Yumi

Yumi (^?) is the Japanese term for a bow. As used in English, yumi refers more specifically to traditional Japanese asymmetrical bows, and includes the longer daikyū (大弓^?) and the shorter hankyū (半弓^?) used in the practice of kyūdō and kyūjutsu, or Japanese archery. The yumi was an important weapon of the samurai warrior during the feudal period of Japan.

Early Japanese used bows of various sizes but the majority were short with a center grip. By the 3rd century BC, the bow length had grown to nearly 2 meters. This bow was called the maruki yumi and was constructed from a small sapling or tree limb. It is unknown when the asymmetrical yumi came into use but the first written record is in a Chinese manuscript from the 3rd century AD which describes the people of the Japanese islands using a wooden bow with upper and lower limbs of different lengths, and bamboo arrows with points of bone or iron. The oldest asymmetrical yumi found to date was discovered in Nara and is estimated to be from the 5th century.

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