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Sixteen years ago, I took up Kyudo, the Japanese art of archery. Some know it as Zen archery because of its slow, meditative quality, and in fact I learned it in a Zen monastery, where I still go every year to sit, practice and, more recently, help teach.

Shooting just two arrows, as the forms typically involve, can take five minutes or more, depending on the complexity of the form. And while it’s certainly gratifying to hit the target, it’s not the point of the practice, which is about focus, detail, demeanor, sincerity and mu shin, or “no mind.”

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I’m often struck by the disconnect between Kyudo and its ancient origins as a deadly art. I’ve especially thought about it in moments like when a deer and her fawn wandered between me and the target and stopped to graze in the morning mist. I stopped and savored the tranquility.

I shoot with traditional bamboo arrows and have accumulated a half dozen pairs over the years. Their fletching, or feathers, are in various states of deterioration. I tried to refletch them myself, but quickly discovered it’s far more difficult than it seems. So I headed to the internet for new ones.

These are not inexpensive things. I paid $50 for a bamboo pair when I started in 2009. Now, at one popular Japanese company,........

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