Kyudo (Zen Archery)

The Way of the Bow

When taken up with patience and attention to detail, Kyudo is a dynamic way to focus the mind and open the heart. One of the traditional Japanese Arts, Kyudo is considered the highest discipline of the Samurai. Kyudo form itself teaches us to gather energy to our heart, then release that heart energy with clear intention, without attachment to the results. The precise movements, specifically of the hands, strengthen the Heart Meridian as our Kyudo practice deepens.

During a Kyudo session, we will demonstrate the basic form. Observers will experience the gentle flow and continuity of movement in the heart of stillness, witnessing movement without tension and the effortless release of energy. Participants will leave being able to paint a Golden Rainbow with their own heart energy.

LJ Stewart began her practice of Kyudo in 1994 after a long search for a "moving meditation". In awe of the simultaneous balance of tension vs relaxation, and the metaphor for which Kyudo practice translates into everyday life, LJ became a Kyudo Instructor in the "Hekki Ryu Bisshu Chikurin Ha" Kyudo Lineage in 1998. She was named to this position by Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XX of Kyoto, Japan, the official bowmaker and archer to the Japanese Imperial Family at that time. LJ continues to practice and teach Kyudo, and is honored to help perpetuate Zen Archery teachings in the West. LJ has also spent time with the Shibata Family in Kyoto, at the invitation of the current Kanjuro Shibata XXI.