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Samurai Weapons and Armor Liz J. and Harrison T.

The Samurai of Japan were very skilled warriors. They were very smart and lethal soldiers. To fight, they used an array of weapons, martial arts, and armor. Some of these weapons were known by every Japanese citizen to be the iconic weapons of the Samurai. The Samurai were most known for their swords, but that was not the most preferred weapon of choice. Many Samurai could not afford swords, so they used bows. They had to defend themselves, so they wore specially designed armor and helmets. No samurai used a shield. If a Samurai was without any of his weapons, he turned to his last resort: the 18 essential martial arts.

The sword is an important part of the Japan history. Artisans or sword smiths make the swords. Making the sword is a subtle and careful process. An art that has developed over the centuries. To make the blades, the smiths not only have to possess physical strength, but also patience. Japanese smiths traditionally use tama-hagane, this is steel produced in a tatara smelter. It is made from iron-rich sand. Modern smiths in the traditional manner still use this steel today. Each sword was tested on sharpness and cutting abillity. If it did not pass, it was discarded, which was bad because it could take months to make just one blade.

Bows are also made by artisans. Some bows are very long and many show surviving examples. They can be as large as 187 centimeters (6 feet 2 inches). Another part of bows is bow arrowheads. There are many different arrowheads that were used. Some were reinforced by steel while others, used to shoot at the face or neck, had two prongs. They were designed to be hard to extract yet easy to puncture. They were also designed to create more damage on the way out than in. There are many types of arrowhead but some important ones are the hikime, the maku, the togariya, the tobi-naoshi, the karimata, and the soya. Bows have a very interesting history. Other than their length, they are often fired form horses. The reason for ridding on horses is unclear but for some reason it makes the wood of the bow less easily to break. The oldest and simplest bows were made from supple branches or saplings. Composite bows were made using glue made from deer innards bamboo. It was formed into the inner section of the bow called the fuetake.

Firearms came to Japan in 1541 by the Portuguese merchants. Rival daimyo's used the guns in the civil wars of the 16th century. Many sword smiths changed their skills to making copies of the new weapons. After tinkering with the new technology, they improved upon the design, and had better firearms than Europe and for a short while. Many great lords were able to field armies with thousands of soldiers with muskets. The gun became a great threat to the power of the Shogun, which is why he banned the manufacture of firearms. When he lost power, firearms were legalized again and were used until the downfall of the Samurai in the late 1800s

Martial Arts When people think of martial arts, they think of someone doing punches and kicks and slaps. This was not the entire case for the Samurai though. There were 18 essential martial arts that the Samurai employed to help them fight. They were: Kyodo/ Kyujutsu (Archery), Bujutsu (Horsemanship), Suieiijutsu (Swimming), Kendo/ Kenjutsu (Sword Fighting), Iaijutsu (Sword Drawing), Tanto (Short Sword Skills), Haginatajutsu (Pole Arm Skills), Bojutsu (Staff Skills), Sojutsu (Spearmanship), JuJutsu (Hand to Hand Combat), Teppo (Firearms Abilities), Ninjutsu (Spying), Shurikenjutsu (Dagger Throwing), Fukumibarijutsu (Needle Spitting), Kusarigamajutsu (Chained Sickle Throwing), Torite (Roping), Mojiri (Barbed Staff Skills), Jitte (Truncheon and Club Skills). All of these skills were used by the Samurai. Let’s talk about the most important ones. Kenjutsu was the way of the sword. The Samurai believed that their swords had personalities, so they were very important in their lives. The way that the Samurai trained for this was that they fought with bamboo practice swords, which is also known as Kendo. Kyujutsu is the way of the bow. The Bow was the preferred weapon of the Samurai. They were inexpensive and were reliable killing machines. The best marksmen could put an arrow through the hole of a coin while galloping on a horse from 20 yards away. Traditional archery contests are still held in Japan today. Bujutsu was also a very important martial art. The horse was the HUMV of the age of the Samurai. They rode their horses for travel, and for war. A galloping horse is much faster than running and keeps you company when you are alone. Every Samurai took lots of care with their horses.

Every Samurai wore some type of armor to protect themselves. Every suit of armor was different style wise, but was made the same way. It could take as much as one whole year to make just one suit of armor. The armor was strong enough to withstand arrows and slashes, yet flexible and light enough to fight in and wear for leisure. Samurai armor is made from small scales of metal that are fastened together. Rather than from one large armor plate, the small plates are fastened to each other by rawhide cords to make horizontal sections. Many combinations of plates make a complete suit of armor. True plate armor appears above the neck, a mempo (facemask). The mempos are often established with different features. Like horsehair moustaches. The crown was often used to enhance the samurai's appearance by adding weird and wonderful decorations. Like antlers, golden horns, imitation sword blades, rows of feathers and conch shells carved in paper mâché. Depending on what family a Samurai belonged to or what master he served, each head-crest was different. Some of the helmets were very light, like the armor, and could take lots of blows, like the armor again. All of the armor was made by master craftsmen who were usually hired by a daimyo to make armor for his Samurai. Only a few of the Armorsmiths are still in business today.

To conclude, the Samurai of Japan were very good at their job and were respected and feared by many men. Their ways were different, but special. They are still remembered by Japanese citizens and people around the world. media type="custom" key="13432502"

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