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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 ...
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
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.
Ashigaru wearing armor and jingasa firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks). Ashigaru (足軽, "light of foot") were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan.The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, [1] but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.
It was the assistant's job to decapitate the samurai in one swing; otherwise, it would bring great shame to the assistant and his family. Those who did not belong to the samurai caste were never ordered or expected to carry out seppuku. Samurai could generally carry out the act only with permission.
In 2007, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said that Japan's constitution did not necessarily ban possession of nuclear weapons, so long as they were kept at a minimum and were tactical weapons, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda expressed a similar view. [119] On January 9, 2007, Section 2 of Article 3 of the Self Defense Forces Act was revised.
The Bugei jūhappan (武芸十八般 "Eighteen Kinds Of Martial Arts") is a selection of combat techniques and martial arts used by the samurai of Tokugawa-era Japan. [1] Established by Hirayama Gyozo, the concept is based on earlier Chinese traditions, such as Eighteen Arms of Wushu. [2] [3]
[1] [2] It has been suggested that it developed along the same lines as Okinawan kobudō weapons as a modified farming tool. Others say that creative samurai in need of a longer weapon attached a sword to a pole. Perhaps the simplest explanation is the natural development of polearms. Polearms are intended as mass weapons, to be used not just ...