Kyudo Kai of Florin

Kyudo Kai of Florin is a non-profit 501(c)(3) recreational Japanese archery club promoting training, education and cultural awareness of kyudo in Sacramento, CA

Kyudo Kai of Florin About Us

Kyudo Kai of Florin was approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in August 2022. We hold practice in the basketball gymnasium of the Buddhist Church of Florin located in Sacramento, CA and are very fortunate that the church granted us permission to hold practice in this in beautiful 100 year old facility

Approved by the church board of directors in the spring of 2022, the first class of the Kyudo Kai of Florin started in November of 2022. We are a non-profit organization that strives to provide education, training and cultural awareness of kyudo in the Florin community.

The KKF mon was designed to recognize kyudo in the Florin community. Created by Sacramento graphic designer, the strawberry leaves serve to remember the Japanese immigrants who settled in Florin to farm. In addition, there are 5 arrows that each represent the Buddhist Church of Florin, Kyudo Kai of Florin, Hawaii Kyudo Kai (our sister organization), our Japanese ancestors and the future cultural legacy that kyudo will bring to the Florin community.

What is Kyudo?

Kyudo means ”way of the bow” and is considered to be one of the oldest traditional martial arts in Japan. The earliest known development of Japanese archery dates back to 7,000 BC.

Rich with history, kyudo has evolved in its use from early period hunting, to weapons of war to ceremonial purposes. Although not a religion, kyudo was influenced by two major schools of religious thought: Shinto and Chinese Zen.

Modern Kyudo is not simply viewed as a means to shoot at a target, but rather, the focus is to develop the inner spirit, respect for others and harmony in the learning environment. Hitting the target is not the main objective in kyudo, and the emphasis is on improving one's form, spiritual awareness and character development.

Kyudo is deceptively simple and the 8 stages of shooting known as Hassetsu is practiced with each shot. One can become proficient in a short period of time, however it takes a lifetime of practice in order to achieve the "perfect" shot. Kyudo masters who are well into their 80's will profess that they are still in need of improvement. Kyudo is a life long journey into bettering oneself.