Japanese archery

thumb|Inagaki Genshiro Hanshi 9. Dan does Kyūdō Kyūdō () is the Japanese martial art of archery. Kyūdō is based on kyūjutsu ("art of archery"), which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan. 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. Many practitioners may refer to themselves as yumihiki (弓引き), or 'ones who draw the bow'. Kyūdō is practised by over a hundred thousand

thumb|Yabusame archer on horseback thumb|Yabusame archery|archer takes aim on the second target.

("art of archery") is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow (yumi) as practiced by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Although the samurai are perhaps best known for their swordsmanship with a katana (kenjutsu), kyūjutsu was actually considered a more vital skill for a significant portion of Japanese history. During the majority of the Kamakura period through the Muromachi period (c.1185–c.1568), the bow was almost exclusively the symbol of the professional warrior, and way of life of the warrior was referred to as .

thumb|500px|Inuoumono was a Japanese sport that involved mounted archers shooting at dogs. The dogs were released into a circular enclosure approximately 15m across, and mounted archers would fire upon them whilst riding around the perimeter.