The Traditional Bows Of Japanese Samurai | Ancient Japan | Timeline

one of the world's ultimate weapons the samurai bow is a killing machine but it's also a work of art intrinsically linked with a history of this legendary nation it's been used on the battlefield for millennia and is still an important part of Japanese culture but bows appear throughout history the world over and the English longbow is also heralded as a masterpiece putting both bows to the test will crown the champion and reveal the elite warriors master craftsman and ancient philosophy behind the samurai bow built to kill weapons have been around since prehistoric times now a bullet can kill you before you've even seen who's fired it but in medieval times you could see the whites of your enemy's eyes swords developed through the ages and the samurai sword is beyond compare but a lesson on fact is that the samurais principal weapon was the you me or Japanese bow in the early years of the samurai the bow was their principal weapon it was their most highly valued and prized weapon the art of the samurai was the way of the horse and the bow the sword was secondary just like European Knights the samurai were elite fighters [Music] paid by the Shogun or feudal lords they were given riches land and fame but in return they pledged an allegiance so strong that it sometimes cost them their lives these samurai soldiers were not afraid to die but their martial training made them almost invincible Hakata 1281 samurai archers faced a hundred and forty thousand Mongol invaders armed with explosives the samurai won adapt Japan was helped by the kamikaze or wind of the gods which destroyed many Mongol ships but regardless of this divine intervention the bow had now earned its place in Japanese legend the you meet is unique amongst war bows and stands apart from bows in the rest of the world but its ethos was remarkable two samurai trained to fight other samurai of the same standing hoping to achieve an honorable death at the hands of an equal and the you me was the weapon used to kill a worthy opponent this is the Musashi it is very important you wouldn't use this easily when you spot it an enemy general another high-ranking officer and then you would declare your name you fire the arrow and a fish struck and the man died people would declare it was an honorable death but in England bows were the weapons of the masses every man between the ages of 16 and 65 owned a longbow and practiced with it every Sunday so he really it was a form of militia that could be called up in time of war it was our Second Amendment we made people own bows a different ethos but the same weapon so how can we discover which one was the ultimate bow of the Middle Ages this is the Wiltshire ballistics range in the UK here they put state-of-the-art firearms through their paces but the same equipment can be used to look at more intrigue weapons to make a fair comparison of the you me with the longbow we've chosen bows with matching draw weights both these bows take approximately 23 kilos of force to pull to their maximum so what is the biggest difference between these two ancient weapons and what does it mean for their performance most obvious difference between a you mean longbow is the shapes and you me it's a recurve bow that means when it's not strung the bow is actually reflects away from where the string would be when you string the bow it's coming to rest there that means when you let go of it the bow actually wants to finish there but string stopping it and that means when you let go of the arrow this the limbs and the string is going faster to a point of rest which means there's more energy in the arrow the speed at which the arrow leaves can be measured by our high-speed camera we know how long the arrows are and by measuring the speed at which they leave the screen we can work out their velocity the Japanese bow shoots its arrow at 34 meters per second that's about 122 kilometers per hour so how does the longbow compare [Music] incredibly it shoots at arrows at 34 meters per second - so what's really going on the answer lies in the weight of the arrows these ume arrows are heavier because they're longer which means they take more power to launch so the Yumi bow does have more punch for the same draw weight and if the arrows weighed the same it would be shooting faster the ume is a composite construction so it's made of different materials and has a recurve tip the longbow is generally made from a single piece of wood and its ends don't reflux away from the string the shape makes a difference in the speed of the string coming back to rest that makes a difference to the speed of the arrow and the energy going towards the target another effect of the yume design is that it's arrows are supposed to leave in a straighter line but technique comes into play here too the main difference you have which makes using a Yumi longbow is the way it's drawn the longbow you're drawing with your fingertips so drawing it back and it's generally to the side of your face maybe decide your mouth with a Yumi you're drawing with your thumb there holding the string with your foot with your side be thumb here drawing that and that natural position becomes almost with level with your ear from behind your ear the way you put the arrow on the bow it's slightly different with you long bow it goes across your fingertip with you me shooting costs of thumb again it's the way that the string is coming off if with a long bow as you let go over the string the swings we come back to the center of the bow so you have the arrow on that size where the arrow is being pushed into the bow with a Yumi it's being drawn the other way is how pushing to the side of the bow so Yara is going across your thumb so it helps stabilize the arrow to shoot more accurately filmed at more than 2,000 frames per second we can see the longbow arrow via of course before swinging back to target but the ume arrow flies straight shot from the ground the ume outperforms the longbow and in the hands of the samurai it was lethal but the ume also had a turn of pace which its competitors could only dream of because its archers were the cavalry today mounted archery is still held in high esteem and in our more peaceful times ceremonial displays have taken the place of battles but the skills needed to take part in such a ceremony are extreme and only two schools in the whole of Japan trained mounted archers this is the Oh gasps awara school it was established over 800 years ago but it is still run by the head of the family master Ogasawara surprisingly there are no horses here an archer must be able to ride any mount so they trained to develop ultra strong leg muscles in preparation walking flat-footed pulling the leg up and pushing it forward only with the inner thigh concentrates the effort in the muscles needed to grip and steer a galloping horse master Ogasawara is a strict teacher and his son kia moto is one of his students I'm actually currently in my last year of study for doctorate in biology this takes up almost all my time even weekends but there are August our events and training almost every week - so compared to other students I have no free time today mounted archery is for display and ceremony only and in the run-up to the most important ceremony called Yabusame training has to move outside traditionally a wooden horse is built to allow the archers to practice and hone their skills in safety [Music] the turning circle helps the archer become accustomed to the movement of a real horse galloping at over 60 km/h Kia motor has to keep his balance and reload every 5 seconds this practice is all about his riding position the archer must float on the horses back breathing in perfect harmony with the movements of his body hitting the target is less important than his posture although horses are a rarity the archers do get some time to practice riding in the run-up to the Yabusame ceremony it may be a practice session but Kia motto still where's the hunting costume of the samurai every element is traditional but practical the deerskin chaps are light but hard wearing and the sword is ready for use at his side the unusual hat was used to tie up the samurais hair and keep it out of his eyes [Music] once everything's in place targets are erected on the course the Yabusame track is approximately 250 meters long and has three wooden targets spaced at even intervals the idea is to hit each with an arrow steering the horse with your legs while at full gallop his posture is excellent but his hit rate is average I wouldn't say that I'm nervous but of course I'm expected to hit all my targets so I have to live up to that the Yabusame is not a competition it's a display but one of the most important Yabusame events of the year is not far away and kia moto wants to succeed it's his chance to bring honor to his family the title of Master bowmen has been passed down through family generations for almost a thousand years but it's not just the use of the bow which is rarefied and respected in Japan the manufacture of them is too Master Kaku Naga is a craftsman of supreme talent his bows are known throughout the country and he uses only the best materials to create them every winter when the bamboo is at its driest Master Kaku Naga and his wife leave his workshop and go in search of the perfect trees [Music] it is hard to find a nice big cups of dry karateka bamboos we were fortunate to have been told about these by an acquaintance but even when there are so many bamboo trees it's rare to find the right bamboo for above each tree will make one bow and they have to have specific qualities it can't have any scratches and the length between the knots need to be the right size there are many bamboos here but it is really hard to find the right one for a ball Master Kaku Naga has found three suitable trees and they're cut into slats and then taken for drying this smoking chamber will house the bamboo for the next six months in the mountains of sawano in southwest Japan a religious ceremony is underway the Yabusame event which kia moto Ogasawara has been training for has arrived but before it starts a ritual blessing takes place first the bows are blessed then the archers drink saké to cleanse themselves [Music] the archers will return to the temple after the Abbess RA to tell the gods how they did but for now all eyes turn to the course both Japan's mounted archery schools perform a Yabusame but this is a Naga sawara school display it's a particularly difficult course as in other places there are three square wooden targets to hit but here at Suwon of the track is short so there's less time to hit them kiyo motor or gas awara is here with his father but they have a while to wait until it's his turn 12 archers are taking part today and they'll each have three attempts for some this is their first time and at full speed the nerves and an experienced staff to show it may not be a competition but everyone's watching as soon as an archer loses his posture there's no way he can hit the target yup summer we don't feel like competitors it isn't about which individual is the best the event itself is more important everyone tries to perform to the best of his ability finally Kia Motors ready with the traditional cry of in your Inyo which means darkness and light he loses the arrows but he's missed twice and he's worried about his horse these horses are not the ones we normally write we wrote them for the first time yesterday there aren't many horses that are suited to the sport but that's just the way it is the fan signals Kia moto can start his final attempt hit one two heads three it's a clean sweep his dedication and practice has paid off Kia moto Ogasawara has hit all three targets he's the only Archer to have achieved it all day the young rider has managed to do what his father expected of course he's expected to hit all the targets why wouldn't he so I talked him through it during the break and then he managed it the master always expects the best from his students it's how to achieve perfection but the gods of sawano should be happy with Kia moto today it's been six months since master cocoon Agha put the bamboo slats into his smoker for drying and the precious wood is ready the craft of making a yume has remained the same for centuries the modern new me takes its shape from very old period there are both surviving in temples in Japan which come from the second century the shape of those bows are almost identical to what they was used today the construction of bows are very different because those bows were made of a single piece of wood whereas the bows today have been composites are made of different materials different types of wood look this is how it has to be the joins of the lathe must face each other precisely the darker wood is for the inner side of the bowl and it's extremely hard the lighter part of the bamboo are very soft and will therefore be used for the outer edges of the bow in the mid section of the bow darker smoked bamboo is used the outer edges are also made of has a a Japanese hardwood all three pieces must complete a cent before I can smooth them to the right string because each piece of bamboo is different Master Kaku Naga must work out how thick it needs to be to achieve the flexibility he needs fractions of a millimeter can make a difference and it takes years to truly understand how the wood feels and moves [Music] too thick and it won't Bend enough too thin and it will break once all three sections are the perfect thickness the bow is glued and bound with a manila rope the crisscross trope holds the pieces together and is the key to how the bow is bent [Music] before the glue dries small pieces of bamboo are forced under the rope these are used to hold the position of the bow once master Kiko Naga starts to bend it [Music] the bow is bent gently at first then forced a little further [Music] in tiny steps it takes shape [Music] eventually achieving the perfect curve [Music] the truly unique thing about the ume it's a symmetric shape is what makes Master Kiko Nagas job even more difficult the top part of the bow is twice as long as the bottom so the grip is about two-thirds of the way down [Music] no other bow is made like this and there are many theories as to why [Music] this is a Japanese bowl its midpoint is here but the grip is actually down here on the lower third of the bowl the reason for this it's simple when you fire an arrow then the shockwaves you feel in your wrist due to the rebounder the strongest in the middle this is why bowls in Japan are built with gripping the lower third of the ball as well as its shape the Japanese bowmen have another technique to increase the Yumi's power [Music] called that tsunami the hand of the archer moves at the last moment so that the arrow doesn't have to bend around the bow but flies straight from the string first it corrects the path of the arrow that would otherwise drift off course on the way to the target as well as that the arrow gets an extra kick and flies faster and on top of that it ensures that the arrow flies in a straight line and doesn't oscillate as much more power a straighter flight and fewer oscillations out of the bow sounds like the perfect combination but what really matters with a bow is how deadly it is at impact and to test this we need to apply some ballistics techniques using modern equipment to test the power of the European longbow against the you me which bow will reign supreme the ultimate objective of bow is is to disable an enemy putting a man out of action and that happens by the the force at which the arrow hits in the the energy delivered which either penetrates the armor or even if it doesn't penetrate them the amount of smack and hit that it delivers the power depends on how fast the arrow leaves the bowstring its weight and also how much drag slows it down because the you me and the longbow arrows are made with different materials they will have a different impact but which has the most power I think you is gonna have the greater penetration power similar to that being that it's a recurve that means that strings could come back to rest faster there I'll have a greater speed I think that speeds gonna make a bigger difference as they are goes into the target this is a block of ballistics gel normally used to test bullets it's the same density as human flesh so will give us a measurement of how deep each era would penetrate a person [Music] filming with the high-speed camera shows us the moment of impact and the union arrow makes a huge impression this shot would have gone right through a human side the longbow is also impressive but it doesn't make quite the same in Rhodes as the you me almost 25 centimeters into the gel for the longbow versus 30 for the ume but both shots clearly could have been fatal both bows were deadly but the ume had a unique role on the battlefield we are in early feudal times Japanese battles were traditional and followed certain rules the fighters were both samurai but to ensure they were of equal standing first each would proclaim his heritage okay docile what are you are you Johanna t-that's injury sure perhaps it was hoped that ritualized battles would act as a last resort to prevent mass slaughter if one side were intimidated the battle would be conceded but if not then war was waged [Music] [Applause] respect courage and battle prowess are synonymous with the samurai and the Union had a distinct role to play in the wars they fought although the bow isn't used in battle today it's still an important part of Japanese culture and nowadays has more of a religious significance but this spiritual element originated early on in the year 1103 legend tells of an evil spirit which settled on the Imperial Palace it was only the power of a samurais bow which drove out the demon today the ume is still called upon to perform cleansing rites in a tradition which passes through Japan's archery aristocracy and at the meiji jingu shrine in western tokyo Ogasawara arches are preparing to rid it of mischief leading the procession is Kia tada Oh gasps awara head of the family in 1187 one of my ancestors was commissioned to teach mounted archery to the Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo now gasps awara family became teachers and masters of ceremony at the court of the Shogun's through the various dynasties and to the mid 19th century only archers of the highest caliber take part in ceremonies and their skill is indicated by the black Wratten rapping on their bows [Music] first the gods are asked to offer their strength and a special arrow is prepared called a kibriyaa which whistles when it's shot the sound travels to the four corners of the shrine and evil is banished again the ume is closely linked with many aspects of Japanese history and great care is taken to preserve its traditions back in master Kaku Nagas workshop bows are made in the age-old way and his latest is ready for stringing gently it's bent over a rack and a piece of steel cable is tied at both ends when master Kaku naga holds the finished article in his hands he finally knows if it's a good ume [Music] this looks good it's all about balance there has to be a balance between the upper and lower arms Oh Alice it isn't a good bowl no two bows are the same and for master Kaku Naga each one has a different character his bows are so special that finding a suitable name for them was difficult and he even sought some divine intervention we opened the dictionary and looked at a lot of names we took a selection to a monk he offered up prayers and then told us that we should choose the symbol tidal or luminous way we didn't suggest this to him at all but he thought that the name would bring us luck so now our bows are called tidal the Japanese connection to the yume is linked to their spirituality and heritage but the heyday of the bow has passed [Music] there was a time in the Middle Ages when every samurai clan had a school dedicated to the art of war these schools were shrouded in secrecy and now many have disappeared but in the heart of Japan a school still exists which teaches the ancient way of the bowl the foot a little farther back like so and don't forget for a long shot you need to go wide and big hey you must always hold the bow at a slight angle like in an attack this means you have the chance to fend off the incoming arrows it is important not to lift your arms after too much as this opens up the armor and their heart is no longer protected so you need to keep your arms tomorrow we will be wearing the armor too it weighs about 20 kilograms the weight really puts a strain on your legs a few times a year the school gets together for a display of archery in full battle armor the costumes are all authentic the samurai had no shields and relied on plates in their clothes which only gave limited protection maneuverability was more important the arrows used here are all of the same type but in the Middle Ages archers would pack an array of arrows with different specialities there are some types of arrowheads that were only chosen when the target was in sight if their enemy was hit each comrades could certainly pull the arrow out but the head would remain stuck in the body these arrowheads are called carry Mota the inner size can cut like a knife if you were hit by one of these you could easily lose an arm it's gruesome as well as the arrows and the plates in their clothes the archers other defense came from their attack formation moving forward in two rows while the first line of archers move forward and fire the second half time to reload and this is how the archery formation engages with the enemy one section at a time finally he uses this bore like spear and charges the target the samurais war formation arrows and armor made them a formidable fighting force and even without their horses when forced to fight from the ground they show discipline and great skill but ground combat was normally the preserve of the European Archer so in a ballistics range when pitted against medieval armor of mail and plate how will the you me and the longbow compare up until the middle of the 13th century up until about 1250 European armor was pretty much exclusively male that is interlocked web of rings each close with a little rivet and that is worn over an a curtain or a Roberge on a thick padded garment the longbow Archer was familiar with male and his arrows were specially designed with long thin armor piercing ends called needle Bodkins from a direct shot the male puts up little resistance [Music] the ume was more often pitted against plate Armour so what happens when an arrow made for piercing plate runs into European male [Music] despite the ume superior penetration power without a bodkin style arrow more prevalent in Europe it can't defeat male both archers would have chosen their arrows carefully but the Japanese had plates of iron as defense against early medieval arrows so how do our 23 kilo bows fare against this the ume has no problem so what about a longbow bodkin arrow [Music] both arrows successfully pierce it a direct hit can defeat the Japanese armor with the advent of firearms in the 16th century the bow became less relevant on the battlefield but that didn't mark the end of the samurai they were still an important part of Japanese society and the samurai wanted a way to maintain their skills so they created a competition that sanjusangendo a famous temple in Kyoto this competition was not just about skill but also about determination as well as hitting the target archers had to compete solidly for 24 hours the record set in 1686 so a samurai shoot more than 13,000 arrows with over 8,000 on target a truly astonishing feat archery had become a demonstration of mental strength and practically a religion Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the 12th century it teaches the importance of concentration and offers a way to understand life and not to fear death the samurai were naturally drawn to it in our lives we judge everything we classify things as good or bad has been frightening or something you love but this way of classifying things blinds us to the true nature in the state of machine you are free and learn not to cling to your desires motion is a moment of high concentration where thoughts no longer cloud the mind and everything becomes clear it's a state which martial artists strive to achieve because it allows your body to react intuitively without any distractions from your mind like fear or anger motion is practiced through meditation but also through any repetitive task on which you can focus and practice clearing your mind while concentrating a calm clear mind able to fight intuitively must have been a formidable combination for the samurai master in a school of kudo on the outskirts of Tokyo this is a different kind of archery school no battle cries sound here the place has an air of absolute serenity master in a way teaches archery as a martial art form Kudo it's a martial art and Japan is pursued as a martial art for the q is for van archery dull is not it's very much not form it's very graceful movements it's very slow and methodical process and it has been likened to a ballet kudo is practiced by men and women both young and old in fact in Japan almost half of all the practitioners are female it's about concentrating on yourself on your movements and not focusing on the target and your desire to hit it the makiwara is a tightly bound drum of straw it's a practice target which helps the archers to take their mind away from what they're shooting at and bring their concentration back to themselves [Music] it's a different way of thinking but in a kudos school the target is just a distraction [Music] standard Kudo is practiced over 28 meter course so there's no need to draw heavy bows it's not a show of strength but control and precision and some of the very best archers are women Kimmy Iijima has been a student here for two years if you focus on hitting the target you will always miss the aim is to hit the target without trying to it's incredibly hard but it's also fascinating but how can you achieve something without wanting to if you will yourself to hit the target your mind will be upset and this will disturb your shot of course the target will attempt to you to aim straight for it but the more you practice the more you will learn to which stance this temptation at some point the right moment to release the arrow will come to you entirely naturally and you will hit the target with total concentration and presence of mind the students learn that the target will be hit without trying to hit it and some will come to the self-realization that archery can be a path to enlightenment [Music] the Japanese bow has led archers down many paths to war to enlightenment to honor and death for speed and power it is without equal among medieval longer [Music] and was capable of delivering a fatal blow even to armoured soldiers but in modern Japan the ume is more than just a killing machine a work of art a link to the spirit world and a connection to a glorious past the samurai bow is truly an ultimate where built to kill [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

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Keywords: japanese bow, samurai bow, yumi bow, japanese archery, japan documentary, samurai documentary, ancient japan, history documentary, timeline documentary, bbc documentary, full documentary, documentary history, tv shows - topic, full length documentaries, japan (country), history of japan, japanese documentary, japanese bow and arrow, samurai (profession), kyudo japanese archery, archery documentary, national geographic

Id: ZnRX_Cqhwb8

Length: 50min 25sec (3025 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 24 2018