Yumi is the Silverstari term for bows, and includes the longbow, Daikyū and the shortbow, Hankyū used in the practice of kyūdō — archery. The yumi is exceptionally tall (standing over two meters), surpassing the height of the archer. They are traditionally made by laminating bamboo, wood and leather. The string (tsuru) of a yumi is traditionally made of hemp.

The yumi is asymmetric; the grip is positioned at about one-third the distance from the lower tip and upper and lower curves differ.

Historic Yumi (OOC)

Serious kyūdō practitioners treat the yumi with reverence, as pieces of great power, and as teachers with much to impart to the student (a yumi is said to hold within it part of the spirit of the person who made the yumi). A kyūdō student will never step over a yumi which lies on the ground (that would be considered disrespectful), and will typically treat a yumi as they themselves would wish to be treated (e.g. kept away from excessive heat or cold, kept dry, kept away from excesses of humidity or dryness, carried upright). It is also considered disrespectful to so much as touch another person's yumi without his/her permission; yumishi (yumi-maker) Kanjuro Shibata has said this is tantamount to touching someone else's spouse in a sexual manner.

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumi
