SAMURAI Era POLE WEAPONS that Dominated Japanese Feudal Warfare 

Masakari is a specialised axe & term scholagladiatoria Masakari =a hefty bladed battle axe with a sharpened tip on the other end of the shaft from the head akin to a pole axe but not exactly the same. in honorific/old Japanese axe is wono shortened to ono in common present day Japanese. Habiro = abroad axe which can refer to military axes, broad tool axes & makakari to confuse matters. Yoki= a sort of hatchet axe machete akin to a billhook. Axes are more a weapon of the yamabushi=mountain warriors/mountain hermits sort of then samurai. Wono is a very large topic but that's the gist of it. Note: Souhei/warrior monks invented & predominantly used naginata though ashigaru & samurai di later adopt & use them. A more similar weapon to a glaive & Chinese yanyuedao is the Japanese Bisentou that was developed from the mentioned Chinese pole arm that in time was developed into the nibbler Naginata by Souhei/warrior monks previously mentioned. Kind regards Matt

10:45 - The Yari with the one sided protrusions at that timestamp resembles ancient Chinese halberd-like polearms (Han Dynasty era Ji and Dagger axe). I wonder if these Yari could be used in similar fashions where the projection is used as an armor penetrating spike that is swung at an enemy?

As far as flails go, there is a farming tool that is used to thresh grains that is essentially a two-handed flail. It would have seen some use in the more repressed areas. I can't think if I've seen it spiked up for war use, but in Okinawa there were martial arts developed for oars and all kinds of random stuff.

i recognize the triangular shaped yari blade, short version, as commonly used in tooling. they usually were wicked sharp - these types of blades were used in heavy duty cutting with precision, ex leather or woodworks. having a bit of experiance in using japanese and european woodworking tools, i acknowledge they are obsessed with very hardened and wicked sharp edges.

33:25min "Bisento" (which is a absurdly heavy version of the naginata).

Also worth keeping in mind is that the Mongol invasion force was largely Korean conscripts , not the hardened horsemen who conquered China under Genghis.

​@@MikebumpfulTrue, and since their boats were hastily made by a demoralised population they were of inferior quality to the Chinese.

​@@Mikebumpful the typical mongol horse archers would have fared quite poorly in Japan, as the terrain wasn't suited for their tactics.

To top it all off, the Mongolian brutality caused a lot of Japanese peasants to take up arms in defence, alongside the warriors. The Japanese actually fended off the Mongols quite well without the storms, all things considered. Also, obvs Jin's ghost stance and Sarugami helped lmao

It is true that official Mongolian history books record that the Mongolian army was completely defeated by the Japanese army. However, in Japan, powerful samurai clans who had repelled the Mongol army one after another demanded "rewards" from the Kamakura shogunate, but the shogunate was unable to meet their demands, and a political problem arose. According to one Japanese hypothesis, the "kamikaze myth" began when the Kamakura shogunate widely publicized the fact that "Japan was able to repel the Mongol invasion because the shogunate prayed to the gods." In other words, and it is a ridiculous story, it was the Kamakura shogunate itself, which was in a financial crisis, that covered up the military achievements of the samurai.

I love my Yumi

True, but I think two reasons spears & polearms don't get the love are 1) they are more difficult to store, transport & ship 2) movies don't show them doing cool things nearly as much as swords

Yumi is very handsome but quite mediocre bow in terms of power, range and accuracy if compared to continental and english "primary ranged weapon"-role analogs. (though it's incredibly good for a bow made from young bamboo and silk).

@@doombringer3498 I would like to know your sources for your statement, that the yumi has less accuracy, range and power? when if come to accuracy the archers paradox is reduced due to the construction, i.e., the arrow is push in straight line when being release, this is due to the yumi being arc not only front to back, but also to the side.

The katana is a shit weapon.

Cheaper, too!

It lets the film focus on the master swordsman instead of the blocks of men clashing in situations where no individual stands out.

During the Sengoku period civil-war, most of the battle were fought with Match-lock Muskets imported from the Dutch and Portuguese. The Japanese were one the first to use guns in battle on a large scale, earlier than some European countries, with close formation firing line. Seeing how easily commoners can easily kill well trained Samurai, the threat of a popular uprising is one of the reason that Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu banned Firearms from everyone (except the Shogun's men) and anything Western, since they can encourage insurrection.

@@inisipisTV Most of the battles in the sengoku jidai were not fought with matchlocks, matchlocks were introduced almost 80 years into the sengoku period. I'm also not sure if firearms were completely banned as I have heard that commoners did have them, but they mostly used them on the countryside for hunting and scaring off animals.

@@KartarNighthawk Yes, end of the Edo period is great for sword fights, the shinsengumi and various fights between pro-imperial and pro-shogunate samurai before the boshin war broke out. Even the boshin war is pretty good for sword fights as the war was on a pretty small scale and many people still fought with swords.

Thank you good sir

Jumonji not jumanji. Ju mon (十) is the Kanji (character) fot the number ten, and as you see, it's shaped as a cross. The cross shaped spear got it's name because of that. Naginata.

Champion. Doing the Lord's work.

@@saidtoshimaru1832 I don’t know how I missed that the first time. Jumanji is the movie with Robin Williams lmao

#15:35 Naganata Naginata. Can be written as 薙刀 (moving down (the enemy) sword) or 長刀 (long sword) But thanks for the effort.

Not really, the first invasion actually went pretty badly for the Japanese, considering the Mongols made initial landing in Imazu and ended the day after capturing Hataka-ko (Hataka port) which was the Japanese army HQ, before embarking on their ships (their ships followed the army advance on land so they didn't need to return to Imazu to embark) during the night. This was an eastward advance of more than 20 km in a single day. Notable accounts of Japanese "holding their own/beating Mongols" such as Battle of Akasaka and Battle of Torikai-Gata all happened between Mongol initial landing and reaching Hataka-ko. They were essentially localized victories that momentarily slowed down the Mongol , but ultimately failed to stop their overall advance.

@@user-lu6hp8nx1jThis is debatable. The Mongols did have a lot of successes, but were unable to hold ground in the first invasion and eventually withdrew. In any case, both Mongol and Japanese sources do not demonstrate that the Mongols were so overpowering in the conflict that the Japanese made serious and vast changes to their weapons and tactics. Those changes are more a feature of the long civil wars in the 14th century, in all likelihood.

​@@Victoroftheapes The reason Mongols withdrew during the first invasion is still a matter of debate, but what can be certain is that by the time Mongols decided to pack up and leave, Japanese were long gone (they retreated to Mizuki castle some 15 km away to prepare to defend Dazaifu from a Mongol attack that never came), so immediate Japanese threat definitely wasn't a concern. In any case, while I agree that (until that point) a one-off event cannot spur drastic long term changes to Japanese military, I do think being pushed back 20+ km and losing military headquarters within the span of a single day DESPITE defender's advantage can constitute an overall roflstomp, even with certain elements of Japanese force performing better than their peers.

@@user-lu6hp8nx1j Fair enough, and I had a good laugh at roflstomp. I do still hold that the Mongols likely withdrew because they knew that their position was either already or soon would be untenable, plus the wounding of an important commander, but I agree with you that it isn't clear. It's entirely possible that the whole thing was intended to be a quick raid from the outset. More important for this video, though, because I rechecked my sources, it does seem like both sides of the Mongol invasion preferred not to get too cozy with the enemy and both focused on projectiles, making it even less likely that polearms evolved significantly in the aftermath.

The typhoon myth seems to have been created after WW2, but the 13th-century Mongolian, Chinese, and Korean histories do not mention that the Mongol army was destroyed by a typhoon. In recent years, China has published a 13th-century history book on the Internet. Mongolian army was severely damaged by the fierce battle with the Japanese army, and the army was exhausted and evacuated to the ship. It was Mongolian army held a military congress at the base.Mongolian army marshal Kudung said. "Even if a small number of soldiers fight stubbornly without regard to their abilities, they will end up being prisoners of war in front of a large number of troops.Using exhausted soldiers and facing the ever-increasing enemy forces is not a perfect solution. We should withdraw. "The army will withdraw. As the Mongolian army forced a nighttime withdrawal and encountered a storm at sea, many warships touched the cliffs and sank, causing much damage. 高麗史/卷一百四 諸軍與戰，及暮乃解。方慶謂忽敦、茶丘曰：「兵法，千里縣軍，其鋒不可當。我師雖少，已入敵境，人自爲戰，卽孟明焚船，淮陰背水也，請復戰。」忽敦曰：「兵法，小敵之堅，大敵之擒。策疲乏之兵，敵日滋之衆，非完計也，不若回軍。」 In the war, the Japanese army continued to win, and the Mongolian army continued to lose. The war situation of the Mongolian army was unfavorable and the rout continued.The Mongolian army was hit by a typhoon.However, many Mongolian troops were not damaged by the typhoon.Therefore, the war continued even after the typhoon. 高麗史/卷一百四 六月，方慶、周鼎、球、朴之亮、荊萬戶等，與日本兵合戰，斬三百餘級。日本兵突進，官軍潰，茶丘弃馬走，王萬戶復橫擊之，斬五十餘級，日本兵乃退，茶丘僅免。翼日，復戰敗績，軍中又大疫，死者凡三千餘人。 元史/卷165 十七年，加鎮國上將軍、都元帥。時朝廷議征日本，禧請行，即日拜行中書省平章政事，與右丞范文虎、左丞李庭同率舟師，泛海東征。至日本，禧即捨舟，築壘平湖島，約束戰艦，各相去五十步止泊，以避風濤觸擊。八月，颶風大作，文虎、庭戰艦悉壞，禧所部獨完。文虎等議還，禧曰：「士卒溺死者半，其脫死者，皆壯士也，曷若乘其無回顧心，因糧於敵以進戰。」文虎等不從，曰：「還朝問罪，我輩當之，公不與也。」禧乃分船與之。時平湖島屯兵四千，乏舟，禧曰：「我安忍棄之！」遂悉棄舟中所有馬七十匹，以濟其還。至京師，文虎等皆獲罪，禧獨免。 From the history book Xīn shǐ of Mongolian scholar Zheng Si-xiao (1241-1318)."The Japanese are brutal and not afraid of death. Even if ten Japanese people encounter 100 enemies, they will fight against them. If they don't win, they all fight until they die.If they do not die in the war, they will be killed by the king's hand when they return.Japanese women are also very temperamental and should not be attacked.katana is extremely sharp. " 鄭思肖『心史』中興集 元韃攻日本敗北歌 倭人狠不懼死，十人遇百人亦戰，不勝俱死，不战死，歸亦為倭主所殺。倭婦甚烈，不可犯。幼歲取犀角刈　小珠，种額上善水不溺，倭刀極利，地高險難入，可為戰守计。 Mongolian scholar Wang Yun (1228-1304)"Japanese soldiers are equipped with bows, katana, and armor.There was no spear. The cavalry are united. katana is long and extremely sharp. All the soldiers are brave and do not seem to be afraid of death. " It is written that the samurai were fighting in groups instead of single combat. 秋澗先生大全文集 (四部叢刊本)/卷第四十　而過但弓以木為之矢雖長不能逺人則勇敢視死不畏

Oh, fancy seeing you here. My most recent video was made as a direct result of one of your comments.

In West and Central Africa axes and machetes are used in the same way to cut through the stockades that surround most communities.

In fact Japanese carpenters also use very large mallets (by today's standards) for timber frame construction, the extra size is also linked to the species of wood used, meaning for the weight you want you end up with a large head. Not to say that the artist's didn't inflate the size for extra effect.

Yes! These are effectively pike-length weapons used in a very non-pike-like manner.

This was choreographed by my teachers father I believe, and therefore is based on Katori Shintō Ryū. I've just started learning the yari (not yaaaari please!) and even though it's very "simple", like most "simple" things, it's very difficult.

Several sections in Ran would be outstanding as well.

I'm seriously lol-ing at the incongruity there. How times and symbols change eh? What was a sign of fierce aggressiveness intended to inspire fear now makes us go "Aww, how cute".

Nioh 1 and 2 let you do that

Tetsubo is my favorite samurai weapon. I own two, a medium sized one and a big bad daddy sized one

the fact is, in that period, almost all samurai and attendants are using bow, Naginata and Tachi. Not even Yari and Katana were appeared

A lot of games leave out polearms entirely.

It's not really possible to use tanged spearheads with bamboo poles because the hollow compartment is too wide. You can't have an inch-thick tang. It's different for arrowheads where the appropriate shaft size leads to bamboo and reeds having suitable hollow dimensions

@@MarcRitzMD Could be a problem, yes. A bamboo thin enough for this probably would be too weak/flexible. On the other hand earliest known bronze spearheads around the world often are tanged, so maybe this tradition is simply very old and was kept locally.

@@graveyard1979 no. The earliest spearheads you find in Japan are socketed. They are called hoko-yari. It's still unknown why they switched to tang spearheads.

​@@graveyard1979 interestingly, i heard that japanese long spears or pikes were often made of bamboo as those were common materials and did indeed make the shafts bendy and particularly so for Oda's army whose spears were said to go up to 6 meters. the bendiness of the bamboo shaft made thrusting and slashing difficult and its said they were often used as smashing implements. the foot soldiers would raise the spearhead all the way up to vertical, and swing it downwards like a whip and smash the opponents. apparently this made it easier to aim the weapon so even common minimally trained peasant soldiers could reliably hit their enemies. or so i heard

​@@halo12390 there's a japanese movie depicting this if I remember right

I forgot to mention the chigiriki, essentially a form of Japanese flail with a long haft and long chain as well. A bit like a pole-arm version of the kusarigama without the kama.

There a lots of them on YT. Its called yabusame. A very elite sport. Before Budo, it was known as Kyuba no Michi or Way of the Bow and the Horse.

in Tokyo I saw and drew a 55-60kg Yumi (Bow). This Yumi was made by a yumi master who copied a Yumi from a temple. BTW I do Kyudo.

​@@lesliemitchell4984There's also this gem, which features some 110lbs Yumi, and an Edo period Yumi weighing in at 196lbs of draw. m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rP8d81jzQJc.html

@@jonajo9757 this is a better documentary ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UcwI-3tFUFs.html

1. No idea, but even older Japanese bows made entirely of wood also followed an asymmetrical design. Bamboo wasn't really a factor, since people claim that "bamboo was weaker at the top" when old Yumi were just wooden bows with a bamboo backing, and that you can get around that issue by tillering. 2. I think my comment with the video says it all, but if you were a Samurai from the 1000s, and wanted to bypass your enemy's armor, which was really heavy in terms of protection, you'd use a high poundage bow with a heavy arrow while attempting to hit them at close range. 3. Both. (Though idk when the recurve came around)

Yea Nagamaki needs a dedicated video of its own.

You're actually mixing up different transliteration systems. Most of your denominations are hepburn, while "zyûmonzi yari" (and "tukubô" too) is based on kunrei-shiki system, which isn't used today except for some Japanese administrations, as it is mostly considered off-the-mark and misdirecting. Hepburns are "jûmonji-yari", and "tsukubô" respectivelly -- and actually closer, when written as such in English, to what Japanese people would actually pronounce.

@@a.bettik8698 *I'm actually using ISO 3602:1989 日本式 **_Nihonsiki,_** a worldwide standard.* Hepburn committed a blunder in a Romanization chart, so Reader cannot tell ʒ from dʒ upon reading _ji_ - _Nihonsiki_ distinguishes じ _zi_ /ʒɪ/ from ぢ _di_ /dʒɪ/.

As I understand it, both names apply to that weapon. We have similar issues with naming European weapons.

It kinda depends on who you ask. Some say that the kanabo is reserved for the wooden ones with iron studs while tetsubo is reserved for the ones made completely of iron. Others will say either can be used for both. Either way don’t get caught up in semantics bc most people will know what you are referring to

Considering most Yari were capped and/or bound for strength that statement really doesn't hold water. you can make very clean looking socketed heads and many taanged Yari do not look "clean" at all due to the reinforcements added onto the haft. What's more likely is that the tanged spreahead was easier to produce (a tang is more easy to forge than a socket) and meant spear and sword/knife construction was very similar (so craftsmen could make spear and sword parts with mostly the same skillset).

I saw that picture and immediately came to the comments to see if anyone else spotted it! He's a big figure in the dojo I trained at throughout high school in NC. I unfortunately never got to meet him before he passed, but I've heard many stories and am super happy to see him get at least some recognition in the wild!

Japan copycat Chinese sword

Or rather, "die show" no?

Well they did have a warhammer but its was much more crude well more of a club if anything the kanabo/tetsubo has alot of variants

Runka made me pause. Let's just say it's verb in Swedish involving the shaft.

@@twosheds7105 I've heard it before... I think the word for the weapon is Italian though. Similar story with Kant being pronounced just the same way as c##t. The list can certainly be continued...

I'm also interested in comparitive wood treatment as well. Say bamboo vs ash and other woods alike. Me and my friend got into a little squabble about this topic a couple of time now. My stance always being "even if it is worse by any degree it was useable and survable by history shows that that they were used"

swords were used a lot depending on the contacts a sword would have been the preferred the weapon(not just talking about Japan here), swords have always had a great importance one of japan's national treasures is a sword.

Sode-garami literally means sleave-catcher. It were the hooks on the end that were used for this. You're probably right about the 'thorns'.