On behalf of Mike Loades, his vintage Samurai bow has arrived here in my collection. I took a lesson regarding the basics of Heki Ryu (日置流) style of Japanese archery designed for military use.
The bowyer Edward (Ted) McEwen was from the UK, and was formerly the editor of the Society of Archer Antiquaries Journal for many years and one of the foremost archery scholars of his generation. He was pioneering horse-archery in the UK in the early 1980s.
Edward was also world-renowned as a composite bow maker, turkish bows being his specialty.
However, he also made bows of all kinds including an Egyptian angular bow (Which I will interview the new owner soon), an English longbow, a Carib longbow, and this yumi.
Special thanks to Redwood Kyudojo and Mr. Loades. The bow was made by Mr. McEwen for Mike in around 1995/1996 from mulberry and bamboo laminations. 85 inches long, full-size yumi. Organic materials. Lacquered finish with Japanese military warbow paint. This is heavy d