…..Continued from Part 2
A brief history on Japan Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama Period.
The Sengoku period 1467-1573
The Sengoku period (戦国時代) also known as sengoku-jidai, "Warring States" Period was a century-long period of political upheaval and warlordism inJapan, lasting from the Onin War of 1467–77 through the reunification of the country around 1598.
It was a lawless era of civil war. As the shogun lost power,
the warlords (called diamyo) became completely independent, fought one another
bitterly for control of
The fighting that followed over the next century would
eventually reduce the warlords to only a few hundred in number as the country
was effectively carved up into princedoms. Eventually, one warlord raised above
all his rivals: Oda Nobunaga, who set
The Momoyama Period 1568-1603
The Azuchi–Momoyama period (安土桃山時代), also known as Momoyama period and Azuchi–Momoyama jidai) was the final phase of the Sengoku period (戦国時代, Sengoku jidai) in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600, age of political unification under the daimyo Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) and his general Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598), who finally brought all provinces under the control of the central government.
The period ended with the victory of the forces of Tokugawa
Ieyasu (1542–1616) against a collation of Hideyoshi loyalist clans at the
Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and established the stable Tokugawa Shogunate, had
established his capital at
The Tosei-Guoku Armour (当世具足)
During the 16th century, the Samurai armour changed
significantly due to the increasing Japanese trade with
In 1543 several Portuguese were shipwrecked on the
The armours up until then were unable to protect samurai warriors from firearms, which necessitated the changes from the centuries old lamellar armours to plate armour constructed from iron and steel plates which was called tosei gusoku (modern armours). Bullet resistant armours were developed called tameshi gusoku or (bullet tested) allowing samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the use of firearms.
The armour was designed to be as lightweight as possible as the samurai had many tasks including riding a horse and archery in addition to swordsmanship. The armour was usually brightly lacquered to protect against the harsh Japanese climate. Chain armour (kusari) was also used to construct individual armour pieces and full suits of kusari were even used.
Sashimono (指物,差物,挿物)
Sashimono began to be used late in the Muromachi period, but really took off during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, from the 1570’s onward. Sashimono could serve different purposes depending on the wearer.
These smaller sized banners were worn by individual
soldiers, strapped to their backs for identification during battles.
Most common were rectangular banners, usually a bit bigger
for mounted troops, with either simple coloured designs or family crests of the
lords they fought for. Another rather common version was to wear between two
and five smaller poles with thin strips of cloth attached to them. The
sashimono shaft was inserted into a case, which could be both square and round
in cross section, and which was called uke-zutsu.
In the upper part of the shell, uke-zutsu was held with a gattari bracket. It could consist of one and two parts, and also the Gattars from a wooden plate are known, again with one or several openings according to the number of flags. This detail was attached to the back of the armor on the hinges.
Personal sashimono were used to indicate the presence of a particular individual warrior (and his retinue) on the battlefield.
Unit sashimono, or ban-sashimono, indicated a particular
unit. Most famously, messenger units or Tsukai-ban might have a distinctive
sashimono, such as the centipede associated with the Takeda, or the Tokugawa ‘伍’ character.
Daimyo, if they were to go into battle, often immediately removed Jinbaori and attached to the armor of Sashimono, since it was impossible to wear both at the same time.
Yari (槍) and Tachi
(太刀)
Yari (槍) is the term for traditionally-made Japanese in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear.
The most common yari blade is the su-yari which is
triangulated and double-edged with a deep fuller on the flat side of the blade
(approx. 30 cm (12 inch) in length) and the omi-yari which is an extra long
su-yari blade (approx. 50 cm (19 inch) in length).
Yari blades often had an extremely long tang (nakago);
typically it would be longer than the sharpened portion of the blade. The tang
protruded into a reinforced hollow portion of the handle (tachiuchi or
tachiuke) resulting in a very stiff shaft making it nearly impossible for the
blade to fall or break off. A yari blade with shaft is about 2.5 to 6 meter
long.
The yari was the main weapon of the samurai during 16th century. A samurai riding a horse in battle would have his left hand holding the rein; his right arm holds the yari and the tachi sword hanging on the left side of his waist. Fighting with a 2.5 meter spears from horseback is not hard. The yari is mostly designed for stabbing, but at the same time, the kind of stirrup the samurai used gives them a great platform for standing up and wielding the yari with both hands whilst they steer their horse using their knees.
A tachi (太刀)
is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of
feudalJapan. Tachi and katana generally differ in length, degree of curvature,
and how they were worn when sheathed. The tachi style of swords preceded the
development of the katana. Traditional tachi typically featured a blade length
of 27 9/16 to 31 1/2 inches. In comparison, katana featured a blade length of
about 23 1/2 inches.
The Tachi was hung horizontally from the belt of the Samurai
with the sharp edge facing downwards. All mounted samurai carry tachi and not
katana.
The curve blade was designed for ease to be drawn while single-handedly whilst on horseback and to slash the unfortunate warriors below the horse with pretty minimal movement.
Japanese Kiso Horse (木曽馬, kiso uma)
The horses used by the Samurai weren’t the sleek, long
legged beasts you see in the movies, but short, squat, shaggy creatures called
Kiso-uma. The Kiso horse is a Japanese breed of critically endangered equines
that developed primarily as a Japanese war horse. Native to Honshu, the largest
and most populous islandof
Records from the
The Kiso horse is medium sized, standing about 13 hands (135
cm). Throughout the Meiji Era, Kiso horses were crossbred with many western
breeds and the pure stain virtually disappeared. The breed is being preserved
in the region centering on Kaida mura in
The most common colors are bay, brown, chestnut, roan and cremello. They do not, in general, have white markings on legs or face but a black dorsal stripe is extremely common. They are known for their endurance, their ability to survive on poor food and in severe weather conditions and they all share the characteristics of having extremely tough hooves.
Reference pictures
Samurai reenactment in O-yorio not in the tosei-gusoku riding on Kiso horses.
Su yari with one side flat blade is most common yari in the 16th century. (approx. 30 cm (12 inch) in length)
Omi-yari which is an extra long su-yari blade (approx. 50 cm (19 inch) in length)
Tachi
Sashimono
Sashimono during the famous battle of Sekigahara Oct.21, 1600
Video references
Kiso horse in action.
The Samurais reenactment in O-yorio but not in the tosei-gusoku.
Samurai Armor
Battle of Uesugi Clan Warlords (1564) - Usami Sadamitsu vs Uesugi Kenshin
Differences between katana and tachi
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