For centuries, the bow and arrow was "the chief weapon of the fighting man in Japan". Even after the introduction of firearms and the extended period of enforced peace under the Tokugawa [Shogunate] had greatly reduced its strategic relevance, archery was still considered a noble art. Known generally as shagei (accomplishment in archery) or, more specifically, as kyujutsu (the art, or technique, of the bow), it was a fully developed art with a complex system of practices and techniques, an initially wide variety of styles which slowly merged into a few major ones, and a deep theory linking the art to the very birth of the Japanese nation. Inspired as it was by the mystical, esoteric dimension of that culture, it is not surprising to learn that, in the twelfth century... "people in high positions were delighted when their ability as archery was acclaimed but made every endeavor to have their prowess with the sword hushed up." By the time the Tokugawa had unified the nation under the sway of their centralized, military dictatorship, kyujutsu had evolved into a discipline of mental and spiritual coordination, known and practiced far from the battlefield, under the austere guidance of teachers who acted more in the capacity of spiritual counselors than masters of arms. The name given to this discipline of spiritual development was kyudothe way of the bow and arrow. As such, Japanese archery is still practiced today, although in a somewhat modified form. In feudal Japan, indoor and outdoor archery ranges (matoba, iba, yaba) for target practice (kaka-uchi) were to be found in the central houses of every major military clan. Archery equipment, that is, the bow and arrow (kyusen) and the characteristic bundle of straw in a barrel which was used as an elevated target (makiwara), were common sights on the grounds of most military mansions, as were the cylindrical stands (yadate) which held the arrows ready for target practice. Arrow cases (ya-bako) and bow stands (chado-kake) were also prominently featured in the houses of high-ranking bushi.
— Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook, Secrets of the Samurai, p. 226
