Abstract
Early documents on Japanese archery by foreigners are valuable for their records of former bow and arrow usage and archery-related Japasese culture. Zen in the Art of Archery by E. Herrigel is well known. Herrigel stressed the mystical aspects of “The Way of Archery”, or kyudo. Therefore, there is no precise description of shooting technique in his book. Another early manuscript on kyudo, written in the early Showa period, was recently rediscovered by Dutch kyudo practitioners. Fundamentals of Japanese Archery (1937) by Toshisuke Nasu and William R. B. Acker, is the oldest extant manuscript of kyudo written in English and contains precise, technical shooting description. Its authors, however, are relatively unknown. We found new historical records on W. R. B. Acker at Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. from which we can conclude following points.
(1) W. R. B. Acker was born in New York in 1907 and studied East Asian art. He worked for the Freer Gallery of Art, Ghent University, and other universities. Acker passed away 1974.
(2) He resided in Kyoto as a field researcher for the Freer Gallery of Art from 1933 to 1937. In addition to his study of East Asian art, Acker practiced kyudo.
(3) Acker practiced kyudo with a Chikurin-school kyudo archer and his friend, Toshisuke Nasu.
(4) He was also involved in various other activities, including practicing Zen, living in a 'Zen temple, and translating an early Chinese archery book, Bukyo Shagaku Seiso, into English.
Acker's study is an orthodox kyudo textbook, in contrast to Herrigel's mystical work. Acker was forgotten, while Herrigel was great success. In the future, this study will investigate the Western cultural atmosphere underlying the acceptance of these books.
