Coolest tip ever!!!!
Equipment
I'm posting this here in hopes of more folks input. Not a fan of leatherwall. My customer is 86 yrs old with no reason to lie to me. His story is that his bro and general MacArthur were great friends During ww2. MacArthur was gifted this bow by a legit samurai warrior while in Japan. He gifted it to my customers bro who gifted it to my customer. Now, after hearing about my interest in bowhunting, gifted it to me. I DONT CARE about any potential value this bow may have.
I want to know if being 150 yrs old and made of bamboo I can order a string and arrows and use it. I have wanted to go trad for a while now and think this would be absolutely awsome to kill a deer with a legit samurai bow.
First question. Do you think this bow is still able to shoot without snapping? 2---How do I figure out how long of string to order? 3---arrows, where would I be able to find the arrows to match the bow and how long of arrows would I need? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Thats pretty cool. Google Kyudo to learn about Japanese archery. Theres a place here in CO that teaches classes in it. A call to them might provide some guidance.
They shoot long arrows since they draw way behind their ear.
First of all you're going to need a TALL ground blind LOL.
Seriously, this is pretty cool. By the title I thought you were passing along a tip/info, not that you had received a tip.
I have no idea how to begin to figure out string length, safety, arrows, etc. Can't be many experts on Samurai bows, but if you're going to find one, it surely will be on the Bowsite!
Can you provide a closeup of the ends of the bow in order to see how a string might attach?
I don't know anything about the life span of bamboo or if it would still be able to shoot an arrow or not. But I know one thing that sure is cool. Awesome gift.
Close up of an end, per request. Thanks so much guys.
Congratulations on a cool piece. I hope that it works out that you can still use it to kill a deer. If not, it'll still look good on the wall.
I work on high end homes. Been tipped 15 yr scotch, box of cigars, lots of free golf and menards cards. $50-$100 extra is regular. All are appreciated but this, to me, as a bowhunter is by far my coolest tip ever.
Three Rivers Archery, sells modern Japanese Tad Bow and arrows. Might be a place for string, and arrow ideas.
If it is what it is you would be absolutely nuts to use it and risk damage. You mentioned you don't care what it's worth but perhaps a museum or relative can carry this treasure after your gone. I would find out the value then make decisions about where it ends up.
If you want to shoot trad bow you can buy a good used one for $200. Congrats on your treasure.
Also, Google, Japanese Traditional bow. Good info to be had if you search the various paragraphs. Paul
+1 Charlie. If this bow is valid, it is history. It deserves and should be respected. It should be donated to a MacArthur Memorial Museum (Norfolk, VA).
I second Charlie's comment.
It would be absolutely awesome to find a picture of the presentation of that bow to General MacArthur by the Samurai and put it in a museum. I am sure that photos would have been taken of that event. Giving a bow to an outsider by a Samurai would be considered an extremely high honor.
I understand that you would think it cool to shoot a deer with that bow, but you should do some more investigation as to the history of that piece, and some research into Japanese martial culture. If it is actually a bow given to General MacArthur, it is priceless.
You way want to take this over to Leatherwall even though you are not a fan. See what kind of answers you get there. There is a wealth of knowledge over there - more than here! Cool bow!
Interesting info: During the US occupation, 1945-1952, that followed Japan's defeat in WW 2, General MacArther banned the practice of all budo (martial arts equipment which included the bow and arrow), which was viewed as a tool of the vanquished Japanese militarists. The bow was not use for hunting, but for war and for traditional ceremonies.
You see,, that's the trouble. Even though my customer, at 86 has no reason to lie to me, his brother is dead. There is no way to prove provinance for this particular bow. At this point it's just him telling me the truth. That won't hold any weight anywhere. With no proof of anything, all I really have is a bow that's at least 150 yrs old. Sure, it has value.
If I could prove where it came from then I would either donate it or hand it down to my youngest son who is a bowhunter. The trouble is, I can't prove it. The best I could do is prove that my customers bro was friends with MacArthur and both were in Japan at the same time. That's not enough. With that being said, I'd like to use it! I believe the story based simply on how it was told to me. Since I can't prove the story, I'd like to kill a deer with this bow. That is my question, is it safe to use the bow? Refer to the op for the rest of the q's. At this point, if I can't safely use it, it will become a decoration in the man cave and be given to my youngest son when I die. I CAN produce a pic of the customers bro and MacArthur together. That is as far as it goes though.
There is no way to know if it's safe to shoot. The problem with doing so is if it's not, the way you know is when it blows up.
Link is the place in Boulder,CO
I would be willing to bet that you could track down documentation of this bow being given to General MacArthur. Generals usually had someone taking notes at about any meeting. Something as symbolic as a Samurai presenting a conquering power a weapon would be a big deal, at least in the culture of the Japanese. It is something very difficult for us Westerners to understand, but something like that would hold very deep meaning to Japanese - beyond religion. It likely symbolized the Samurai yielding to the new leadership and there is most likely photo documentation of the event.
Although the Japanese use of a bow probably originated with hunting, hunting was not really practiced for many, many years. That bow was designed for killing people in battle, not hunting. The Japanese had a culture of war that went back hundreds and hundreds of years prior to World War II. I would hazard a guess that it is much, much older than you are giving it credit. It may have actually been used in some of the feudal wars of Japan prior to WWII and likely was used to kill people.
Please do not try to string it or shoot it. It is likely a very important piece of history.
It should either be in the MacArthur Memorial Museum, or returned to the Japanese. I would bet that the Japanese would have a record of the event and would probably have the history of that bow and what it symbolized.
Per above post, if you could get some documentation then the bow may have a bit of historical value. Even if it did I would get a string, get a tillering string so you can adjust the length of it and start out with a low brace height and draw it just a bit to get the limbs flexing and go from there. I know bows that are 100 years old are still being shot. I have a lemonwood bow from the 30's that is still shot a few times a year. Scooby
+1 Treeline!
This is not a "tip" to take lightly.
Put it on the wall,then buy a used longbow and go hunting.
I'm with Charlie on this one. I just went this winter to a traveling display at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota of Samurai equipment and related items. If this is legit, it may be priceless. Lots of leads on Google for having it appraised or researched. It would be worth the effort.
Completely off subject, and I'll apologize up front...but a friends grandfather was career army...dentist, in the medical corp on Corregidor when they were ordered to surrender atthe outset of WWII.
He didn't want to surrender his 1911 .45 so he wrapped it in rags and burried it in an oil drum with a few gallons of oil in it.
After surviving the death march, the camps in the Philippines, and the death ships, he spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp in Formosa before US forces finally liberated the camps.
After regaining his health he traveled back to Corrigador and dug up his sidearm. My friend has it along with dental equipment the guys made in the camps...pretty amazing story and stuff.
His grandfather retired a full bird colonel.
Japp koppendryer (sp) of Yumi archery did and may still make modern versions of that bow style. He could provide some valuable info on it. I am with the others to important to risk shooting.
Very cool... let us know how it turns out.
I spent a couple hours doing online research last night and couldn't find anything. I did learn a lot of very interesting history though. My next step is to find an expert to do a more thorough search and try to provide provinance. I'll be starting my search in millwaukee and maybe Chicago figuring I have the best chance at finding an expert in a bigger city. I am also going to contact some of the names I've been provided on here. Ill keep posted of what I find out. Thank you for all your input.
What a coincidence that you posted this! One of my customers came in yesterday with a bow like that looking for a string! His was gifted to him by his teacher, who is in his eighties also. His bow was fairly new though and still being used. My customer demonstrated how to shoot it. Wide stance (as wide as arrow is long, about 3') then you start the draw above your head and pull back and down. The arrow is held on the outside of the bow and when released the bow is allowed to spin sideways in your hand to allow the string to continue its forward momentum. I'm sure you will learn all of this when you do your research. Supposedly, they could shoot this bow off of a galloping horse and hit the center on every shot, with shots being taken about every 10-15 yards! About 2/3 of the bow is above the grip leaving the short side down, allowing the horseman to shoot quickly from either side of the horse. I don't know that I would shoot a 150 year old bow though, that would scare me! You can still get a new one though if you want to try it. Good luck, and have fun!!!
Take it to that pawn shop in Vegas....they should know a guy!
Seriously, very cool and I would be afraid to shoot it.
Try contacting the Milwaukee public museum. They do have an extensive Japanese martial weapons collection and I am certain they could provide historical information. If not in regards to this bow, they could certainly provide contact information for an expert on the subject,...possibly in Chicago or on the west coast. Above all, do not try to string or shoot this bow, it is too valuable (historically). You might also contact someone at the Univ. of WI in the Oriental Studies Dept. (if there is one, and if that is the right name) If you'd like, PM me on this and I'll find out who to touch base with. Good luck with this.
Very cool bow, but I'm like some others on here, I wouldn't shoot it.
Jaap Koppedrayer would be a good person to start with. He still makes Yumi bows and grows bamboo to make arrows. He has some YouTube videos and info about his work online. Your bow could be 150 years old or much older or newer.
So the story begins. I have contacted and set up a meeting with a lady at the museum in millwaukee. I've also got a meeting with another person who is a psudo expert on Japanese weapons and their history. I contacted my customer again and got the name of his brother and a little more info on him. He is going to look around for some photos and more info on his end.
I'll leave this thread die for a while and do a full write up once I have the full story. I'll pull this thread back up once I'm ready to post the full story.
I would hang that bow on the mantle and buy one similar to play with and not risk that one. I've seen some videos of that style of shooting, don't see it as being real advantageous hunting, it can be hard enough with a normal length trad bow in the brush! Super cool bow though and story!
