Kaimukī's Mauʻuame Nature Park will be a new spot for the traditional Japanese practice of kyudo, a blend of archery and self-discipline.
In Hawaiʻi, kyudo is slowly being resurrected. A key part of this revival is the effort by the Hawaiʻi Kyudo Foundation to build Oʻahu’s first public kyudojo.
“When World War II came, everything Japanese was bad. They confiscated all the bows and arrows, they took most of the sensei who were leaders in the community and sent them to internment camps, and they confiscated a lot of the properties,” said Bob Dewitz, an HFK board member.
“There were about a dozen clubs here before the war, and only one survived, so that was almost a death blow to kyudo in Hawaiʻi.”
The City and County of Honolulu granted HFK the right to build the archery facility, which is known as a kyudojo, at Mauʻuamae Park.
HFK will design, build, and operate the dojo and will donate it to the city once it’s completed, making it a public space for the community to use for recreation as well as learn kyudo through the facility's scheduled classes.
The project is expected to cost roughly $850,000, but it comes at no cost to the city. HFK and other partners will fund the construction and operation costs.
Dewitz, who has a deep background in the construction industry, said he wants to ensure the traditional layout and material types are honored.
“It’s crucial to have these elements be just as you see them in Japan, because there’s things to consider, like the archers won’t be wearing shoes when they shoot, so the hardwood floors need to be smooth so that they can glide across,” Dewitz said.
A Japanese artillery facility has three key parts:
- The shajo: the shooting gallery, which is lined with hardwood floors
- The yamichi: the 98-foot open grass area in between the archers and the targets
- The matoba: the target house, which contains six mato (targets)
Dewitz said there is a growing kyudo population in Hawaiʻi, and sensei in Japan have reached out to Dewitz asking to hold seminars at the facility once it is open.
“We wanted to really strengthen the appreciation of kyudo, because kyudo is not simply a martial art, but it's also sort of a spiritual self-discipline,” Dewitz said.
“To have an opportunity to bring the culture back alive, to give it a permanent home, to give it recognition as being part of the community by having its own dedicated facility, to me, that's the most exciting thing.”
The team is looking to get the building permit by the end of this year and hopes to have construction done by mid-summer next year. The kyudojo is scheduled to be open three days a week for roughly four hours a day.
