Masaki Takigawa

Masaki is a tall young man with a lean, well-balanced body and is seen to have big biceps due to training. He has shoulder-length straight black hair that he keeps tied back with long bangs that reach his eyes, and clear blue eyes that are described as "bewitching" by Minato Narumiya. His fingers are often described as long. He is usually seen wearing the white hakama of kyudo. He cuts his hair early in season 1 to a shorter length.

When he becomes the coach for the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club, he cuts his hair shorter.

Masaki has been doing kyudo since the age of three, with his grandfather as his master. His grandfather was strict on him, as he was with all of his students. Sometime in his third year of high school, Masaki's mother remarried, but he did not take on his new family name immediately. Masaki won at the Inter-High that year, but his grandfather was not satisfied and tells him that he is just playing around with kyudo. This triggered the break-off in their relationship, and then Masaki got hayake around that time. His grandfather was furious at him for not hitting perfectly, and he was treated as someone to be ignored. After that, he went to university but did not join the kyudo club, instead going out of the prefecture to ask a famous teacher to teach him. During that time, his grandfather passed away. Wanting to do something to reconcile with him, Masaki decided to shoot ten-thousand arrows at the Yata no Mori Kyudojo.

Masaki gives off the image of a mysterious, refined young man, but he is actually more laid-back and down-to-earth than he seems, and has the air of an old man despite his young age. He is noted act roughly and sloppily in many things except in kyudo. He seems to dislike formality, asking everyone to call him "Masa-san" instead. He is friendly and good at explaining things, qualities that make him a good coach in the eyes of the members of the Kazemai kyudo club. He is also good at listening and giving advice, something he does with Minato Narumiya frequently. He is not above speaking more vulgarly, such as when coaching Minato to overcome his hayake at the Yata no Mori Kyudojo.

Despite his easygoing nature, Masaki also has a more serious and stubborn side to him when it comes to kyudo and his grandfather.

Minato Narumiya: Minato admires Masa very much and their student-teacher relationship has a fruitful influence on Minato, allowing him to gradually heal from his target panic and again find enough inspiration to go back to archery again. Masa's grandfather was the one who inspired Minato to practice kyuudo in his childhood, which was the event that Masa attended as well.

Tomio Morioka: Tomio and Masaki are acquaintances who knew each other long before taking over the Kyudo club. Tomio cares for Masaki and knows about his past issues with his grandfather. He often listens to his problems, gives him advice and encourages him to have more faith in himself as a coach.

Akihiro Yasaka: Masaki's late grandfather. He was kyudo teacher from a young age and was very strict with him growing up. He and his grandfather had a falling out in High School after Yasaka dismisses his grandson's Inter High tournament win and troubles with target panic. Masaki did not speak to his grandfather for the following college years, and they were not able to make amends before his death, much to Masaki's regret.

Ren Takigawa: The older step brother of Masaki who he sees occasionally due to living in different places. The two are on good terms with each other and can have personal talks with each other easily. He worried about Masaki's state of mind after the falling out between him and his grandfather, but is pleased to see him enjoy himself after a long time with his new students.

Fuu: his pet owl. dislikes everyone but Masaki.

Masaki's favorite drink is coffee, whether or not is brewed or canned.[3] Masaki's duties as priest include exorcisms and prayers for good fortune.[4] Masaki's least favorite food is eggplant, as he does not like the texture.[3] In the anime is sliced onions. [4] Masaki's favourite food in the anime is ginger pork.[4] Masaki's hobbies include going around to different cafes and enjoying their coffee, reading, and hitchhiking.[3] Masaki's special skills are driving and parallel parking.[3] Masaki lives in an apartment close to a temple.[3] It is heavily implied that Masaki was the middle school boy mentioned in the prologue who's watching the kyudo match Minato and his mother saw.[4] (It was later revealed to be true at the end of Episode 13.) Masaki is neither a cat nor a dog person. He prefers his owl, Fuu.[3] Masaki likes the sea. Even if Masaki had the chance to time-travel, he would choose to stay in the present.

Masaki is an exceptionally talented Kyudo prodigy. He almost always hits the center of the target, and once landed 211 hits consecutively. He was taught by his eighth "dan" ranked grandfather Akihiro Yasaka, and now holds a fifth "dan" rank himself.

He developed target panic in High School days, during this time he was unable to hit any of his shots. He was able to overcome it after travelling the country and meeting new instructors.

Sex: male age: 23 height: 6’2 Occupation: Shrine priest + Coach

Yata Shrine (夜多神社, Yata Jinja?) is a Shinto shrine located in in the forest Yata no Mori. Its priests are Masaki Takigawa and his grandfather. In addition to the main shrine, it also has a kyudojo that is maintained by the local kyudo association.

Kazemai is a typical Japanese high school that teaches three grade levels. It is located in a major city and is well funded. It has many extracurricular clubs and facilities, including a kyudo dojo.

The boys' uniform is the traditional gakuran with a black button-up top and standing collar, white collared shirt, black pants, and shoes of the student's own choice. The girls wear the sailor fuku style uniform, consisting of a gray top with a dark green sailor collar, a blue scarf and a knee-length dark green pleated skirt. All the students use an over-the-shoulder blue book bag.

For kyudo, both boys and girls wear white kyudogi and black hakama for practice, and wear white kyudogi with the school's name embroidered on the left sleeve in competitions. The school's kyudo club had been on the verge of disbandment until the principal ordered Tomio Morioka to restore it. Morioka restored the school's kyudojo with the help of volunteers during the spring break before the new school started, and managed to recruit Seiya Takehaya and Ryohei Yamanouchi on the first day of school. Nanao Kisaragi, Kaito Onogi, Rika Seo, Noa Shiragiku, and Yuna Hanazawa joined later at a kyudo information session. Due to Morioka's back problems from old age, he could not demonstrate shooting techniques easily, so Masaki Takigawa, a fifth dan in kyudo, was brought in to coach the club. The school does not belong any particular school of kyudo, but it uses the reishakei (modern form of shooting) system. It is a boys and girls club.

Coaches: Tomio Morioka, Masaki Takigawa Second-Year Students: Minato Narumiya (boy), Seiya Takehaya (boy) (captain), Ryouhei (boy), Yamanouchi (boy), Nanao Kisaragi (boy), Kaito Onogi (boy), Rika Seo (girl), Noa Shiragiku (girl), Yuuna Hanazawa (girl) First-Year Students: Hikaru Kanbayashi, Keima Keyaki, Arata Himuro