Sunday, November 17, 2024

Mounted Samurai VS Mounted Samurai (Part 3)

 …..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 Japan. The period falls within the Muromachi period (Muromachi Jidai, 1333-1573) of Japanese medieval history when the Ashikaga shogun capital was located in the Muromachi area of Heiankyo (Kyoto).

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 Japan on the road to unification from 1568.


The Momoyama Period 1568-1603                   

The AzuchiMomoyama period (安土桃山時代), also known as Momoyama period and AzuchiMomoyama 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 Edo (modernTokyo) which ruled until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.





The Tosei-Guoku Armour (当世具足)

During the 16th century, the Samurai armour changed significantly due to the increasing Japanese trade with Europe during what would become known as the Nanban trade.

In 1543 several Portuguese were shipwrecked on the island of Tanega, off southern Kyushu. These were the first Europeans to arrive in Japan, The Portuguese introduction of Tanegashima (matchlock) to the Japanese, changed the nature of warfare in Japan causing the Japanese armour makers to change the design of their armours.

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 () and Tachi (太刀)

Yari () 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 Japan, The Kiso has inhabited Japanfor at least 1,000 years. Their exact origin is not known, but it is believed that they are descendants of the Mongolian horses of the grasslands or the plateau horses of Central Asia. The Kiso has historically been used for agricultural as well as military purposes.

Records from the Edo period indicating the importation of horses (Persian, Arabians or Turkmen) by the Dutch to be given as gifts to the Shogun.

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 Kiso County, Nagano Prefecture. There are today only 117 Kiso horses left, which are often seen in processions in local festivals. They are also used as riding horses.

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

        Royal Armouries Museum Samurai display from the Edo period




Samurai reenactment in O-yorio not in the tosei-gusoku riding on Kiso horses.




Horse harness references for the RDG Samurai. These are not Kiso horse just modern breed. 









Tosei-Guoku Armour 







Yari

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


Thank you for looking!



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