Weapons of the Samurai

Many people when they think of Samurai’s they think of swords. But the truth is they used many different types of weapons. The Katana is the weapon the samurai is most connected with. The Katana is sword in Japanese. The Bushido which is the code of conduct fro samurai’s taught the samurai that their soul is the katana. They believe the katana was so important that the samurai’s often gave them names and considered them as a part of their lives. These were opposite weapons from what the warriors in Europe were using, which was the sword and crossbows.

But the Samurai’s did not use the katana in battle until the Kamakura period which was between 1185 and 1333. The tachi ads the uchigatana were the katana’s predecessor. The Katana did not itself become the main weapon until the end of the Edo period. When a male child was born into the bushi, he would get his first sword in a ceremony called the Mamori Gatana. The sword was just a charm to symbolize the samurai. The charm was worn by any male child under the age of 5.

A child would not receive his first real sword until he was older. He would be given the sword and armor which together was called a daisho. The samurai’s gear had changed over the years as well. During the 17th century the warrior would wear half a face mask made of leather and iron.

The samurai’s practiced their skills with a yumi which is a longbow. In the 15th century, the spear or yari came into play. In the 16th century the samurai’s used the teppo, but these weapons were controversial as it was. So it soon became so that the only weapon used by the samurai’s was a daisho, armor and a katana.