Ancient Weapons of Japan are definitely interesting... as are weapons around the world in general!
The most interesting to me are the various non-lethal (erm... less-lethal) weapons that have been invented. The less-lethal weapons around the world give insight into the minds of Police across all ages.
Today's weapon of choice for Police is the Police Baton... which is basically a Japanese Tonfa. But seeing the Japanese Jitte, Sai, Kusarigama, Manriki-kusari, and Sasumata... you can see how Police from previous ages were focused on:
* Bashing (Tonfa, Manriki-kusari)
* Disarming (Jitte or Sai)
* Binding (Kusarigama or Manriki-kusari)
* Pinning (Sasumata)
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Western Society had Armor (ie: Gauntlets) for catching weapons. Armor in general is also a major advantage in grappling / pinning foes. I'm not really aware of any weapon explicitly built for disarming... since a Knight could always just grab the Peasant's Sword with his gauntlet.
But the "Anti-Peasant Weapon" has always been the Mace or the Flail in Western Cultures. Both are similar in concept to the Tonfa and Manriki-kusari: smack people with a blunt object. The goal is subjugation and intimidation. Spinning weapons (Flails) are intimidating but ultimately less lethal than a Sword or Spear.
Knights and Soldier statues use swords and spears: weapons of war.
While statues of Kings and Princes are armed with Flails and Mace: symbols of "less lethal" weapons of law enforcement.
All weapons tell a story. The Kuwa (Japanese Hoe), Kama and Kunai are peasant tools... and tell a story of inventive rebellion. Seeing a master Kuwa or Kama fighter says that "anyone can fight, even lowly farmer peasants... even with farm tools"
Much like Pitchforks and Torches, except Japanese Martial Artists have honed the peasant weapons into a martial art in of themselves.
The Polearms tell a story of the horrors of battle. The multi-point Halberd is shaped to stop a horse (spear tip that widens to stop momentum), pull the rider off a horse (hook), and break shields (axe).
Japanese Yari are similarly diverse as western polearms. The different Yari designs give the greatest insight to warfare in Japan. (I bet you the Jumonji yari was used to stop charging horses. The massive crossbar is there for a reason).
Hozu hi Yari and Kama Yari are similar to Halberds, in that they are clearly designed for "single weapon / multiple uses".
I have a (possibly) dumb question. Did the Japanese also have a prohibition on the ownership on easy to use ranged weapons for peasants the same way the Europeans did (specifically crossbows)?
I'm not an expert here... but I've never heard of Japanese using crossbows at all. Which is strange, because China and other Far East nations definitely had exotic crossbows (Chu-ke nu / Repeating Crossbows), but I guess they never really made it to Japan.
One answer notes that the wood in Japan made it difficult to build crossbows. The wood used in Japanese Longbows has distinctive properties... but does not have the right properties for a compact handheld crossbow.
Seige Crossbows (OYumi) were used, since the large size got around the material issues with Japanese wood. But handheld crossbows had issues getting constructed there.
Firearms were expensive for a very long period of time. I doubt the peasantry would be able to afford it. Japanese did use muskets in war... but "peasant weapons" were typically simple farming tools (hoe, kama, kunai etc. etc.)
The most interesting to me are the various non-lethal (erm... less-lethal) weapons that have been invented. The less-lethal weapons around the world give insight into the minds of Police across all ages.
Today's weapon of choice for Police is the Police Baton... which is basically a Japanese Tonfa. But seeing the Japanese Jitte, Sai, Kusarigama, Manriki-kusari, and Sasumata... you can see how Police from previous ages were focused on:
* Bashing (Tonfa, Manriki-kusari)
* Disarming (Jitte or Sai)
* Binding (Kusarigama or Manriki-kusari)
* Pinning (Sasumata)
----------
Western Society had Armor (ie: Gauntlets) for catching weapons. Armor in general is also a major advantage in grappling / pinning foes. I'm not really aware of any weapon explicitly built for disarming... since a Knight could always just grab the Peasant's Sword with his gauntlet.
But the "Anti-Peasant Weapon" has always been the Mace or the Flail in Western Cultures. Both are similar in concept to the Tonfa and Manriki-kusari: smack people with a blunt object. The goal is subjugation and intimidation. Spinning weapons (Flails) are intimidating but ultimately less lethal than a Sword or Spear.
Knights and Soldier statues use swords and spears: weapons of war.
While statues of Kings and Princes are armed with Flails and Mace: symbols of "less lethal" weapons of law enforcement.
All weapons tell a story. The Kuwa (Japanese Hoe), Kama and Kunai are peasant tools... and tell a story of inventive rebellion. Seeing a master Kuwa or Kama fighter says that "anyone can fight, even lowly farmer peasants... even with farm tools"
Much like Pitchforks and Torches, except Japanese Martial Artists have honed the peasant weapons into a martial art in of themselves.
The Polearms tell a story of the horrors of battle. The multi-point Halberd is shaped to stop a horse (spear tip that widens to stop momentum), pull the rider off a horse (hook), and break shields (axe).
Japanese Yari are similarly diverse as western polearms. The different Yari designs give the greatest insight to warfare in Japan. (I bet you the Jumonji yari was used to stop charging horses. The massive crossbar is there for a reason).
Hozu hi Yari and Kama Yari are similar to Halberds, in that they are clearly designed for "single weapon / multiple uses".
Just some food for thought.