Ask John: Why Are Females Always Archers?

Question:
When and how did female characters end up as sharpshooter archers in anime and manga? I come across like Fuu in Magic Knight Rayearth, Hanabi in Sakura Taisen 3 and Inuya’s Kikuyo with Kagome. All of them are armed with deadly accuracy in archery.

Answer:
The connection between females and archery in anime is one of the innately Japanese aspects of anime that’s often overlooked or unrecognized because it’s so subtle. The bow has been respected in Japan as a symbol of power and grace since at least 250 B.C. Traditional paintings and accounts of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu, virtually always associate him with a bow as a symbol of his power. The practice of archery in contemporary Japanese culture is not an art of war but rather a spiritual form of meditation and Zen purification. Japanese archery, known as “kyudo” or, way of the bow, is a martial art accessible to both men and women because of its focus on skill and concentration rather than physical strength. As expressed in one of the many Zen themes of the Earth Girl Arjuna anime, the goal of Japanese archery is not to hit the target with an arrow, but to become one with the target and guide the arrow as an extension of the self, to the target unconsciously, setting aside distinctions of self and other or here and there.

There are relatively few examples of male anime characters proficient in kyudo or associated with a bow, but there are many female anime characters associated with the art of archery. Male characters are often associated with blunt or direct weapons such as swords or guns, but the placid elegance of the bow is almost always reserved for females. Just to name a few: Fuu of Magic Knight Rayearth, Cha-Cha of Akazukin Cha-Cha, Sailor Mars’ Flame Sniper attack in Sailormoon, Ruriko of Gatekeepers, Fujimatsu of Tatoon Master, Safety of Risky Safety, Hanabi of Sakura Taisen 3, Kikyo and Kagome of Inuyasha, and Arjuna from Earth Girl Arjuna. When we examine these characters we find that Kikuyo, Kagome, and Rei Hino are all Shinto shrine maidens. Safety is an apprentice angel. Cha-Cha in her adult form is an angelic princess, complete with tiny wings. Arjuna and Ruriko are both healers of some sort. Hanabi and Fuu are dignified young women. Female anime characters associated with archery almost always somehow represent the Japanese ideal of elegance, refinement, and spirituality associated with kyudo. More appropriately, there should be little doubt that these female characters are intentionally given bows to subtly emphasize their representation of ideal Japanese spirituality and beauty.