The art of making Japanese bows

(25 Jan 2010) SHOTLIST AP Television Byodoji Temple, Kyoto, 14 December 14th 2009 1. Various of Nakagawa Shinji practicing Kyudo (Japanese Archery) 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Nakagawa Shinji, Dan Kyudo Master, one of the highest ranked practitioners in Japan: "The first thing I look at is form, the shape of the bow. Then I try it and listen to the sound of the bowstring. That''s how I make a decision when I chose a bow." AP Television Kyoto, Japan, 17 December 2009 3. Wide shot of the exterior of Shibata Family Home 4. Various of finished bows 5. Set up shot of Shibata Kanjuro 6. Close up of Shibata Kanjuro signing his name on the central laminate of a bow 7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Shibata Kanjuro, 21st generation master bow maker of the Shibata Household: "The establishment of our household dates from 1592. Since then, for 21 generations, we have been bow makers." 8. Pan of Shibata watching his son begin the shaping stage in the bow making process 9. Close up of Shibata Munehiro 10. Various of central laminate that will form the interior of the bow (Central strip is maple wood, the 2 yellow exterior strips are made of wax wood and in between are thin strips of Kyoto Bamboo) AP Television Mountain East of Kyoto City center, 18 December 2009 11. Wide of Bamboo Grove AP Television Kyoto, Japan, 17 December 2009 12. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Shibata Kanjuro, 21st generation master bow maker of the Shibata Household: "Summer in Kyoto is extremely hot with a high degree of humidity. On the other hand, during the winter temperatures are low but there is still a high degree of humidity. The four seasons are very clearly defined and in this climate bamboo does not grow very large. The diameter is generally small. Bamboo grown in these severe conditions is small but the fibres are extremely dense. This makes Kyoto bamboo hard and very resilient." AP Television Mountain East of Kyoto City center, 18 December 2009 13. Various of bamboo growing in Kyoto AP Television Kyoto, Japan, 17 December 2009 14. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Shibata Kanjuro, 21st generation master bow maker of the Shibata Household: "From our perspective this makes for an extremely difficult material to work with. However, this hard, resilient bamboo is ideally suited to be part of the mechanism of a bow. So at first glance, Kyoto bows have a slender, feminine quality, but if you actually hold one and bend the bow string you realise how formidable and strong Kyo Yumi (Kyoto Bows) are." 15. Various of the laminate coated with 2 strips of bamboo being bound for the wedging process 16. Close up of bamboo wedges dipped into warm water. 17. Various of Shibata Munehiro inserting wedges into the binding and hammering the bow into shape 18. Pan of Shibata Kanjuro guiding his apprentice son through the process 19. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Shibata Kanjuro, 21st generation master bow maker of the Shibata Household: "If you are aiming to make a functional bow you don''t normally decorate it. You make it simple. For example, a bow like this doesn''t have any decoration. It is finished exposing the surface of the material that it is made from. This is the simplest form of bow, but the most difficult to make." 20. Various of Shibata Munehiro bending a bow into shape AP Television Kyoto, Japan, 13 December 2009 21. Various of Kudos archer taking aim and hitting her target LEAD IN If you want to master your inner self then Japanese archery might be for you. Kyudo is practised not to defeat a physical opponent, but to perfect a set of prescribed actions using finely tuned bows. STORYLINE Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...