P6+Moore+Swords,+Armor,+and+Bows

By Taylor, Chase, and Camryn

Swords, Armour, and Bows are important for the Samurai in the Japanese culture. Swords and Bows are used as weapons against intruders or Japanese people that disobey the codes. Samurai armour is important to show the status of the samurai and to use as protection.

The samurai bow is called yumi. The yumi was made from wood faced with bamboo. The normal bow is made of 2 hardwood side strips and 3 bamboo strips. They are put in between bamboo faces. The traditional bow is made out of laminating bamboo, wood, and leather. Bowstrings were made out of plant fibre. The fibre is usually hemp or ramie, coated with wax to give a hard smooth surface. Sometimes long bows needed more than one person to string it. The string of the bow is called "tsuru". The tsuru of a yumi is made out of hemp. Strings are usually not replaced until they break; this results in the yumi curving in the direction opposite to the way it is drawn, and is considered beneficial to the health of the yumi. The arrows were made of bamboo. There is no exact wheight for the bow. The length of a bow depends on the person's draw length. Though no matter what the lengh of the bow is always in between 66 and 74 inches.

The samurai of Japan used the bow and arrow. Lower class people did not have weapons of such sort. During the heroic days of the Gempei War (1180-85) the best samurai weapon was the bow, and skill in archery was the most prized samurai achievement. The Samurai weapon was the bow at a point in history so when in battle, to use as defense, they used the bow and arrow to protect themselves. Archers held the bow above their heads to shoot and then they move their hands apart as the bow is brought to end with the left arm straight and the right hand near the right ear. The yami is used in Japan by the Japanese culture. It is used in battle. By 1530 we see mounted samurai fight with spears instead of bows. The use of the bow and arrow as a weapon use died down. The yari (spears) carried by the mounted samurai bore little resemblance to a European knight's lance. They were lighter and shorter and were not carried in a couched position. Their blades were short and super sharp on both edges, with their tangs sunk into stout oak shafts. That is how the use of the bow came to an end.

It took long periods of time for a swordsmith to make sword. First the swordsmith weld the strips together making a bar about 6inches 2inches by 1 and a half inches. He heated the bar and cut almost in half and folded it and beated it.He repeated the heating, folding and beating as many as twenty times. This gave the blade more thatn a million layers of steel.After shaping the bar into a blade the smith tempered it. The sword had to have a hard edge to stay sharp in battle but flexible so that it doesnt break. The the blade was covered with clay mixture and then the clay was scraped off the edge. He then put the blade in charcoal fire. When the metal was the right color he pulled it out of the charcoal fire and plunged it inside cool water immediately. The edge would then cool and become hard.The clay that protected the blade became cool slowly and stayed soft. After that the sword was polished and sharpened, and this took several weeks to do. Thee were sword made by the best swordsmiths that never needed to be sharpened but the majority of swrodsmiths need to sharpen them.

The samurai sword was used for many things and it was very important in Japanese culture. The samurai used swords for battle and to help enforce the law. The samurai thought of their sword as a part of them and they thought they had a personality of their own. Swords were used to battle and they were also used to enforce the law and made people follow the laws. Sword fighting had so much important mental, physical and spiritual value that kendo became a required class in all Japanese schools. Kendo is the way of the sword and that and they would thrust and block and yell different things while attacking different parts of the body.Swords were used in Japanese schools so they could learn the art and they were used in mostly all places in Japan that had daimyo. Japan was in peace in the 1800’s but then about 1871 children started to use them because of the important mental, physical and spiritual value that was needed.

Armor is made of metal scales fastened together. Rather then large metal plates that prevent lots of movement.They are fastened together using rawhide cords.They can also be linked together with silk cords.This type of armor is worn to protect the upper body and shoulders.The lower body is protected by shirt like panels. They also had many guards like shin guards and arm guards.The head was protected by a steel mask and a helmet with hanging panels of scale armor. This protected the neck and head. The whole suit of armor is very colorful and bright. It shows that you are very important and need to be respected.

Amor is used for many reasons. The first one though is to protect yourself. It isnt used just for that though it shows your rank and class in society. People I think would respect you more if you had better or classier armor. If you just had plain metal plates and no gold or silk then i think you would be treated as a lesser person then if you had better armor. Also you dont need armor if you were not in some form of combat. Guarding a palace, this would be a form of combat because you have to protect something and you could be in combat at any moment. Samurai's are the main reason armor is used in Japan. They serve there country by fighting, like soliders in the USA. Armor is very important to the safety of Japan because without it their fighters wouldnt be protected then Japan therefore wouldn't be protected either.

In conclusion, this is how swords, armor, and bows were made. Also how swords, armor, and bows were used.

media type="custom" key="13469154"

Citations:

Turbull, Stephen R. Warriors of medieval Japan. Oxford, U.K. ; New York, N.Y. : Osprey Pub., c2005. Dan and Jackie DeProspero. Meishin Kyudojo. Kyudo. 2. Jun. 2010. web. 27 Febualry 2012. Yumi. 2005. 28 Febuary 2012. Baker, Rosalie F. Samurai.