P6+Swords,+Armor+and+Bows


 * __Swords, Armor, and Bows, Oh my!!! __**
 * By Kiera T. & Leo T. **

Samurai armor protected samurai in battle and showed power, importance and wealth. Archery was most closely associated with samurai and believed to be the best way to ascertain a samurai’s ability. Swords are probably a samurai most important possession and must be carefully chosen, used, and stored when not used.

Swords are samurai's prized possessions and are chosen with care. Good swords had a spirit that reflected the owner's character. They were sacred to Hachiman, the god of war. Every samurai had two swords, one long and one short. The long sword, called the //katana//, expressed the owner's courage, honor, and obedience. The short sword was used to commit //seppuku,// a ritual suicide where the blade is plunged into the stomach. This is death with honor, which is better than capture or imprisonment. These two swords were not just weapons, but also a symbol of power and position. Swords were thought to be able to bring good fortune, virtue, or sickness. Samurai slept with their swords under their pillow, for if he lost his sword, he also lost his honor. Japanese swordsmiths, or //kaji//, were highly honored and held in high esteem. Kaji took their work very seriously. They would pray, fast, and purify themselves with cold water before starting to make a blade of a sword. A sword had to be hard at the edge, but have a flexible body. They would start by welding steel strips together to make a bar. The bar would then be heated and then folded. This would be repeated 20 times, and the bar would have more than a million layers. Next, the kaji would shape the bar into a blade shape and cover it with clay. The clay on the edges would be scraped off. Then, the kaji would heat the blade in a charcoal fire. When the blade was just the correct color, he would plunge the blade into cold water. The kaji needs to be incredibly focused in order to perform this correctly. If the blade was not the right color it would warp when it touched the water. The edge of the blade, with no clay, cooled quickly in the water, and became hard. The part the still had the clay covering it cooled slower, so it stayed somewhat soft and flexible. The final step would be the polishing and the sharpening. This process took several weeks to complete. Like the swords of the samurai, samurai armor also represented the position and ranking in the social status of the samurai wearing it.
 * Swords **

Samurai armor was used to protect the samurai in battle, as well as show power, importance, and wealth. The armor was made of a mix of leather, iron, bamboo, and silk, and the helmets were often decorated with horns and ornaments. The breast plate also showed the family’s coat of arms since to be a samurai, you had to be from a samurai family. The coat of arms was called mon.
 * Armor **

Archery was the weapon in Ancient Japan that was most closely associated with warriors and samurai and was widely regarded as the best way to ascertain warrior’s ability. The average samurai bow ranged from five to eight feet long. The bow was constructed in layers of bamboo slats for extra strength and flexibility. Most military figures relied on using the bow and arrow. Warriors also practiced multiple types of archery. One type is mounted archery. Mounted archery was the most prized form of archery throughout Japan and was constantly practiced. Civil archery was another form of archery, which involved shooting from a standing position. Civil archery competitions did not provide enough preparation for battle, so it stayed mostly ceremonial. Archery, armor, //and// swords were all important to samurai because they showed power and importance, and were necessary skills and possessions for a true samurai.
 * Archery **

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 * Citations **
 * Deal, William E. Handbook to Life in Medival and Early Modern Japan. New York. Dec. 2006.
 * Odijk, Pamela. The Japanese. Englewood Cliffs, NI: Silver Bridgett Press. 1989.
 * O'Neill, Tom. "Japan's Samurai: Way of the Warrior." __National Geographic__. Dec. 2003: 98-131.
 * Turnbull, Stephen. "Samurai Armour." __Warriors of Medieval Japan.__ New York: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2005.