Japanese Weapons Research Paper

In school, they learned of the Kendo, which is fencing with bamboo sticks, the moral code of the samurai, and their religion, Zen Buddhism. Their code of conduct, the Bushido, demanded that a samurai must hold his loyalty, courage, honesty, compassion, and honor. According to The Way of the Samurai by Yamaga Soko, “Within his [samurai] heart he keeps to the ways of peace, but without he keeps his weapons ready for use.” As stated before, samurais have a much lighter armor. This is mainly due to They have an opening on their right arm in order for them to draw their bows faster and

Samurai and knights are not identical, they do have a good amount of differences. For instance, after going through training, samurai were awarded their title and responsibilities at the age of fourteen while knights took on their full responsibilities at twenty-one. Document B points out that although loyalty was important to both Japanese and European warriors, “loyalty towards the feudal lord in Japan was hereditary” but it was not in Europe. This means that in Japan “service of a feudal lord went from father to son” so the relationship between the lord and his warrior lasted for generations. Along with that, although both groups wore full body armor, Document D states that “a knight’s armor could weigh forty

The Japanese warrior, known as the samurai, has played a significant role in Japan's history and culture throughout the centuries. Their ancestors can be traced back to as far as can be remembered. Some stories have become mysterious legends handed down over the centuries. In this report you will learn who the samurai were, their origins as we know them, how they lived and fought and their evolution to today. It will be clear why the samurai stand out as one of the most famous group of warriors of all times.

My second reason is that the knights had very strong and effective armour, whereas the samurai’s armour was always changing and was never as good as the knight’s armour, as samurai depended more on their fighting skills instead of the armour. The samurai armour was made up of several sections. The main body is called a do or cuirass, and is made from plates or lamellae (small oblong-shaped pieces of steel linked by strips of leather and covered with layers of lacquer). The helmet has a crest and a hair pommel. There is also a face mask, which would have been decorated with ugly features intended to scare the enemy. Extra protection is provided by a coverage of the neck (made of jointed metal) and shoulder guards (made from small plates laced together, with silk allowing movement). Thigh and calf guards are made from a combination of chain mail and plates. Underneath the samurai’s armour, the samurai would wear a one-piece baggy garment with a special kimono (the kimono looks a bit like a dressing gown). This did mean that the samurai would be more likely to get injured, as the armour would only offer very little protection. Samurai armour was designed to help the Samurai move comfortably and efficiently when fighting, so if a knight stabbed the samurai then the samurai would get injured and this would affect the samurai while he is fighting (the samurai would be fighting worse), and possible depending on how bad the wound is, it could kill the

Both the medieval European knights and the Japanese samurai used horses as means of transport into battle. They also both wore armour and used swords. European armour was typically all-metal and was made or either chain mail or plate metal. Whilst this made them more protected, it also restricted their movement. In contrast, the Japanese samurais donned armour which comprised of lacquered leather or metal plates with silk or metal bindings. This light weight armour was advantageous in that it allowed the samurai to be quick and more agile. The drawback to this armour though was that it provided much less protection.

Likewise, knights wore “complete suits of plate armor, constructed from metal...wore helmets, gloves, and shoes of steel...a knight’s armor could weigh 40 to 60 pounds.” (Document D) Both samurais and European knights were protected by a heavy armor out of metal in battle; it can be inferred that both Japan and Europe found importance in protecting their warriors looking from the stringency of armor and protection. The reason for protecting their warriors would be due to the myriad of battles feudal Japan and Europe would have had to carry out. To ensure success in battle, they would’ve made further technological advances such as protective armor, ensuring better performance when battling. By protecting the warriors using this effective armor, both Japan and Europe would’ve been able to attain more as a whole and advance as a civilization - a common achievement carried out as well. Despite the many differences between Japanese samurais and European knights, the similarities outweighed these differences due to the homologous elements in their position in hierarchy and the use of protective armor in battle, leading to the success in both Japan and

As they grew up they learned how to use it almost as much as the sword. A quote from source 3 states their accuracy by saying “Mounted archers had to shoot arrows with deadly accuracy while galloping at full speed.” They were marksman with this weapon and could hit almost any target while on a horse. Some sources might say that the extra weapons used by the knights were more useful than the samurais. Though some of the weapons had great short range use they could not be used to the slightest against the samurais bows and

From approximately 1000 - 1600 CE, knights in Europe and samurai in Japan were the professional warrior class. In Europe, the knight wore obscenely heavy armor and used large swords. In Japan, they wore a little bit lighter armor and used the famed samurai sword. To start off, The similarities outweigh the differences between the samurai and the knights.

My first similarities about their armor comes from document C, “In samurai armor, small iron scales were tied together…” The knight’s armor are also linked together, but they use chanemail instead of iron scales. They both wear helmets ,yet the samurai helmet is much thicker. After the improvements on weapons the knights started using metal armor instead of chain. According to document C, “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm.”

In document D written by The DBQ Project, it says “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow.” Even though their was no protection on the right arm, it was light and easy to move around. Another reason why Samurais use weapons and armor to the best of their abilities was in Document D written by The DBQ project, it stated, “A knight’s armor could weigh 40 to 60 pounds. This proves that a knight’s armor is heavy 24/7 while a samurai is heavy only when it rains. But how did they get such good

Samurai and knights similarities were greater than the differences because they started doing things like protecting the lord and training to become a samurai or knight around the same age and social order in the pyramids were about the same. When it came to how their armour was like they were very similar they. Samurai armor had small iron scales that were tied together,lacquered,and then they were pounded into armor plates with silk or they could also have leather cords on them there helmet blows were usually made out of 8 to 12 iron plates and then 5-piece neck guards the armor they wore had four parts, but samurai never wore armor on their right arm so that they could draw their weapons faster the only thing about the samurai armor was

Knights and Samurai are Far More Alike than They are Different Europe and Japan are 5,313 miles away from one another and their warriors at the time were very similar. The similarities between the two started out by both empires falling and then they both developed feudalism. I think it’s crazy that they two empires so far apart can be so similar, not only their empires but those who protect them. In this essay I will discuss the feudal system,military similarities, and their feelings about death.

However, while they were not fighting, the samurai lived on their own lands. The armour of a samurai was highly artistic and took 4-8 months to make. It is made up of metal plates that were held together by colourful ropes. The helmet was constructed form up to 100 metal plates, wrapped up together. There suits were carefully arranged.

According to How to Be A Samurai Warrior by Fiona Macdonald, armor was made by metals, and other natural resources like leather, as stated in Samurai Rising. Moreover, samurai got dressed in the same order described in the novel. The samurai would start with the loincloth, then short kimono, baggy trousers, shin guards, etc. Like the novel, samurai wore a neck guard, shoulder guard, breastplate, armored kilt, hand armor, knee protectors, shin guards, and straw sandals. Furthermore, the text states that warriors wore colors corresponding to their leaders, however we may not know what the book states because Yoshistsune’s armor was the only described, and he is a leader himself.

Last but not least, the samurai carried a variety of weapons that displayed their culture, and helped them in battle. The weapons that they carried, such as the katana and the wakizashi, displayed their culture in the way that they looked and the way that they fought. As told by the Istanbul Technical University, the code Bushido taught the samurai that their soul was inside the katana they fought with. The code of Bushido also taught them to carry their wakizashi everywhere they went, even when they went to sleep! This means that the code of Bushido inspired them to show their culture throughout their weapons. Also, their weapons were their main source of victory in battle. Their main weapons were the katana and the wakizashi, but they also