This is me doing a ceremony called Heki Ryu Biu Shyu Chikurin Ha "Reisha" ( Manner Shooting Ceremony) at Seiko Kyudojo in Barnet, Vermont.THe lady seen kneeling is kasue ( Kazooway)...an assistant with a spare yumi in case the string on the 1st yumi breaks with 1st arrow...there are two shots.
You can easily join a sports kyudo dojo , there are many. If you want a school that teaches mind awareness and energy along with kyudo form, then you will have to ask around.THese old school dojos approach kyudo in the ancient way taught prior to WWII.THey teach Shakei, ( shooting form) , Shashin ( Shooting spirit or energy), and Shahin( Shooting dignity or Space-Dharmakaya).You can use these three terms when searching for koryu kyudo.These schools also use traditional bamboo yumi that are alive, not fiberglass yumi that are dead in the hand.
I suggest that you contact the All Nippon Kyudo Federation in Tokyo. They should be able to direct you. The address is:
All Nippon Kyudo Federation
Jinnan 1-1-1, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo, Japan>p>
Telephone:
In Japan: (03)3481-2387
From the US: 011-81-3-3481-2387
If they do not know of koryu kyudojo around Utsunomiya, then you have to ask around. Sometimes a Sensei of a Renmei sports kyudojo near you would know of a the nearest koryu kyudo school.
The Heki Ryu is said to have been founded by a man named Heki Danjo Masatsugu, who lived around the time of the Onin War (ca. 1477). Some scholars believe that he was a fictional character, but the late Ishioka Hisao, a respected kyudo historian, and other scholars make a convincing case that he actually existed. In any case, it is a historically verifiable fact that his teachings were carried on by the Yoshida family, members of which were responsible for establishing many different branches of the school, such as the Sekka-ha, the Dosetsu-ha, the Insai-ha,Chikurin-ha and others. You might find one of these "ha" around Utsunomiya.
Many of these schools still exist in some form or other. The Heki Ryu Chikurin-ha,MY SCHOOL, another Heki school, was supposedly founded by Chikurinbo Josei, a priest of the Shingon sect . The Chikurin-ha is still active in the Nagoya area and other places.The Shibata family of Kyoto hold this lineage and have been making yumi for over 500 years passed down from father to son.If you were in Kyoto he could tell you where to practice there in Kyoto.
Most archers in Japan today practice the post WWII synthesized form, but many also practice the traditional forms, and there are various preservation societies that manitain the study of the traditional methods. Some teachers, for instance, hold a very high position in the All Nippon Kyudo Federation, the national federation that oversees post WWII kyudo activity in Japan; but in their private dojos they primarily teach the traditional Insai-ha method or Chikurin ha method. Japanese archery has always been a synthesis of the military and the ceremonial; even the most martial schools had ceremonial forms which, while not suited for the battlefield, were used for formal meditative blessing ceremonial occasions.(Yes, you can feel it.) You can see such kyudo ceremonies at Shinto Shrine offerings for example. If yiou do see that, then approach one of the archers about koryu dojo.
Traditional martial applications of kyudo are still taught today. Equestrian archery (yabusame) is still actively practiced by the Ogasawara Ryu and the Takeda Ryu, and the Satsuma Heki Ryu still actively practices what is called koshiya kumi-yumi, battlefield archery where the archers shoot in tight formations while dressed in full armor.
Best of Luck, If you want Shibata XXI's contact information I can PM it, but you would likely have to go to Kyoto to see him. He is old fashioned and does not do much phone but he likes to see people and show then his yumis for sale. If you get into kyudo, I suggesttat you eventually buy one. They last your whole life if properly cared for.