Today, every second associates Japanese weapons with the Katana sword. And it's not that this judgment is wrong, but in the battles this weapon played far from a key role. Hollywood filmmakers erected a samurai culture to mass consumption, and at the same time formed a lot of false ideas about Japanese weapons. In reality, the combat arsenal of the samurai was much more extensive.
In ancient times, Japanese samurai never parted with weapons. They wore it both in peacetime and during military confrontations. Their arsenal was very diverse, because there were special weapons that were used exclusively for sea battles, local battles and the commission of revenge.
Bow (Yumi)
The ancient Japanese believed that it was the art of archery, bearing the sonorous name "Kyudo", that was the most important skill in battle. Only the most notable warriors in the hierarchy of Japanese samurai had the right to own a bow. Then the archer was directly associated with the sacred treatise “bushido”, which means “the way of the samurai”.
A standard bow two meters long, has an asymmetric shape, while its top is half the size of the bottom. It is believed that such a weapon is most convenient for shooting from a horse. Yumi is mainly made from bamboo and wood. The standard distance of an aimed shot is about sixty meters, but in the hands of a trained warrior this distance is doubled, or even tripled.
Also in antiquity, yumi existed much longer than two meters, and the bowstring was so stretched so hard that for practical use of the bow seven samurai were required at once. As a rule, this type of bow was used to sink enemy boats, that is, it was used in naval battles. Japanese warriors often fought with their enemies at sea, so from ancient times, Yumi must have been present in their arsenal.
Spear (Yari)
The length of a classic spear averaged from two to five meters. The shaft (nagae) was made mainly of oak, and a tip (ho), shaped like a sword, was attached to it. Such weapons have always inflicted the most terrible stabbing and chopping blows. The spear in most cases was intended to knock a rider off a horse. The Japanese infantryman had to be strong enough to be able to use the yari in battle. Often it turned out that tired during the confrontation of fights could not raise these weapons and continue the fight.
The forerunner of this spear was a hoko sword, which had a diamond-shaped tip, and was about twenty centimeters long. This light spear was intended for pinpoint injections and was thrown out with one hand.
Dagger (Yoroi-dosi)
The so-called “dagger of mercy”, which was often used to finally finish off wounded opponents. In translation, yoroy-dosi means “piercer of armor”. This is a small short dagger, a length of five centimeters, easily fits in the military bag of a Japanese soldier.
Blade (Shuriken)
The literal translation is “a blade hidden in the hand”. Throwing type of weapon of hidden wearing. As a rule, it has the structure of an asterisk, but can also take the form of a variety of household items - nails, needles or coins. Shuriken was very often used during military operations. If a Japanese samurai lost his main weapon, he immediately remembered his hidden blade.
Throwing weapons (Bo-shuriken)
A special type of weapon that is usually sharpened on only one side. The length of the bo-shuriken averaged fifteen centimeters. This weapon was made mainly of high-quality steel. Not a single battle in ancient Japan was complete without bo-shuriken because of its convenience and reliability.
Female Dagger (Kaiken)
A combat dagger that was used mainly by women from high class. Almost always, it was used for self-defense. But there were times when they resorted to him to commit suicide or when attempting to kill another person. This weapon had a twenty centimeter long blade and was sharpened on both sides.
Swords
As you know, the possession of the sword by the Japanese is called kenjutsu, where kendo means "the path of the sword, " and jutsu means "art." In addition to the basic techniques for using weapons, kenjutsu also includes the training of a military character and the right approach to mastering samurai dogmas. The samurai sword is referred to as the "soul of a samurai." Warriors treated such weapons with special trepidation, with maximum thrift.
The sword was a kind of class certificate, because only samurai had the right to wear it. No wonder they even slept with him. It is worth noting a special approach to the manufacture of this type of weapon, because it was built by the Japanese to the absolute and had a great ritual background. Long and hard work is spent on the manufacture of a samurai sword, which on average takes several months. The master strives to achieve the sharpest angles and absolutely even surfaces. This type of weapon is not only effective in battle, but also aesthetically attractive, because it is not for nothing that even today the samurai sword occupies a special cultural niche and is used as a decoration for decoration in many houses.
Consider several private types of samurai swords:
Naginata
Translated from Japanese nagita means "long sword." Its hilt reaches a length of two meters and has an additional blade, the size of which is fifty centimeters. Infantry weapons are used to injure enemy horses. Its predecessor is a small sword, which in ancient Japan was used by peasants to protect themselves from enemy tribes.
Tsurugi
An ancient samurai sword, sharpened on both sides. It was used until the tenth century in combat battles, after which it was replaced by the sword "tati".
A long, one-sided curved sword, reaching 60 centimeters in length. It is the direct ancestor of the world-wide sword “katana”. Most often used by riders and worn with the tip down for safety reasons.
Katana
This sword appeared in the fifteenth century. Many Japanese soldiers called it the Advanced Tati. For all katanas, the length of the blade reaches sixty centimeters, the handle is slightly convex, as a rule, is covered by two palms. Such a weapon weighs up to one kilogram, and is worn on the left side of the body in special sheaths with the blade up. When threatened, the sword should be kept in a state of readiness, covering the hilt with the left hand, and in the sign of confidence with the right.
Two samurai swords at once, where the first is daito, which means “long sword” and the second means seto, that is, “short sword”. This type of weapon was used by the samurai class. Daito had an average length of 100 centimeters, a set - 50. In width, both swords reached about 3 centimeters. The possession of two swords at once was called the Ryoto technique, but few warriors possessed this art, because, as a rule, only one of the swords was used in the battle. It is worth noting one of the most recognizable not only in Japanese but also in world culture, the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who masterfully owned two swords at the same time.
