Satsuma Heki Ryu Koshiya Kumiyumi

This video, titled "Koshiya Kumiyumi, Battlefield Archery Demonstration" (薩摩日置流腰矢組弓 演武), shows a performance of Japanese archery at the World Kyudo Competition.

During the Warring States period (1467-1615 A.D.), archery was often used as a martial art on the battlefield.
The video shows a powerful archery competition, so you can enjoy a taste of traditional Japanese culture.

Satsuma Heki Ryu Koshiya Kumiyumi

Photo：Japanese archery

Satsuma Heki Ryu Koshiya Kumiyumi (roughly "Satsuma Heki School of Archery"), one of the schools of Japanese archery, was established by Heki Danjo Masatsugu during the Muromachi period (1336-1573 A.D.).

However, as guns came to be used in battle, archery gradually came to be neglected.
At this time, the Satsuma Heki School continued to study the art of archery while passing on the techniques to its senior apprentices.
They devised tactics, such as "Koshiya" and "Sashiya" which were used to form a formation before loosing all arrows at the same time, as well as "Oshitsume" and "Totsugeki."

Schools Derived From the Satsuma Heki School

The Satsuma Heki School is where Kyudo began and the school has had a strong influence on Japan since the Warring States period.
After the Warring States period, the style was divided into various schools of archery derived from the Heki School, and has continued to the present day.
The major schools are the Izumo School of the Yamato Heki Line ("Yoshida School"), Yamashina School, Sakon Emon School, Okura School, Insai School, Daishin School, Jutoku School, Sekka School, and Dosetsu School.
The Iga-Heki lineage includes the Chikurin School, the Ikkan School, and the Honda school.

Other schools, such as the Urakami lineage of the Satsuma Heki Insai School, the Settsu lineage of the Satsuma Heki Insai School, the Heki To School and the Itsumi School are also active.
The Satsuma Heki school focuses on the way the bow is held, and the basic shooting technique is to hold the bow diagonally in front of you in a raised motion and then draw the arrows.
Each school has its own unique shooting techniques and movements.

The Demonstration of the Satsuma Heki School

Source :YouTube screenshot

The video begins with nine armor-clad performers entering the archery arena.
You can see from the video that there are a lot of spectators watching the event.
From 0:37 in the video, the performers release their bows one after another with a loud shout.

In the performance shown at 2:08 in the video, you can see that after releasing the bow, they gradually move closer towards their targets.
This is the formation and method of shooting would have been used on the battlefield in the same way.

Summary of Satsuma Heki Ryu Koshiya Kumiyumi's Archery Performance

Kyudo is one of the unique Japanese martial arts that developed during the Warring States period.
This video shows the powerful demonstration by the Satsuma Heki School of Archery.

If you're interested in Japanese martial arts, be sure to check out the awesome form of these iron clad archers!