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Old 2012-09-30, 23:16   Link #8
NinjaRealist
Battoru!
 
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
The answer to your question TS, quite simply, is the Edo Period.

If you read Japanese war fiction from before the Edo Period, such as the famous Heike Monogatari, a lot of the combat is depicted with Samurai utilizing the true primary weapons of their class, the bow and the spear (and to a lesser extent the dagger). The truth is that for most of Japanese history, the sword was thought of mostly as a sidearm, because, although useful, it was (and is) far less deadly than a spear or a bow. If you want me to get into the specifics of why this is true, but I think it should be obvious why a spear will beat a sword 90% of the time, especially in mounted warfare.

In the Edo Period, two major changes in Japanese Society caused the focus to shift from the actual battlefield weapons (at this point pikes and muskets, just like in Europe at the time) to side-arms, like the Katana and the Wakizashi. The first obvious change was that, as Japanese Society became peaceful, pitched battles no longer occurred, and so the only combats people saw were street battles with sidearms. It's not practical to carry a six foot long spear in a public place, and even a full-size katana is impractical inside of a building.

Another important change, was that, with Hideyoshi's sword hunt, and the transformation of the Samurai class into an actual caste, sword became no longer just a sidearm but a status symbol representing an impermeable ruling caste within society. It was in this atmosphere that legends like Miyamoto Musashi and Itto Itosai became popularized and the sword became fixated upon as a symbol of power and death.

But make no mistake, the spear is the true ultimate melee weapon of Japanese history, and the bow, more than any melee weapon, is what traditionally defined the Samurai, and Japanese warriors in history. For example, it's a perhaps apocryphal legend that when the Mongols invaded Japan, they were stunned by the speed and accuracy of Japanese Archery.
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