2018 Volume 51 Issue 2 Pages 89-99
The aim of this study was to consider the influence of “Medical Research on Kyudo”, which was conducted by surgeons in Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital from 1939 to 1941, and which subsequently lead to the dissolution of Kyudoyosoku. This research also looks to clarify the sequence of events during that period from historical records, research contents, and the reaction of archers after the publication of “Medical Research on Kyudo”. The results can be summarized as follows:
1) Kyudo was adopted at the Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital in 1939 as part of a rehabilitation program for disabled veterans with the aim of not only restoring military spirit, but also improving body posture.
2) Following the adoption of kyudo, Tokyo Provisional First Army Hospital began the “Medical Research on Kyudo” project to select the most suitable kyudo forms to aid rehabilitation. Impact on the lungs and spinal cord were examined by radiographing the chest of the archers while performing the techniques of chukan-uchiokoshi and shomen-uchiokoshi. The research concluded that skeletal deformity and chest muscle distortion could occur with the chukan-uchiokoshi style. Moreover, the research assumed that incorrect lung position could trigger the risk of pleural inflammation and several diseases with chukan-uchiokoshi, but not with shomen-uchiokoshi.
3) The results of the research study were widely publicized in kyudo and budo magazines, medical academic papers, newspapers and presentations not only for the kyudo archers, but also for the general public. This widespread dissemination of information also lead to the criticism of Kyudoyosoku from outside the kyudo field. This intensified pressure on the Greater Japan Martial Virtues Association, which had adopted chukan-uchiokoshi in Kyudoyosoku, to announce a strong statement denying the research on August 22, 1941.
4) In our research, we could not confirm any other cases where the Greater Japan Martial Virtues Association got into such a situation as this to give a statement against criticism of kyudo’s essential rule. Therefore, it is conceivable that “Medical Research on Kyudo” gave validity or medical justification to criticize Kyudoyosoku. Taken together, the overall criticism from kyudo archers, budo martial artists, doctors, and society in general, and specifically the results from the “Medical Research on Kyudo” that indicated harm to the human body, was one of the main factors that lead to the elimination of the kyudo rationale, or the dissolution of Kyudoyosoku.
