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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.
[1] [2] Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks). [3] The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-musha, a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility. A common misconception is that the Naginata is a type of sword, rather than a polearm.
Their main weapon was a long naginata and sasuga was a spare weapon. In the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392) which corresponds to the early Muromachi period (1336–1573), long weapons such as ōdachi were popular, and along with this, sasuga lengthened and finally became katana.
Samurai holding a kanabō The kanabō ( 金砕棒 , kanasaibō ) (literally "metal stick" or "metal club") is a spiked or studded two-handed war club used in feudal Japan by samurai . Other related weapons of this type are the nyoibō , konsaibō , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] tetsubō ( 鉄棒 ) , and ararebō . [ 3 ]
Originally, they would carry the sword with the blade turned down. This was a more comfortable way for the armored samurai to carry his very long sword or to draw while mounted. The bulk of the samurai armor made it difficult to draw the sword from any other place on his body. When unarmored, samurai would carry their sword with the blade ...
For some time after the Meiji Restoration, Japan continued to use imported weapons. The newly created Imperial Japanese Army used firearms intensively against more traditional samurai rebellious forces during the Satsuma rebellion in 1877, with an average of 320,000 rounds of ammunition fired daily during the conflict. [26]
The wakizashi was one of several short swords available for use by samurai including the yoroi tōshi, and the chisa-katana. The term wakizashi did not originally specify swords of any official blade length [10] and was an abbreviation of wakizashi no katana ("sword thrust at one's side"); the term was applied to companion swords of all sizes. [11]
Generally, samurai (wakatō) could take family names, while some ashigaru could, and only samurai (wakatō) were considered samurai class. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] Wakatō , like samurai, had different definitions in different periods, meaning a young bushi in the Muromachi period and a rank below kachi ( 徒士 ) and above ashigaru in the Edo period.