Has anbody messed around with the Japanese bow?

[toad]

All I've done is read a little about them. Apparently the pull weight is not all that great but because of the long assymmetric limb and the fact that a long arrow is pulled behind the bowman's head they have a very long "cast." That is the string puts pressure on the arrow for a long distance. Thus you have a long arrow arriving at a fairly decent velocity.
On the other hand I read that because you are releasing with a bent wrist you are limited on the amount of pull you can stand.

I'm just wondering how all that works out in reality?

[Mike OTDP]

Nope. Dug up a supplier, though. http://www.kyudo.com/asahiam.html

[Denis]

I know nothing, apart from the tidbit that eagle feathers are highly prized by yabusame fletchers. I spotted an article in the IHT today.

[toad]

Bookmarked the supply site, for just in case.
http://www.japantoday.com// They had an article on the horse archery contest also.

[SeekHer]

In my younger day took classes in it from an American in Tempe, AZ and never pursued it beyond the beginner level but I did buy a bow and six arrows but family and career got in the way...

Most bows are strung to around 20 to 45 lbs (11 to 21 kilogram pull strengths) as you stated because of the draw and release used but they didn't have to "punch" through plate steel like the Welch longbows did so a superb archer might use a 30kg/66lb draw but not much beyond it. The length of the arrow also helps in getting through the lacquered armour that was worn...

After a little practice you'll find that the release, so far back, comes naturally and hinder traditional Western archery where you want to pull further back...

I'm going to take it back up on a more serious level, buy another bow and arrows and I don't have work or family commitments hindering me now--at least not as much!

The main reason I stopped was that I'd gotten hooked on the Mongol style of (horse) bow and wanted to take that up instead and couldn’t afford both…I did by buying a Magyar Horse Bow and arrows and started practicing with those under a master archer and fencing coach to the Hungarian National (Olympic) Teams who lived out near Apache Junction and taught fencing at Univ. of Arizona, Tempe...My wife was getting her degree there and I met him at some faculty function and expressed an interest in "other" styles of archery--this was 1979 and compound bows still weren't popular nor cheap...The rest they say is history--30 bows later and I'm still wanting to get more, a couple of Persian designs that I'd like, a Tartar and another Korean would be nice and it looks as if I've lost two of my Magyars to daughters so those will have to be replaced and then a Yumi and arrows for the Kyudo classes...


Mongol Bow

Another bowyer is ARAUCARIA TRADITIONAL from Australia who makes some highly rated Yumi bows although I’ve never handled one so can’t say. There are only about a dozen, master bowyers of the old style, left in Japan and they start at low five figures but their apprentices are making fairly good and inexpensive bows but they ain't cheap! Starting prices of around $500+ for a fiberglass and $1,200+ for a bamboo is the norm...

[toad]

I read somewhere that a Japanese instructor, even though he had been at it a while, just used a 32 lb. bow.

I read a non-verified story that some Japanese archers where in Korea in the ancient days.
The Koreans invited them to shoot some "iron" shields that they used. They thought the Japanese bows wouldn't do it. The flimsy looking Japanese bows punched chisel points right on through. I'd really like to do or read the report on some box'o'truth testing. Lord knows where you would find war arrows though. Probably have to make your own tips.

I priced the equipment online and even the cheapest fiberglass set up is a bit out of my price range. Actually though, any good compound recurve bow seems pricey to me these days.

I wouldn't want to be in front of a Chinese or Korean infantry war bow. Those things had a really long range.