Schrift: Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk Medium Extended, gedruckt von Zinkklischees.

Drucke: Banbus aus der Bogenwerkstatt Tokyo Yumigu Seisakujo auf Katajigami-Papier.

Einband: Mitsumata-Papier und Susudake-Bambus.

Auflage: 35 arabisch und 10 römisch nummerierte Exemplare.

Den Text >>Do<< verfasste Heiko Michael Hartmann eigens für diese Ausgabe.

Housed in a slipcase.

Description by the bookseller and artist: Tokyo, 2005, 52 x 17.5 cm. Edition of 35 Arabic numbered copies and 10 Roman numbered copies. Letterpress printed in black, with zinc-clichés, on Japanese Katajigami paper. 7 multicolored Illustrations printed by strips of bamboo. Bound in dark-blue Mitsumata paper printed in violet with a pattern of bamboo. Case pasted with Mitsumata paper and Katajigami paper printed with the title and tied with a bowstring.

For the illustrations, I used 227cm long and 2.5cm wide stripes of bamboo, which are usually used to produce the Japanese bow. Each of these stripes, I cut into pieces of different lengths. Because of the graining of the bamboo, we see only straight lines, in longer pieces sometimes interrupted by joints.

The single quires are stitched through the cover onto a spine of bamboo. I have pasted a blue Mitsumata paper to the cover, printed with a pattern of bamboo stripes. Reflecting the asymmetry of the pages, the cover has a joint that divides recto and verso in a relation of 2:3.

In his text "Do", the Berlin based author Heiko Michael Hartmann describes the art of Japanese Archery, Kyudo, which literally means "way of the bow". The days where the Japanese bow was used as a weapon are long past and modern Kyudo is practiced primarily as a method of physical, moral, and spiritual development.

In dense and concentrated words Hartmann writes about the archer‘s spirit state and his movements starting from taking the shooting position until releasing the arrow and stepping back. We understand that the most important factor for a true shot is not the technique, but a true shot is one that is pure and right-minded, where the three elements of attitude, movement, and technique unite in a state of perfect harmony.

The way of the arrow can be divided into the so called Hassetsu, the eight fundamental stages of shooting All of these movements, from the first to the last, must by no means be separated from each other. They are part of one continuous sequence of movements that are performed with seamless integration. I chose this division into eight stages as the base concept for my book, printing the text on eight quires in oblong format. Each of these layers is fold in a 2:3 relation, taking pattern from the asymmetric form of the Japanese bow, resulting in pages of different lengths.

I printed on Japanese Katajigami paper, which normally is used for the production of stencils for printing patterns onto fabric. The paper is dyed with the astringent juice of the kaki fruit, giving it a reddish brown tone. Afterwards it is put in to a smoke chamber for at least two weeks, replacing the sour smell by a smoky one. Because of its color and consistence, this paper reminds us of wood and evokes a smell like in Buddhist temples. Due to the dying process, the recto differs significantly from the verso.

On the recto of all pages, I printed the text, and on the recto illustrations referring to the Hassetsu. In detail, these are:

1. Ashibumi, footing

2. Dozukuri, correcting the posture

3. Yugamae, readying the bow

4. Uchiokoshi, raising the bow

5. Hikiwake, drawing the bow

6. Kai (Nobiai, Jinnan), meeting, completing the draw,

7. Hanare, the release

8. Zanshin, continuation, remaining body or remaining spirit