Requires
- Arts:
Enables
- Buildings:
Effects
- +10% reload rate for all bow units
Description
A true warrior never stops learning his craft. He should strive for perfection. Only with death does his education and his personal quest come to an abrupt end. Only a foolish and arrogant man believes himself to be unbeatable. All training, all practice, improves ability and confidence in battle. Accuracy is all-important: the best shooter is useless if his arrows fall wide of the target! Speed is also improved, as a great master can have one arrow in his hand, one in the air, and one striking the target. Kyujutsu mastery schools all archers in essential skills.
Historically, Japanese bows were quite similar to medieval European bows, in particular the feared English longbow. The Japanese bow was asymmetric: far longer above the grip than below, to make it easy to use on horseback while retaining power. The bow could be swung from side to side without getting tangled up in saddle furniture. It had a composite of a wooden core, covered in layers of lacquered bamboo, making strong yet flexible, capable of shooting a wide variety of arrows. Its beautiful simplicity disguised the fact that this was a weapon that required tremendous skill, strength and grace to use effectively.