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Samurai or bushi (武士, [bɯ.ɕi]) were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who served the Kuge and imperial court in the late 12th century. Samurai eventually came to play a major political role until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era. [1] [2]
Japanese ashigaru firing hinawajū.Night-shooting practice, using ropes to maintain proper firing elevation. Tanegashima (), most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English hinawajū (火縄銃, "matchlock gun"), was a type of matchlock-configured [1] arquebus [2] firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. [3]
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 ...
William Adams (Japanese: ウィリアム・アダムス, Hepburn: Wiriamu Adamusu, 24 September 1564 – 16 May 1620), better known in Japan as Miura Anjin (三浦按針, 'the pilot of Miura'), was an English navigator who, in 1600, became the first Englishman to reach Japan.
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.
In comparison, the Portuguese guns were light, had a matchlock firing mechanism, and were easy to aim. Because the Portuguese-made firearms were introduced into Tanegashima, the arquebus was ultimately called Tanegashima in Japan. At that time, Japan was in the middle of a civil war called the Sengoku period (Warring States period).
IN FOCUS: The new FX/Disney+ series, adapted from James Clavell’s 1975 novel, is the most-nominated show at this year’s Emmy Awards. As Kevin E G Perry writes, both the book and show take ...
Swords can have single or double bladed edges or even edgeless. The blade can be curved or straight. Arming sword; Dagger; Estoc; Falchion; Katana; Knife; Longsword; Messer; Rapier; Sabre or saber (Most sabers belong to the renaissance period, but some sabers can be found in the late medieval period)