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The samurai-zutsu guns were custom-made for use only by the samurai, whose high social standing and wealth meant they could afford well-crafted and intricately designed guns which were longer and of larger caliber, as opposed to the cruder and inferior quality ban-zutsu used by the ashigaru. Samurai-zutsu
Isolation did not decrease the production of guns in Japan—on the contrary, there is evidence of around 200 gunsmiths in Japan by the end of the Edo period. But the social life of firearms had changed: as the historian David L. Howell has argued, for many in Japanese society, the gun had become less a weapon than a farm implement for scaring ...
They lost their privileges such as the only class allowed to wield weapons. Many samurai volunteered as soldiers, and many advanced to be trained as officers. Much of the Imperial Japanese Army officer class was of samurai origin, and were highly motivated, disciplined, and exceptionally trained. Many samurai were literate and well-educated.
For this reason, many women of the samurai class were trained in wielding a polearm called a naginata or a special knife called the kaiken in an art called tantojutsu (lit. the skill of the knife), which they could use to protect their household, family, and honor if the need arose. There were women who actively engaged in battles alongside ...
Pages in category "Samurai weapons and equipment" The following 49 pages are in this category, out of 49 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. A.
The matchlock, or tanegashima by comparison was easier to use. It did not rely on physical strength or regular practice to be effective. In addition the firearms could be stockpiled in great numbers when not required. As such, samurai and professional soldiers would train the lower classes in hōjutsu.
The first Japanese matchlock guns were designed by the Japanese after Tanegashima Tokitaka bought two matchlock guns from Portuguese adventurers who were aboard a Chinese junk ship in Tanegashima. Within ten years of its introduction, over 300,000 tanegashima firearms were reported to have been manufactured.
Weapons for capturing suspected criminals: on the left tsukubō, in the middle sodegarami, and on the right sasumata. The sodegarami (袖搦, sleeve entangler) is a polearm that was used by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan.