Bows and arrows used to be in practical use as weapons in Japan. However, from the end of the Muromachi Period(1338-1573), warriors valued kyudo as a discipline for mind and body and thus advanced its development as a martial art. Modern day kyudo is similar to archery in the Western countries. However, kyudo values manners and formality rather than victory or defeat, and pursues the detachment of mind. The archery's bow is made of laminated wood and bamboo and it is just over two meters long. It is operated by wearing an archer's glove on the right hand and using bamboo arrows. Generally, the distance to the target is 28 meters in a short-distance shooting and 60 meters in a long-distance shooting.
Naginata, or long sword, has been used in Japanese martial arts since ancient times. Originally, it was used in man-to-man combat, but gradually it became the weapon of choice for warrior priests, physicians and women. From the Meiji Period(1868-1912) on, it was developed for use in martial arts for women. It was even introduced into the school curriculum. The length of naginata used in competition is about two meters. The handle is made of oak and the tip of two layers of laminated bamboo. There are two kinds of naginata competition: performance and match. Performance competition is judged on propriety of attire, attitude and technique, while victory in match play is determined by a hit and lance.
Ninja were people provided with special techniques in the art of war and flourished in Japan's age of warring states (1467-1568). There are no ninja in today's Japan. Ninja were responsible for spying on the enemy's war tactics and fighting capacity, destroying his arms and assassinating enemy leaders. Ninjutsu the ninja art of stealth meant sneaking into castles, to be in disguise to conceal the true character, deceiving the enemy's eyes for the escape, and so on, in order to execute the duties. In concrete terms, ninja techniques included walking on, and submerging into, water, scaling walls, walking silently and disappearing suddenly. Their every action was grounded in the psychological strategy of catching their opponents off their guards.