However, because tanegashima 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, the yumi did not go out of fashion and continued to be used as an important military force on the battlefield. The Japanese soon started to manufacture their own version of the matchlock called tanegashima and eventually it and the yari (spear) became the weapons of choice. The yumi (Japanese bow) as a weapon of war began its gradual decline after the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 bringing firearms with them in the form of the matchlock. Many new schools were formed, some of which remain today, such as Heki-ryū Chikurin-ha ( ja:日置流竹林派), Heki-ryū Sekka-ha (日置流雪荷派) and Heki-ryū Insai-ha (日置流印西派). In the latter part of the 15th century Heki Danjō Masatsugu revolutionized archery with his new and accurate approach called hi, kan, chū (fly, pierce, center), and his footman's archery spread rapidly. Sengoku period įrom the 15th to the 16th century, Japan was ravaged by civil war. ĭuring the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate, archery became more and more popular, especially the three types of mounted archery: yabusame, inuoumono, and kasagake. The need for archers grew dramatically during the Genpei War (1180–1185) and as a result the founder of the Ogasawara-ryū ( Ogasawara Nagakiyo), began teaching yabusame (mounted archery).

The Takeda-ryū ( ja:武田流) and the mounted archery school Ogasawara-ryū ( ja:小笠原流) were later founded by his descendants. This led to the birth of the first kyūjutsu ryūha (流派, style), the Henmi-ryū (逸見流), founded by Henmi Kiyomitsu ( ja:源清光) in the 12th century. The changing of society and the samurai class taking power at the end of the Heian period (794－1185) created a requirement for education in archery. The first images picturing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow are from the Yayoi period (c. The beginning of archery in Japan is pre-historical. Ceremonial Kyūdō, 2016 History A Japanese archer with targets. The bow they use is called a yumi ( 弓), and the most common one has an asymmetrical shape of more than 2.0 metres (6 ft 7 in), and is characterized by the archer holding the part of the bow below the center to shoot the arrow. Kyūdō is practised by thousands of people worldwide.

High level experts in kyūdō may be referred to as kyūdōka ( 弓道家)(Kyudo Master) and some practitioners may refer to themselves as yumihiki (弓引き), or 'bow puller'. In 1919, the name of kyūjutsu was officially changed to kyūdō, 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.

Kyūdō is based on kyūjutsu ('art of archery'), which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan. Kyūdō ( Japanese: 弓道) is the Japanese martial art of archery.

Quiver for recurve bow