Kanjuro Shibata XX

He was born in Kyoto, Japan.

Shibata served as the Bowmaker to the Emperor of Japan from 1959 until 1994, when his adopted son, Nobuhiro, was recognized as the 21st in the Shibata lineage and assumed the duties of Imperial Bowmaker.

In Japan, Shibata became concerned that his students were too fixated on merely hitting the target, and were treating Kyudo as a sport rather than a meditative art. He felt they were becoming too competitive.

In 1980, Shibata accepted an invitation from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche to come to the United States and teach kyudo, and founded the Ryuko Kyudojo ("dragon-tiger archery practice hall") in Boulder, Colorado. Since 1980, Shibata has founded over 25 kyudojos in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Shibata does not rank his students (i.e. there is no belt or dan system), and there is no testing or contests within the school.

Quote

"One is not polishing one's shooting style or technique, but the mind. The dignity of shooting is the important point. This is how Kyudo differs from the common approach to archery. In Kyudo there is no hope. Hope is not the point. The point is that through long and genuine practice your natural dignity as a human being comes out. This natural dignity is already in you, but it is covered up by a lot of obstacles. When they are cleared away, your natural dignity is allowed to shine forth"

External link

• Home page of Shibata's Kyudo school, Zenko International (http://www.zenko.org)