Samurai Bow

S1, E1: Japanese Bow explores the violence, beauty and reverie which surround the Samurai's earliest weapon. With stunning dramatic reconstruction we reveal the ancient way of the Samurai and explore how the bow could avert wars when put in the hands of a true master. Featuring Japan's most revered archery teacher Master Ogasawara we visit his mounted archery school and see the students intense training and dedication, then follow Ogasawara's son as he prepares to shoot from a galloping horse in the Yabusame ceremony. Comparing the Japanese bow to another great war bow, the English Longbow we put them both through scientific tests to examine the specialities of each. Using stunning high speed footage we reveal their power and precision and ask what makes the Yumi so special. Master craftsmen, martial artists and expert historians combine to tell the story of this noble weapon from its bloody past to its revered standing today in Samurai Bow.