Longbow (Yumi) Practitioner

The English longbow was a powerful weapon, over six feet long and was used for hunting as well. The English used this against the French during the Hundred Years’ War. Preferably, the bow was made of yew, a tree native to western, central and southern Europe, but elm and other woods were also used.

It was hard use and master since it needed a lot of force to send your arrow flying and pierce a man even with armor on. Slowly firearms were introduced, yet longbows were still used in hunting and in battles. But after the popularization of firearms, the English longbow has been forgotten. It is now ineffective in times of war.

Unlike the English longbow, the Japanese longbow or yumi was a prominent symbol in samurai abodes. Even after the introduction of firearms on the 16th century, the shogunate still preferred the yumi. For them, archery is a dignified art.

The yumi, a long bow, is two meters long and is made from wood or bamboo. It was said to be designed for use while riding a horse. The string is made of hemp, traditionally. But in modern times, archers would use synthetic string.

For a samurai, mastering the yumi could help him gain honor and prestige. Killing a deer with it had a lot of benefits as well.

Back in the 4th century archery contests were held in Japan. Between the 8th and 12th century archery competitions on horseback was very popular. During this time archery training had developed.

To make the contest a bit more interesting and challenging, a target, which was just a round board, stuffed and wrapped in deer’s skin, was hung on a pole and was set to move.

Imuoumono is another target-shooting practice where an equestrian archer shoots at dogs. The dogs would be released to a bamboo-fenced stadium. The archers would enter the stadium and shoot the dogs. Although barbaric, this practice did not vanish and remained popular. After a few centuries non-lethal arrows were used to shoot the dogs. The dogs wore padded jackets to ensure they are unharmed.

There was also the Yabusame where the archer shoots three targets while riding on a horse at full speed. Kasagake was performed in a fenced course called yado. The rider was required to shoot a bamboo hat from a distance and then close-range while riding his horse on full-speed.

The yumi, for a serious practitioner of archery, is a piece of immense power. It is regarded disrespect if one touches another peron’s yumi. And usually one has to take care of his yumi just like how he treats himself.

Careful attention is needed for a yumi. If unattended it may lose it shape and, eventually, become useless. You may as well think of it as another part of your body. A well-cared yumi could last for generations.

Other bows existed as well. Hankyu, a short bow, was used for battle. Yokyu was used for entertainment. Another one for hunting was the suzume-yumi.

Ancient warriors carrying a naginata

In the Ancient times, the Holy God Izanagi, come within reach of the archaic soup that shaped the world. He took his spear and dipped it into the soup forming droplets onto its blade. It was believed that these were the similar droplets that created the islands of Japan. By then, the spear was considered a holy weapon as they owed it to the structure of their land of birth.

In a different place, during the time of the cave men, the spear was used to hunt and made war. For centuries, it was the primary weapon of the warriors. There were different structures and advantages of each item but the Japanese had their version.

In the 9th century, the strategy of many spearmen was useful in the battles against the Ainu, the indigenous people or groups in Japan. As sword fabrication from different continents of Asia had been completely absorbed, they were easily customized in the production of yari (Japanese term for spear). Basically, the blades of these yari were straight but parallel sides were sharp. This shows that aside from thrusting, the sharpened sides could be used for cutting, adding an extra range of techniques to the spearman.

Hamon  was considered in the construction of yari. It was to retain a hard and sharpened cutting-edge with less risk of breaking. The style of forging of a yari was a unique characteristic of the sword smiths at Nara in Yamato province where the original yari-makers came. The yari was rarely the favored weapon of dignified samurais but the ancient capital of Nara in early days attracted militant warrior monks and many monasteries were built there due to the introduction of Buddhism.

The Sohei (warrior monks) were found to be wearing swords and complete armor at all times and they were greatly skillful at the martial arts. They employed expert sword smiths and almost all those of Yamato-den (a school of sword making) were retained by the monastic organization. Because of their expertise at fighting, samurai lords would employ these fearsome warriors.

In the late 12th century, legendary wars amid Minamoto and the Taira (two opposing clans) were the highlight. The preferential weapon of these gentlemen was called the naginata. It was a glaive like weapon with a large curved blade, and is more like a sword than most yari. Naginata was derived from an agricultural implement called “nata” and the adjective “nagi” or “long”.

Mounted on poles with metal fixtures, refined naginata may also be found in shira-saya (“white scabbard”). They are also occasionally shortened and reshaped to be mounted as a sword. On the creation of yari and naginata, the most common embellishment is family mon (crest) for identification. These could be found on both scabbards and poles.

Today, there are only few yari or naginata with extraordinary quality and majority of it were carried by the retainers of the great samurai lords. The Mon on their pole arms shows to all which tribe they came from and so the yari carrier (yari-moche) was a significant position in the chain of command.

A ninja

When you think of the word ninja or shinobi, what comes into mind? A man in black clothing armed with stealth and sharp weapons? A person who could shape shift or who could make multiple copies of himself? A boy in an orange jumpsuit who dreams to become Hokage? What is a ninja anyway?

A ninja was a spy of feudal Japan, specializing in untraditional tactics. A ninja is sneaky and sly for he tries to blend in a crowd, disguising himself as a civilian. He may look harmless but, really, he is collecting data about his enemy’s weaknesses or the scope of his enemy’s territory. Unlike the samurai, who is strict with honor, combat and discipline, the ninja had to use hidden ways in order to fight.

Now, what is a ninja without his weapons?

Just like the samurai, a ninja’s weapon of choice is the katana, a sword which has the capability to slice a man in half. Ninjas have numerous ways of using the katana. They can stun enemies with it by putting red pepper, iron fillings or dirt near the top of its scabbard.

Aside from the katana, there is also the ashiko. The ashiko are spiked claws worn on the feet. It was useful in climbing walls and kicking enemies hard. The ninjas used a Bo which is a staff that is six feet long. It is made of wood or bamboo that is hollow. Why hollow? The ninjas used a trick for this kind of weapon. A dagger or dart would fly out of the hollow if the staff is flicked with great speed, often catching the enemy off guard.

The ninja had another weapon called the naginata. It is a staff with a blade attached on one of its end. It is perfect for dismounting and immobilizing riders.

The kakute were rings dunked in poison. Ninjas would use the kakute to silently strangle their enemies to death. Using such was less messy than using the sword.

Powerful steal fingernails called the neko-te were usually used by kunoichi or female ninjas. Tied into leather bands, the neko-te bore a resemblance to claws. Like the kakute, the neko-te is dipped in poison.

There is also the famous shuriken, popularized by movies and tales about the ninja. A shuriken is a star-shaped flat piece of metal. Each of the shuriken’s point is sharpened and, again, dipped in poison. The shuriken was used for as a distraction or a way to get away from the enemy. The ninja would throw it into the air and divert his enemy to help him escape.

The kunai is an awesome throwing weapon. It is a small knife or dagger-type tool with a short grip. It was primarily used as a utility blade. Its secondary use is for throwing it towards the enemy. It is excellent for close-range combats. It is useful for climbing as well and hammering.

The ninjas used a large variety of weapons. The above are just a few examples.

The Samurai swords existed way back before the Second World War; precisely during the year 987. There were already millions of samurai swords existing at that time. The swords back then were straight bladed with single edges and were modified only until the Japanese were faced with the growing military class and the alarming need to have better weaponry. Shortly, these swords were modified into a curved blade because they found out that it was much easier to draw and had a better cutting angle than a sword with a straight blade.

A Japanese smith named Amakuni Yasutsuna was believed to be the one responsible for inventing the samurai sword. The samurai swords were sacred to the samurais as they would name their swords thinking that their warrior spirit was residing in their swords. During practices, the samurai would use bokken (wooden sword) to prevent doing damage to their real sword. The value of a sword is dependent on the quality of the edge of the sword which is called a kissaki.

Types of Samurai swords

Katana (created during the 15th to 16th century) is the most commonly preferred sword. It was the most widely used weapon when close combat became rampant. With the blade over 24 inches in length, it was the longest type of sword that needed both hands in handling it. It was commonly used for close outdoor battle. With its blade facing up, it became the preferred choice of weapon because of its efficacy to use.

Tachi is the grandfather of the  katana and has generally speaking a bigger sori (curve) and was worn with the edge of the blade facing down (where it’s the opposite with a katana). This is usually worn when mounted on a horse, hung on an Obi’s sageo (saya cord).

Wazikashi is a short sword that is tucked in the side of the arm of a Samurai. Its length is from 12-24 inches only that it is rarely removed by the samurai. It serves as an emergency sword in case something happens. It was usually used indoors because it was obviously easier to maneuver inside than a katana.

Daisho is the term given to the Katana and the Wazikashi when paired. The katana is the main sword because it is longer while the wazikashi is the backup sword.

Tanto can either be single edged or double edged. It is a Japanese knife or dagger that is used much like a wazikashi.

A Daito, on the other hand, is generally any Japanese sword that is over 24 inches long. Hence, a katana is also termed as a daito.

Double Edge Katana is the double edge sword that is rarely produced because of its impracticality.

Iaito also called a “mogito”. This sword is used for iaido practice. It’s like a katana but with its edge unsharpened that it makes a great sword for practice.

Odachi is a term given to any sword that is larger than a katana that is handled by two hands. A Nodachi is a term given to any sword that is larger than a katana that is handled by two hands. Both an Odachi sword and a Nodachi was almost the same, it was often interchanged. Due to its awkward appearance and size, it was not preferred by samurais.

O Katana which means “great” or “large” katana. These types of swords were a little longer than a normal sized katana but not longer than an odachi or a nodachi sword. This sword was made for samurais with higher ranks as it was hard to copy because of its length.

In the sixth century, the method of hardening the steel was introduced in Japan. But in the eight century, the beginning of Heian period, the fighting style was changed and people started fighting on horseback. Due to this, the straight swords were eliminated. The swords became curved and longer with single blade named tachi. But between chokuto and tachi, many different swords were introduced; the most popular are kogarasumru and kenukigatatachi. Kogarasumru is a short sword with two sharp edges. Nipponto or nihonto are the curved swords also known as Japanese swords.

Heian period is the beginning of the period of Japanese swords. During this period many different methods were introduced from China which were then modified in Japan, basically to make them Japanese. Also in this period the idea of building swords by smithing was introduced due to which the core remains soft and the outer surface remains rough.

In this Heian period, the folded steel samurai swords were also manufactured which comes under the class of tachi. In the same time, the trend of living a signature on the blade of the sword was also started. The first ever tachi sword has the signature of its manufacturer named Sanjo Munechika and the first Japanese sword has the signature of Namihira Yukimasa. The date of its manufacture is also engraved on it.

The period of kamakura begin when Minamoto no Yoritomo defeated Taira Clan. In the same period the power was taken up by the samurai warrior class. In this period the Japanese swords became more and more superior from all points which also include the aesthetic one. Big changes were introduced in the width of the blade of the sword. A small difference was kept at the width of the blade at the base and at its end. The shape of the end was also changed which mainly belonged to ikubi type, meaning bull nape.

When kamakura period ended, two mongol invasions, 1274 and 1281, took place. This lead to the discovery of new weapons and technologies which proved that there are some weak points in the tachi swords like the end of the blade could be broken which could not be repaired. Due to this, the designing of swords affected a lot but became more superior.

Nowadays, these superior swords are used for decoration at home and in Japan used as a sign of honor. You can buy Japanese swords from online shops. The main advantage is that there is no need to roam around in busy markets to find the best one. You will get all the details on internet and can choose the best Japanese sword according to your needs.

Japanese samurai armor

Japanese armor was developed throughout the fourth to sixth centuries. Japanese armor is known to be expensive and could take up to a year to be put together. The armor was also traded to other countries especially the Asian countries and sent as gifts to nation leaders.

The heavily detailed armor mainly consists of a metal breastplate that came in pieces to be tightly laced together in order to keep the armor from falling apart. They use lacquer on the metal armor to prevent it from rusting. The lacing of the armor was found to be an artistic ability in order to lace up warrior’s armor.

This artistic ability was called odoshi, and patterns of this process helped the samurai warriors to have the ability to identify members of a clan by the color of the cord that was used to lace up their armor. For instance, the Tachibana clan had yellow colored lace cords, the Taira clan used purple, and the Fujiwara clan used a light green cord.

The cords were also a sign of the rank of the samurai warrior. The tight and detailed lacing was more reserved for those of higher ranks and the wide lacing was used for more of the infantry troops.

This type of armor was called a tanko which is known as a short armor because of it consisted of just the breastplate. Throughout the centuries they continued to evolve and create better armor for the constant wars the Japanese warriors were a part of. The full suit of Japanese armor was known to have over 20 components to ensure full protection for the warrior’s body.

The metal cuirass was the metal breastplates, the helmet and face mask which was used to protect the entire head and face, armored sleeves for the arms and hands of the body, shoulder guards, and the greaves protected the legs. An armored skirt or type of apron which was to protect the upper thighs called the kusazuri,and the shin guards called suneate.

During the 14th century they added guards for the thigh area, and in the 16th century they added the mempo which is the face mask. The overall armor were heavy and thick for the warriors and required them to build their strength in order to wear their armors for hours to days at a time.

The early warriors used to wear one armored sleeve on the left arm with the primary goal of protecting the arm from the bow and arrow weapons to not get caught in the metallic sleeve. During the 13th century the blacksmith created matching armor sleeves for the purpose of protection.

It was found that some of Japan’s armor styles were adapted from the European armors. The samurai warrior’s main skill was using the Japanese Swords (aka Katana)  and  longbow know as the yumi. During the 15th century they introduced the spear which became a very popular weapon to use with the longbow. The Japanese name for it is called the yari.

During the late 1500s the Japanese were introduced to the cannon which were swivel-breech loaders called the kunikuzushi known as the Destroyer of Provinces. They found that this type of weapon to be effective in the meeting their needs. It weighed about 264 pounds and used chambers that weighed 40 pounds and fired a shot weighing 10 ounces. During the early 1600s they developed better engineering on the cannons to help it to fire more heavier shots weighing approximately 18 pounds.

The Japanese blacksmiths continued expanding their large array of weapons throughout history with the main attention that will help the samurai warriors to carry out the duties in a shorter amount of time and continues to be durable.