Samurai Spears: Evolution and Overview

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arms weapons with longer reaches that could be utilized in a variety of ways these longer shafted weapons were actually the most commonly used among samurai and ashigaru throughout the warring ages of pre-modern japan something that pop culture and pop history has largely forgotten as people's fascination with swords like the katana have taken so much attention away in reality throughout much of japanese history it was spears and pole arms that really were the most common weapon type used in battles and it is the evolution of these weapons that i want to explore here today not only in how these weapons themselves evolved but also how their actual usage changed over the years as well now it should go without saying that this video like my other evolution and overview videos does not seek to cover every minute detail but rather just go through the overall history of these weapons and how they were used so with that said let's start out by going back as far as we can like most forms of japanese armor and weapons early japanese spears have origins rooted in the mainland as it is believed that one of the earliest japanese spear designs the hoko or hokoyari which may have appeared as early as the yayoi period was inspired heavily by contemporary chinese spears these spears would initially be made with bronze but would later in time incorporate iron and steel as well the hoku is fascinating because its inception predates the samurai class and was even known to be used alongside that of a shield at times characteristics that are not often seen when visualizing what would later evolve into samurai warfare the hoko is believed to have been mainly a thrusting weapon as the design of its head did not really allow for slashing motions this would eventually lead to the rise in popularity of another design which could indeed both stab and slash this of course being the famous naginata which first came to appear during the heian period the naginata polar which also gets called a glaive was different from its predecessor being that its blade was much longer and allowed for more versatility in use it would become a staple weapon of the samurai for hundreds of years up until the early parts of the muramachi period being used by both mounted and foot soldiers it was the main weapon used by almost all forms of melee combat this is an important point to make because we can see early on that although japanese sword technology was too advancing around this time the main staple of close quarters warfare was heavily determined by the naginata by the late 12th century the naginata came into its height as it was frequently used during the legendary conflict that would come to be known as the genpe war which had been the largest samurai conflict up until that point and in the aftermath would leave japan firmly in the hands of the warrior class for roughly the next seven centuries although the naginata has a distinctive shape you can also look deeper to see that there were many different variations of the actual type of blade used one of the earliest and often seen as the most popular design depicted in artwork is that of the tomoe gata naginata with the name itself believed to perhaps be a reference to the historic figure of tomoy gozin a famous female warrior who is said to have fought in the genpe war this design was broad and incorporated a heavy curve making it ideal for cutting motions more so than any stabbing it saw major usage during the heian and kamakura period before the rise in popularity of another design the shizuka gata which arose in the mid kamakura period and would continue to flourish into the muramachi period this design was slimmer straighter and thus longer their added reach and versatility became more desirable which paved the way towards their increased usage and although there are more designs we could get into regarding the naginata it is this gradual change that helps to illustrate the general changing trend of melee weaponry in japan following the mangal invasions of japan in the late 1200s warfare in japan was going through a massive change as foot soldiers became much more significant and with this the weapons they wielded began to change during the years of the nanbokucho period a conflict between two rival competing imperial courts led to the rise in usage of longer bladed infantry weapons through this we see the spread of such weapons as the nodaci an extremely long bladed sword and the nagamaki which while considered a sword as well can be seen as sort of a cross between that of a sword and a naginata these long weapons the naginata nodaci and nagamaki were each useful in their own way and with the increased role of infantry engagements soldiers on foot could not only engage one another with them but also stand a better chance of taking a rider off his horse should he engage with cavalry however it should also be remembered that while for the most part i am referencing all these weapons being used on foot they were each known to have also been utilized on horseback as well these weapons all had their time and place yet once again returning to the ever-shifting phase of warfare moving throughout the muramachi period they would each eventually come to be largely replaced by what would become the most popular of japanese long-reaching weapons the most famous type of japanese spear that would arise the yari the shape and design of the typical yachty spear is believed to have originated during the 14th century and would in time come to surpass all of its long-reaching counterparts at first its design was not favored over the naginata and has even been called the poor man's pike but in time its qualities would come to shine it incorporated a shorter blade than that of the nakinata and was often double sided meaning that it could still both stab and slash this also made it ideal for attaching it to longer shafts that could be used as pikes by mass formations of infantry creating a wall of pointed blades that could not be achieved by the shorter and curved naginata but one thing that often gets overlooked as well is its simplicity as if damage occurred to either the blade or shaft either piece could quickly be replaced this meant that mass production would have been simple and more suitable for the chaos of the growing trend of ground warfare in japan the rise of this form of ground warfare also coincided with the rise of the ashigaru common foot soldiers who could be easily armed and drilled with the simple yari and by the outbreak of the onin war these groups of what can be considered pikemen had become the main backbone to any samurai army it was an innovation that is believed to have been made by the hatakayama clan who began incorporating this new formation into their battle tactics it would be an idea that would catch on and quickly spread due to its usefulness as large masses of yachty armed ashigaru in time became the main staple of warfare in japan now that does not mean that the naginata was phased out entirely as it still saw heavy usage by other groups specifically it was still seen to be a popular weapon among groups of militant warrior monks as well as female warriors who took up the duty of protecting strongholds during desperate times but in terms of just samurai and ashigaru and the general trend of japanese warfare the yari was quickly becoming the most used this rapidly evolving face of samurai warfare can even be viewed statistically by number of wounds attributed by weapons classified as pikes which during the 14th century in japan is thought to only have accounted for 2 percent of all close quarters combat wounds they would go on to cause 80 percent of all such wounds from 1467 to 1600 throughout the majority of japan's warring states period the sengoku jidai through this we can truly understand that although so often pop culture has led us to believe that swords were the main weapons of the samurai in reality it is obvious that the yachty spear was the real main melee weapon of samurai warfare at its height and while in many cases we can see it to be the main melee weapon used by both samurai and ashigaru on foot it also became the main weapon used by riders on horseback swords in japanese warfare came to be more used as just a backup should a samurai lose or break his spear in the heat of battle or for specifically close quarters engagements that the yari was too long for but it is here before we move on that i would like to briefly cover the anatomy of a typical yachty the weapon that had really by the 1500s become the face of samurai warfare let's first start out with the haft or shaft of the yachty spear itself this part is often simply called a it was made of either wood or bamboo and depending on if the yari was either serving the role of a spear or a larger pike the shaft could measure anywhere from one to six meters it was fitted with additional metal collars and sleeves such as the guccigane sawaka dogane tidome at the top of course was the blade known commonly as ho which came up to a tip known as hosaki and down to a throat known as shiokubi while at the opposite end the butt of the shaft was fitted with a ishizuki end cap like swords the blade was often protected with a sheath called saya now although this is a typical and simple yachty design which can often be considered a tsuyari it would be wrong to assume that all yadi took this form as actually there were many different unique styles made for different purposes one popular design was that of the kama yadi which had one additional jutting blade that reached out from the side this was not only extremely useful at catching vulnerable parts of enemies such as the neck or limbs but also very good at lodging into enemies on horseback and dismounting them this is similar to another popular design known as the jumunji yari which had two additional blades that formed a cross shape this design became heavily used during the end of the singuku period and into the early edo period it should be noted that designs like this were also good at catching and deflecting other incoming blades yet some yari would even just simply enough be fitted with hooks for the same purpose there are a wide variety of other types of yachty that would arise with some resembling crescents large leaves large hooks and even just some with super long blades the list goes on and on as craftsmen continue to explore the range and usage of many different designs suitable for different purposes some of these shapes even cause the yadi to appear akin to that of a european halberd which the naginata is often compared to as well yet they are generally considered to be different entities and should not be mixed up yet all of these different forms of yari also become more fascinating when we attempt to picture their usage initially you might be inclined to believe that like other spears and pole arms the yari would have just been used in formation to stab and hack and while obviously this is true one of the primary ways it has been said they were used and even depicted as such was in a way of raising them high and then drawing them down over an enemy's head almost as if one was trying to hammer at the enemy to be honest i have no idea to what degree the yachty was utilized in this sense besides from what i have heard in a presentation and seen depicted but it does for sure give a more solid idea for the shape and usage of many of these yachty styles now from the 1560s onward is what i truly consider to be the height and real apex of samurai warfare by this point western style firearms were becoming increasingly common across all of japan and in just 15 years odanobunaga would come to have a massive impact with his usage of them at nagashino taking tactics he had witnessed by other enemies and using them to grand effect this ushered in a unique era of pike and shot warfare in japan where masses of foot soldiers in groups armed with match locks and yadi took center stage yet cavalry was still utilized as well not only as shock cavalry for flanking but also for writing down fleeing foes but of course with the end of the warring era in japan around the year 1615 came the end of the golden age of the yari as we enter into the peaceful edo period usage of the yachty was sidelined for shorter weapons such as the katana yet legends of master spearmen from the past warring era kept the yachty alive within the samurai class as many samurai continued to train with it through the spear martial art of soljutsu not entirely different from naginata jutsu too which continued on spears and polearms would make a brief resurgence during the boshin war when the age of the samurai came to an end but of course although the samurai faded from history their martial arts lived on and continue to be practiced to this very day now like i mentioned there is plenty more i could dive into here specifically in terms of things like different variations and more depth regarding formations themselves all of which i hope we will get to in future videos for me the history of spear and polar usage in japan is extremely interesting mostly because it has become so overlooked by the pop culture image of the samurai and pre-modern japanese warfare being that the spear was really the main melee weapon used by the samurai not the fabled katana like a lot of films and games would have you believe and although the sword was still an obviously integral part of samurai culture both before the edo period and especially into the edo period its height in usage did not really occur before that point and to further that i have also equally noticed that when samurai spears and pole arms are included in media they are almost always just the naginata despite the fact that the yachti had succeeded it during the apex of samurai warfare this is all information that needs to become more relevant in our collective image of the samurai and hopefully in the years to come we will see this truth depicted more frequently it is something that is very integral to our understanding of the samurai because during the turbulent years of war in pre-modern japan the evolution of the spear is one that coincides with the evolution of japanese warfare itself [Music] i want to once again thank tipsy sake for sponsoring this video please consider checking them out if you are interested in exploring more about the fascinating world of sake links down below yet with that said thank you for watching and don't forget to like subscribe and ring that notification bell if you enjoyed this video and found it to be most informative you

Channel: The Shogunate

Views: 52,707

Keywords: Samurai, Japan, History, Spear, Sake, Promotion, Sponsored, Education, Asia, China, Korea, Series, Iconic, Legend, Bushido, Katana, Honor, Shogun, Evolution, Overview, Learning, Shogunate, Daimyo, Tokugawa, Toyotomi, Oda, Yari, Naginata

Id: RVO2J7Uwc84

Length: 17min 32sec (1052 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 18 2022