Kimono wo kite iru toki no Kyudou

And so begins what I would again call a special addition, since I have already discussed in some detail my involvement with the kyudou dojo here in Kyoto. If given some advance notice that someone is officially moving on from the dojo (because they are moving to another city or some such) it is quite normal to have a bit of fanfare while seeing them off. In my and my friends' case, sensei brought her kimono and dressed us up for photographs. The extremely long sleeves of the kimono in the picture above are worn only by young, unmarried women (incidentally, "were" worn only by young women, since they are somewhat difficult to wear and so are not favored by any women nowadays). This picture is also, perhaps, testament to what happens when a photo is taken of a Japanese person in a serious "location" (i.e., the dojo) - notice the serious expression. I assure you, he was smiling before and after the picture...

It may also be important to point out the shrine above my friends' picture, which is the dojo shrine (it is not really religious, as far as I know, but spiritual in a sense nonetheless) to which we bow at the beginning and end of every practice.

Certainly, wearing the kimono itself is not that difficult, as this image suggests. The yumi (bow) is of a standard height, as the length of the arrows depends on the length of the arm of the one firing them. In fact, the bow I use is strung with a weight of 8 kilograms, which is, as far as I know, the lowest possible weight. I can also use a 9 and a 10 Kg, though my arms are generally tired after a fire rounds (I did not realize on the last day how tired my arms were until I got home), and I stare in awe at those who use a 12 Kg. Of course, I have other issues as well, such as hitting myself on the arm with the bowstring (resulting in as series of bruises on my forearm) and routinely cutting myself with the feathers (yes! feathers can cut you and it hurts!). I did get my first bulls-eye, though. It felt awesome.

The temple in the back of the image is actually the kendo dojo that faces the kyudou dojo (swordfighting and archery, respectively). It, however, makes a somewhat more impressive backdrop for a photo.

Now, as you might imagine, firing a bow with sleeves somewhere in the region of 3 feet long is difficult. Thus, you tie them back. Here sensei is folding them into a strip of cloth that is traditionally used tied around the body specifically to tie back kimono sleeves. Imagine a great deal of "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" in the background, coming from a wide audience of Japanese men and women who have never tied back such long sleeves (nor needed to) and are in supposed awe of the process. Did I mention that I was dressed up as well? I love playing the doll, or perhaps mascot, of the dojo.

Firing an arrow then requires the remainder of the regular preparations. These include putting on the standard two-finger glove for drawing the bow, and a chest protector for women (with a kimono, the standard is to use a clear chest protector so that the pattern of the kimono remains visible - normally, I use a latticed white one, and I have seen latticed black ones as well, which I think look quite sharp). Notice the length of fabric on the glove; I have never encountered a sport with so many ties and knots, all made to look as beautiful as possible. There is definitely an art to properly tying (it took me nearly a minute to spell out the word 'tying,' meaning that I have clearly been studying Japanese for too long). I spent more time learning knots (obi, hakama, glove, and the all-important wrappings for the bow) then I spent learning the forms...

And finally, the shot!

What an adventure. Kyudou is definitely worth the time and effort. Given the chance, give it a try!

^^