The is the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

blowgun A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created by ...

, as well as the term for the associated sport. It consists of a tube, with darts approximately in length. Unlike modern Western blowguns, the fukiya has no mouthpiece: instead, a shooter must maintain a seal with the lips while forcefully exhaling. The darts used in the fukiya are called ''fukibari''. Traditionally, fukibari were in length. In Japan, fukiya is considered to be an

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

sport, maintained by the Japan Sports Fukiya Association. In order to promote fukiya, the International Fukiya Association (IFA) was formed, based in Japan. The main organizations under the IFA are the American Association (ASBA), and the French Federation (FSBA).

History

The ''fukiya'' is often considered to have been a weapon of the

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

. It is known that in the past, there were numerous schools of martial arts and

ninjutsu , and are terms for the techniques and skills used by spies and scouts in pre-modern Japan known as ninja. Some of these techniques are recorded in ninja scrolls, some which have been published and translated. The study of these scrolls have c ...

(such as

Togakure-ryū is a historical tradition of ''ninjutsu'' known as the "School of the Hidden Door", allegedly founded during the Oho period (1161–1162) by ( ), who learned his original fighting techniques from a Chinese monk named Kain Dōshi. However, the ...

) which used the fukiya and fukibari alone (as ''senbon''). A typical ninjutsu fukiya is around , which is shorter than the sport fukiya, and does shorten the effective range. Thus, even in theory, ninja would have had to use special darts with

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

ed tips in order for it to work, and fired from a concealed location. Most likely, it was used similar to ''

shuriken A is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or '' metsubushi'' to distract or misdirect. History The origins of the ''bo-shuriken'' in Japan are still unclear, despite continuing researc ...

'', as a distraction. The blowgun can also double as a breathing pipe and straw to enable the ninja practitioner to better survive in the wilderness. There will always be doubts whether it was truly effective compared to bow and arrows, since it has a shorter range. In the hands of experts ("Master" level), it can be very accurate, as testified by sport fukiya players today.

Science of fukiya

The range of a fukiya is determined by size (diameter), weight, length and material of its basic component, the tube. Pressure built up in the tube from the player's breath and the technique that the player uses to channel the breath into the tube affects the speed that the dart will exit the muzzle. Weight will affect a player's ability to hold the tube steady, and arm

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

level over a period of time.

Sport fukiya

Like any sport, fukiya has certain guidelines for its equipment. In general, international guidelines set by IFA are less strict than JSFA. Currently, the specifications for international competitions are as follows: *Equipment: Can be self-made (Japanese competitions require properly made equipment) **Pipe ***length: ; For practice at home, students can employ a pipe, with the target placed at away ***diameter: if possible; anywhere between to , so is acceptable for International competition ***Weight: for beginners; for advanced **Darts: wedge shape if possible; conical shape is acceptable; guidelines can vary ***length: Approximately in length ***weight: *Competition **Distance from target: ; for handicap competitors; for novice; ( for practice, using a shorter blowgun) **Number of darts in use: 30 **Target: 3 rings ***bulls-eye: diameter, 7 points ***inner ring: in diameter, 5 points ***outer ring: in diameter, 3 points ***Bulleye's height from the ground: ( for handicap) **Point calculation: 6 rounds of 5 shots are taken, with a maximum score of 210 points **Time allotted: not exceeding 25 minutes, for all 30 darts, including shooting, scoring, retrieval, and cleaning the barrel *Level advancement (minimum score required) **3 kyu: 60 points **2 kyu: 75 points **1 kyu: 90-105 points (depends on association) **shodan: 105-119 points (depends on association) **2 dan: 120 points **3 dan: 150 points **4 dan: 162 points **5 dan: 175 points **Master level I: three 186 points scores

Associations

International Fukiya Association

(USA)
Japan Sport Fukiya Association
(Japan)

Popular culture

* ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'' features fukiyas being used by the Ultimate Ninja and Foot Ninjas. * In ''

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated historical drama, historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Set in the Muromachi period of Japanese history, the film follows Ashitaka, a young Emishi prince who journeys west to cure his curs ...

'', Jigo's men use fukiyas which they keep disguised as

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionall ...

s when not in use. * A fukiya was used by a ninja in ''

Deadliest Warrior ''Deadliest Warrior'' is an American television program in which information on historical or modern warriors and their weapons are used to determine which of them is the "deadliest" based upon tests performed during each episode. The show is c ...

''.

Sources

IFA FAQ, English version
''(Japanese versio

''

External links

- Fukiya in Hong Kong
* {{Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment Blowgun Ninjutsu artefacts Weapons of Japan Sports originating in Japan