Illuminated Spirit

Co-authors Dan and Jackie DeProspero had no plans to study kyudo when they first went to Japan in 1981 to teach English. But their planned one-year stay stretched to fifteen after they met the remarkable kyudo sensei, Hideharu Onuma, fifteenth headmaster of the Heki-ryu Sekka-ha tradition of classical Japanese archery and modern kyudo hanshi, 9th dan. They became his students, and in time, Dan began working as an assistant at Onuma Sensei's archery shop. As their relationship deepened, Dan became uchideshi (house disciple) and the DeProsperos moved into the Onuma family apartments above the shop. From this extraordinary vantage point they were able to regularly hold casual, but insightful, conversations with the master. In response to the DeProsperos searching questions, Onuma Sensei offered his views on anger, stress, responsibility, and excellence. He provided them with new insights into the arts of teaching and learning, and helped them see that they could achieve harmony with others only if they first found peace within themselves. The result of those conversations is this book, which distills the Onuma Sensei's everyday wisdom. His words are remarkable for their truth and simplicity, and are as easily applied to daily life as to the discipline of Japanese archery. "The truth is that humans—men and women of all cultural backgrounds—are more alike than they care to admit. If humankind concentrated more on seeking out those similarities there might be a lot less division in the world."