New Year messages from the ANKF magazine.
Happy New
Year, Part II
Jan 5,
2012
I have just received the first KYUDO MAGAZINE of year 2012. In the past all the New Year editions
sent special messages from the ANKF presidents and new Hanshis who were promoted
in the previous year to the ANKF members.
Every year when I read those messages I was always inspired and wished to
share those messages with the AKR members and this is a part of my New Year
resolutions. I will deliver some very profound messages to you. I
hope this digested version of their messages could help you to feel their
spirits, experiences and efforts.
This AKR web site is an important bonding and communication vehicle
among the AKR members, I believe.
Therefore it should be more used.
In order to be used, contents should be enriched in many ways. I would like to spend more time
and will work to provide more information within the AKR and information from
the IKYF/ANKF and local federations in Japan as well. In the mission statement of this office
says they will strengthen the relationship between the AKR and the ANKF. I think this is one of the ways to
tie us with the ANKF.
Yoshiko Buchanan
AKR president
2012 NEW YEAR MESSAGES FROM
JAPAN
1)
Suzuki Mitsunari Hanshi Judan
/ANKF/IKYF President “Standing at the start line to
pursue the Public Benefit”. During 2011 Japan including the
Kyudo society suffered from the eastern Japan Great Earthquake and its
subsequent disasters. I would like
to express my deepest sympathy to those who lost families and friends. Such incidents greatly affected kyudo
events. The 29th High
School tournament was cancelled.
The first Asia-Oceanic Kyudo seminar was postponed because of many
cancellations due to the nuclear plant accidents. However the ANKF did receive very warm
support from all over the world and the donation has been already given to the
affected places. I thank you very
much for your kind contribution.
The
66th National Olympic took place in Yamaguchi prefecture. There we were very much encouraged to
have the honor to welcome both the Emperor and Empress. Also Princess Takamado visited the
62nd All Nippon Long Distance Tournament that took place in Hirosaki
City, Aomori prefecture.
The
All Nippon Kyudo Federation legally started as a new organization in November,
2011.
This
is to change the specifics of the objectives of the ANKF to a public benefit
organization. As the managing
entity the ANKF office has to prepare some legal documents o fulfill the
requirement and also has to rearrange its managerial systems. We are at the starting line toward
forming the new organization. In
July, 2012 there will be a pre-event of the 2nd IKYF Taikai that
takes place in 2014 in Paris. This
event must draw many of European Kyudo friends. Internally new seminars for young Renshi
have been planned and the eligibility of the All Nippon Championships will be
reexamined. From April kyudo
will be one of the mandatory PE classes and the teaching material has been ready
for the teachers. This new
educational program must contribute to spread kyudo culture to youngsters, which
is a typical “Public Benefit”, I believe.
.
2)
Nakagwa Yoshio, Hanshi Hachidan (Hiroshima Pref.) “Carry
the sense of Awe”
I was born in 1901, yes I became 110 years old last December. I used to shoot fully until I became 102
years old but my mind is still pretty clear today. The Shihan whom I respect highest is
Ichikawa Teishiro hanshi. He was
particularly strict about “Ashibumi” and “Nobi” that is created by the cross of
the vertical and horizontal lines.
The Kyudo Kyohon well explains the importance of Ashibumi. Beside the memory of the sensei I still
remember that I copied a classic instruction book (1957) with a glass pen and it
took a few months of hard work to complete. This copy is still in existence and I am
happy to leave it to one of my students.
In addition to this I would like
to say that Kyudo is learning of “Saho (propriety)”. It is not tools of hitting the targets.
We must pour our sincerity in to each shot. It is “One Arrow xxxxxx”.
It is also “One Shot One Devoted
Life“ and “Shooting is Life”. We
must take care of the dojo, of course, and each piece of equipment with the
sense of Awe. This is my wish to
everyone.
3)
Sawada Tadashi, Hanshi Hachidan (Gifu Pref.) “Teaching
of focus on the Present”
Happy New Year! When I observed the juvenile category of
the National Olympic in Yamaguchi I was very impressed by the high school
students shooting. They had steady
form, deep Kai and Hanare that was born from such a deep Kai. While we practice for a long time we
tend to be caught by details, which makes our shooting small. Their shooting brought me back to the
basics. I will freshly stand
“Shosin (beginner’s mind)” again and will try spontaneous and mind-free
shooting. The well known zen monk
Takuan teaches to not to be fettered by the past and also not be captured by the
future. We must focus on the
present. Keeping this teaching in
my mind I would like to work on “Hejoshin”. My New Year resolution is to strive
myself for both shooting and the further development of the Kyudo
world.
4)
Okita Haruyoshi, Hanshi Hachidan (Shizuoka Pref.) “There is no short cut but there
exists only Renma (hard training)” I
was being disturbed by the earthquake and the nuclear power plant incident then
in May I received a Hanshi title. I
greeted the New Year with the feeling of the importance of the
responsibility. I was an athletic
challenger but when I was 34 I joined a kyudo class in Numazu City. The teacher was Shiraishi Satoru sensei
and he said “In kyudo Shodan and Judan do
the same. There are no variations and it could make you to win a tournament if
you can repeat the hit again and again.” Sensei’s word moved my challenging
spirit. I received Nanadan at the
age of 44 but did keep thinking deeply about the mind of kyudo and the shooting
technique. I reached the point of
aiming “Ataru Sha (resulted hitting the target)” from “Ateru Sha ( I hit the
target)”. My motto is that athletes
should be healthy, no injury, no sickness.
I have three points to apply to my practice. First is to do enough warm up
exercise. Second is to record
Yadokoro (hitting points) and make note of my mental condition when I
missed. In the belief that kyudo is
neither to show to others nor to be self-conscious and if I keep training hard
with such belief I could reach the top to the way. Such belief leads me to the third point
that is to practice overcome myself of yesterday. “In kyudo there is no short cut but there
exist only Renma (hard training).”
5)
Ozawa Michiharu, Hanshi Hachidan (Saitam Pref.) “Determination as Hanshi
II”
Happy New Year to you. I was recommended to Hanshi last May and
it was a much honored thing and I feel the responsibility very
heavily.
I grew up in the dojo, so I did
not particularly feel that I began kyudo when I was a high school student. When I was a junior of the high school
the kyudo club opened then I started receiving instruction from my father, Ozawa
Takeo. My father passed away at the
age of 63 and I regret that I did not seriously study what he taught me. It is too late. But Matsuzawa Gaku Hnahi kindly has been
teaching me. Matsuzawa sensei says
“Use Tatesen (vertical line of the
body). Make your Tenouchi
light. You must produce straight
Hanare from deep Kai.” It is
hard to do and “Deep Kai” is my biggest objective today. As a Hanshi, it is needless to say but I
must polish my shooting technique and at the same time I must obediently follow
the basics, deepen my knowledge to instruct students. At the same time I must strive myself to
be helpful for the development of the kyudo world and wish to repay for the
kindness and guidance that I have received.
6)
Hasegawa Kinichi, Hanshi Hachidan (Kanagawa Pref.) “My life devoted to
Kyudo”
The
unprecedented earthquake “Higashi Nihon Great Earthquake” broke my heart. In last May I was notified that I was
awarded Hanshi, which was like a severe earthquake in my heart.
I
began kyudo when I entered high
school. It was to “correct my
character”.
Chiba Tanetsugu ANKF president once said
in his speech at the opening ceremony of a tournament “I wish to see even one of you who are
attending this tournament will succeed kyudo that has such tradition and
history.” I wanted become one
of those successors and I pushed myself forward through my college and after the
college. I have met good teachers,
senpai, kohai, and kyudo friends.
I am very grateful for the support from my family. Lately I train myself at the Enma Dojo
(Enkakuji, Kamakura) with the invitation from Suhara Koun Osho. After zazen I practice in front of the
Dr. Eugen Herrigel’s bows but enlightenment is still away.
Now
the nature and objectives of the ANKF are more toward “Public benefit”, which
makes me feel more responsibility as a Hanshi and I will keep devoting myself to
kyudo.
7)
Nobukuni Yukito, Hanshi Hachidan (Kumamoto Pref.) “Shooting
is the best teacher”
I
was told by my teacher, Furuta Shojiro, renshi, that you must try twice as hard
to be an ordinary archer but must work four times even harder to become better
than other archers. I determined to
try five times more and tried shooting 200 arrows a day. After my teacher passed away I was
taught by Saita Noriaki Hanshi then Ogata Ryo and Etsuko Hnshi taught me. Senseis gave me words “Shoot, just shoot. Shooting is the best teacher. You will
learn what you have not known”
In
1983 I met Ego Kunihiro sensei who has become very good rival. Who I am today is because I have met
many good kyudo friends and Senpais.
I am very grateful for such meetings.
In
last May I unexpectedly received Hanshi title. I find myself still not good enough to
be Hanshi however I will do my best to get close to senpai Hanshis and would
like to repay for the “On”(kindness + generosity + compassion) that I have
received by kyudo.
8)
Ego Kunihiro, Hashi Hachidan (Kumamoto Pref.) “In
the course of Hanshi not like Hanshi”
It
was very strange to me that I was promoted to Hanshi last year. I was always a so called “Undo Onchi
(off key athlete) but I suppose I had a strong inclination toward kyudo. I did enjoy my training but at the same
time I seriously tried tournaments and tests. I wonder why I did not pass higher
rank tests and one day my experience of the Yondan test come to my mind. I hit both arrow 15 times among my 24 times of taking the Yondan tests,
which made me realize that I am basically “Shiken-beta (weak in test)”. As my kyudo activities became broader
and deeper I was given a lot of opportunity to meet excellent teachers and I
made many good kyudo friends.
Now
that I am Hanshi I do wonder what I should do. I am supposed to encourage the members
of my federation as the president and as a Hanshi. However I am not that intellectual, so I
believe it will be a good thing that I honestly try sharing my experience with
them. When we use our equipment in
correctly way I believe that the equipment must respond to
us.
