Samurai Weapons
The samurai used many types of samurai swords & weapons . However, for centuries the main samurai weapon was the longbow and it was usually used when they were on horseback. It was considered the mark of a warrior if one handling a longbow very good. A martial art developed to master the practice on horseback called yabusame the ‘way of horse and bow’.
This involved releasing arrows at three targets while on the gallop. The longbow itself was made from deciduous wood faced with bamboo and was reinforced with a binding of rattan to further strengthen the composite weapon together. It was also waterproof. This weapon was very long , over two meters, and was bent in the shape of a double curve. The bowstring was usually made from a fibrous substance extracted from plants like hemp or ramie. It took a lot of training to be proficient with the longbow because of the strength needed to draw it.
When the foot soldiers, the lower class ashigaru (’light feet’), were becoming more professional, better equipped and better trained, the samurai needed to change if they were to survive in this new era of conflict. The spear or mochi-yari (’held spear’) was the preferred battlefield weapon . This enabled the samurai to deliver a charge against the ranks of ashigaru foot soldiers. Fighting techniques developed in the use of the spear so that the samurai spearman would be ready for any situation be it on horseback, foot, or from the battlements of a castle. But the weapon most associated with the samurai is the sword or specifically the katana.
The katana did not become the primary weapon until the Edo period. It was the symbol of his status in society and the instrument by which he would keep it. The sword of the Samurai was considered as the soul. The blade of katana was on average 24 inches long, slightly curved and was polished to a razor-edged finish although only on one side. Some people say that when worn with the blade facing upwards and through the sash or belt the blade was known as a katana but when it was facing down with the scabbard suspended it was known as a tachi. others say that it is another sword ,more curved and slightly longer than the katana.
The samurais used to take two swords with them when going to battle: a longer one , the katana, and a shorter one- between 12 and 24 inches-, called wakizashi. Taken as a whole, the two swords were called daisho. Both the katana and wakizashi were used for close combat and were primarily cutting weapons. The wakizashi could also be used to behead an enemy or for ritual suicide. katana was so precious for them that they even used to give it names. Moreover, samurai even used to sleep with a wakizashi under the pillow.
Samurais also had another weapon that looked more like a dagger and was called tanto. In the 15th century, the yari- a straight-headed spear- also became a popular weapon, along with the naginata . The samurai liked yari because it is thought that while a katana could slash a man in half in his armor, slashing attacks often didn’t penetrate deeply enough to be fatal. A yari would only need to penetrate a few inches into the flesh to be deadly. The martial art of wielding the yari is called sōjutsu.
Naginata, also known as a Japanese halberd or “woman’s spear” is a scimitar-like blade of three feet in length attached to the end of a three-foot pole shaft. It is a pole weapon that was traditionally used by soldiers and samurai, popular because it could cut and thrust from a distance. Early naginata consisted simply of a blade and shaft, a tsuba (hand guard) was added later. Double-edged blades and blades set at right angles became the most popular type. The naginata, interestingly enough, was also referred to as the “woman’s spear,” because women of the Japanese military class were expected to have perfected its use by age eighteen. During the Edo Period, as the naginata became less useful for men on the battlefield, it became a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class.
The naginata was considered one of the weapons most suitable for women, as it allows a woman to keep a male opponent at a distance, where his greater height, weight, and upper body strength offers less of an advantage.The art of fighting with a naginata is Naginatajutsu.
Sai was a three-pronged dagger that looked like a trident. Its basic form was that of an unsharpened dagger, with two long, unsharpened projections (tsuba) attached to the handle. Initially, both tsuba were symmetrical. With skill, it could be used effectively against a long sword by trapping the sword’s blade in the sai’s tsuba. There were several different ways of wielding the sai and they were used for stabbing, slashing, punching, blocking, and even throwing. due to the fact that it was made of heavy iron, a samurai could punch through armor if he used enough force . It is believed that sais were carried three at a time.
Two were used for primary weapons and the third was kept in the belt in case throwing was necessary. Sais were typically thrown at opponents using weapons with a long reach. When thrown, they had a lethal range of up to thirty feet.
Written by admin on January 30th, 2007 with
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#2. November 25th, 2007, at 8:41 PM.
i think weapons are cool