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha style, such as the Kyudo Manual Vol. 1 - All Nipon Kyudo Federation (ANKF), whose teaching, for the most part, applies to all styles of Kyudo.

Access to a vast network of Dôjô affiliated to the ANKF/IKYF where it is possible to practise and receive instruction in the four corners of the world.

[ CONSOLIDATE OUR ACHIEVEMENTS ]

Continuing and deepening the practice of the Heki-ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha style

Discover the Renmei style and enrich our Kyudo practice by practising both styles.

[ TO ENSURE THE CONTINUITY OF THE DÔJÔ AND THE PRACTICE OF KYUDO IN MONTRÉAL]

Responsibility: KQ has the responsibility to see to the future of our Dôjô and the duty to make decisions that are in the best interest of the Dôjô and its members for both the present and the future.

Concern: The long-term survival of the Dôjô and the practice of Kyudo in Montréal are important issues that have preoccupied KQ for many years.

Future: Kyudo is a "small world" in itself, and the survival and future of KQ seem to depend on our ability to open up and be inclusive rather than exclusive.