OF ARROW-RELEASE. 185 



airo. The Analects of Confucius, the Doctrine of the 

 ^Slcan, and other ancient writings bear ample testimony to 

 the hiirh esteem in which this manly art was held. 



In the Shi King, or book of ancient Chinese poetry 

 (translation of Legge) , the following allusions refer to the 

 use of the thumb-ring, which was also called a thimble, 

 and also apdn chi, or finger regulator. 



" "With archer's thimble at his girdle hung." 



And again, — 



" Each right thumb wore the metal guard." 



Concerning Japanese archery methods in past times, 



Fig. 53. Japanese. 



what little evidence we have on the sul)ject points to a 

 Mongolian form of release. The archers have always 

 formed a favorite study for the Japanese artist, and many 

 details of the bow and arrow and attitudes of the archer 

 may be got from old paintings and drawings. The rep- 

 resentations of the hand in shooting, though often drawn 

 conventionally, are easily interpreted as releasing the ar- 

 row after the Mongolian method. Fig. 58 is copied from 

 a vigorous drawing, showing the attitude of the shaft- 

 hand in the attitude of release. In the Shinto temple at 

 jNliyajima is a picture over two hundred years old, in 

 which the archer's hand is shown in the attitude of the 



ESSKX INST. I5ULLI.11N, VOL. XVII 'Ji 



