"Crude flintlock rifles" So crude they had neither flint nor rifling. Those are smooth bore MATCH LOCKS not "Crude flintlock rifles" See the thin rope that goes from left forearm to the lock? That is a match = match lock fire arm not flint lock rifle. The Tanegashima is thought to have been based on the Portuguese snap lock (also a match lock) after some Portuguese became stranded on an island of Japan , the lord of the Japanese island, Tanegashima Tokitaka (1528-1579), purchased two matchlock muskets from the Portuguese and put a swordsmith to work copying the matchlock barrel and firing mechanism.
meggawatt muffin "their (they're) extremely similer." well except for the matchlock pre dating the flintlock by 230 YEARS, so the guns Tanegashima Tokitaka purchased and copied existed and flintlocks didn't until 61 years after his death, There are no flints, no frizzens on a matchlock, the ignition is completely different, a Match lock uses an existing source of ignition (a burning slow match) while the flint lock creates it's own ignition though mechanically stored energy (spring) Driven means. Yea they are about as similar as an ice chest and a refrigerator. Both keep your beer cold only one needs an outside source of cold (ice) and one does it through another means. Or in short, no, they really aren't that similar
He got it wrong yeah, I think he just trying to say they weren't as advanced as other countries, which I may be entirely wrong on because I know nothing about Japanese firearms.
@@qthedisaster1730 Japanese actually made a lot of upgrades to the matchlocks and they use it far more than all European powers combined all the way till the US knock the door and they skipped the Flintlock entirely.
Food were scarce back then like Europeans boiling cabbage with mashed peas spread. Japanese only ate rice, smoked fish, and saki. Mostly just steamed rice. The lack of nutrient made the populace 5ft, frail, pail, and were prone to respiratory infection. Compared to Medieval Europeans they live slowly slightly longer but in array similar to early deaths in the 30s due constant roaring factions.
There was an in-depth documentary of Japanese emperor who collected lot of books on Korean Hwarang warriors and believed it was essential to adapt Hwarang principle and ingrain it into Samurai code of Bushido. Mainstream historians agree that Japan only began to make their own swords 700 years ago, before that katana type swords were imported from Silla dynasty Korea where the way of Hwarang had huge influence.
+robuk1981 Agreed. The way to my heart is through my stomach as well :) Although I'm curious to know the ease of trade routes in the local area. I was surprised to see merchants so low on the list given their status elevation in Florence in a similar time period. Even this video spoke about the wealth of the merchant class, which could easily procure exotic foods and goods through trading. Anyway, all very interesting!
East Asian countries tend to value merchants less because the rulers believe "production" is the way to build up wealth, not trading. E.g. Netherland was one of the first capitalist country yet it failed in the competition with UK, because UK was an industry based capitalist country and Netherland was trading-based.
Yes and no merchents were often not valued as much in orenaintal society's because in the mindset of the people was the merchents did not make anything the farmer grew crops the artisans work the fields etc but in their views all the merchents did was sell the hard work and stereotypically seen as greedy it was about money but it also was how importantly they were viewed in society
It was like this: Emperor- Has/No power depending on the Period Shogunate- Has/No power depending on the Period Daimiyo Samurai Farmers Craftsman Merchants Outlaws/Foreigners
The use of Rifles in Japan's Sengoku period actually helped Nobunaga Oda's and Ieyasu Tokugawa's forces win the battle of Nagashino against the Takeda Cavalry. While in most works of fiction Nobunaga is shown as being the ultimate victor, Ieyasu actually profitted the most from the battle. The Takeda forces lost over 20,000 men, while the Oda and Tokugawa forces only lost around 60.
Archery was more important. Source: A dude from the Japanese archery team... Yeah i see no reason why we would need additional sources. This also overlooks that Japanese warfare was mostly warfare within one culture, with people all sharing the same relative values. Such contest tend to be a lot more stylized and a lot less indiscriminatly deadly than wars between cultures... which makes archery, which was potentially much deadlier, less likely. All in all this video would need its own debunking.
Ehhhh... Samurai's main skill was definitely mounted archery. Ranged warfare is not definitionally more deadly. Most tribalistic ritual warfare was just two groups throwing things at each other and then going home. I also contend with the premise that men would be less inclined to kill their countrymen at that time period. Look at the city states of Greece to the feudal holdings of japan.. same shit different day
@Dushworker: I can't see your comment, but i am just gonna assume it will be here. First Japanese samurai tradition is LONG. So the tail end of the Tokugawa Shogunate will not have much in common, for a myriad of reasons, with the medieval period, the period of the warring states (their's, not the Chinese') or the Heian period. But generally (and i use generally here, because the video uses 'logically' ) societies with close social ties, relativly scarce ressources and comparativly small populations tend to not massacre each other because if they did even the winner would have little use of their victory because the society would break down with too few people. In that regard Greek city states (which sometimes bordered on the overpopulated) can be much more generous with their troops than Japanese or European medieval (depending on era) armies. It is also less an aversion of killing your countryman, it is the ability to formulate and enforce a code that makes fighting without the need for indiscriminate killing for self-preservation possible. Ritualistic warfare needs strict rules for when people fight, when they do not, how a winner is determined and when and how fighting is stopped. Societies are able to implement in themselves universal ways of surrender and mercy and can also enforce those but that gets harder and harder (especially the enforcement) the bigger the social divide grows. Think the idealized duel among gentlemen to settle a grudge: There is a clear cut line from non-violence to violence (the moment the pistols have been taken from the case there is little chance of going back), there is a clear start of hostility (which the referee gives) that is enforced either by violence or social shunning (by the witnesses present), there is a clear rule how the duel is to be fought (prior agreed upon) as well as a winning condition (also prior agreed upon). Also those combined provide a space where there is no pressing need to kill the other because he cannot be relied upon not to kill oneself but a space where killing is highly regulated and ritulaized.
So what you're saying is that people tend to use less effective and deadly weapons during civil wars. You what, mate? But yes, in the 13th century samurai were cavalrymen, much like most noble warrior classes all over the world, and they used tachi, which was basically a cavalry sabre, and a bow. Then they started fighting on foot for about 250 years. And later they used guns. You know... the least deadly weapons ever, right?
You can kill people en masse by artillery, machine guns, etc. Or you can fight within strict bounds, effectivly in a huge line of duels. In both cases people die and in both cases people intend to kill. Still these things are very different. And to achieve a level of social understanding and cohesion to make the second possible, it certainly helps if a language and culture is shared.
No weapon was viewed as more important. The katana was believed to be the soul of a warrior, but the wakazashi and the tanto both had their place. Archery, both on foot and on horseback, were viewed as primary military weapons, but as any general would tell you no battle was won by archery alone. The naginata was not common, the yari was the lance like weapon used by foot soldiers, the naginata was often used on horseback to cut down swathes of archers. Much of this is explained in Musashi's Book Of Five Rings where he talks about the failings of using the wrong weapon for the wrong battle. Hakama were indeed horseriding trousers used to protect not only the uniform/armour from dust and weathering, but to protect the horse from being scratched by the armour. Hiding the footwork was simply a bonus for sensei when he was teaching students ..... hence why in the arts that aren't kendo (A very modern sporting version of kenjutsu) only senior grades are entitled to wear the hakama. Hiding the footwork was to stop students overreaching themselves (Again Musashi talks about this) as students were supposed to copy by rote. Once they reached a certain level the sensei would reveal "The secret" of the techniques ..... the footwork. However; I digress. All weapons were considered equally important, but the katana itself was held in extremely high regard as a spiritual symbol of the samurai class. (Quite possibly because they are difficult to forge correctly and represent the huge upheaval following the failed Mongol invasion, in which the curved blades of the Mongols were so superior to the straight blades of the Nihongo, that they faced utter annihilation if it were not for a typhoon (known as the kamikaze) destroying the mongols' ships.
Regarding Point 7, the firearm in question was neither a flintlock nor a rifle. They were matchlocks, a type of firearm that used a slow-burning cord as its means of ignition. The typical matchlock of the 16th and 17th centuries, whether in Europe or Japan was a smoothbore, i.e. no grooves (called rifling) in the barrel intended to impart a stabilizing spin to the projectile. Furthermore, guns were generally given to peasant conscripts rather than to samurai retainers because all the training needed to use a smoothbore matchlock with all the effectiveness the weapon was capable of could be absorbed in a matter of days, weeks at the outside, whereas samurai weapons required years of training and drill to master. Using peasant musketeers was a quick and relatively cheap way for an ambitious diamyo to raise a powerful army.
And you are generalizing time periods, at the sengoku age sure spear and arrows were more used and praised buyt at the Tokugawa age (a time without war) archery was not as praised as swordfighting at all, there where dozens of new sword schools funded by ronins that needed the money to survive and also people didn´t walk through Japan with a bow and arrows, they walked with swords. Culturally in general the sword is way more precious to them than the bow.
Noan Manji. thank you.. they dont understand is that most people think of the tokugawa rounin instead of the armoured army samurais. nobody carried bow and arrows or long spears in the streets.
That was a time of peace, samurai weren't fighting in wars, they were walking around in everyday clothes, sword were easy to carry around and were perfect for self defence and duels, therefore the importance of kenjutsu.
Question: Wouldn't it be in theory that the initially the bow/spears be more prized in the way he said, he was referring to the Senguoku Jidai more so than the Edo period from my understanding isn't he because he mention battles...while I do believe that the sword rose in stature in peace because the sword was more practical than the rest in peace which is why I think he mentioned it because I am pretty certain that the sword wouldn't have been as dominate in war as say the rest.
Warlike as the Samurai were, they would not exclude ANY method of killing their enemies. Western folklore has put a romantic spin on a bunch of people who were actually quite brutal and amoral.
Even among Japanese people samurai culture isn't common knowledge. I grew up studying a samurai curriculum with main combat skills focused on archery and horseback riding. When it came to using melee weapons we started with unarmed fighting which was the foundation building coordination and intuition. Swords were typically used to collect heads on the battlefield. If you were too close for a spear you'd use a war club to bludgeon their foes to death. Miyamoto Musashi once wrote that you always used the weapon that was best suited to what and where you were fighting. You wouldn't use a sword an a sprawling battlefield but you wouldn't use a spear inside castle corridor either. What I was taught was that samurai philosophy changed a great deal once the sengoku period ended. A lot of battles were decided by one side convincing soldiers from the other side to defect and change sides mid battle. Sometimes when things weren't going well samurai would just run away. I think the romantic version popularized by media is a lot more entertaining, just not entirely true.
Well, people tend to conflate muskets with flintlocks though. DND And Warhammer Fantasy (though there were old gunner models with matchlocks and supporting forks for the latter) being a prime example.
"Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death." "You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour." -- Musashi.
These facts are true. Samurai rarely engaged in sword fights. Those swords were not exactly used for long fights but for straight up for fast kill. Even in some cases they were used in a way that Samurais spread their arm and swiftly decapitate enemies heads. Samurais were also tasked to be ninjas in numerous cases and some ninjas were recruited or promoted to Samurai rank. Also real ninjas didn't wear black suits. They worn dark blue suits that blended with night better than black suits. On other hand black suits were HELLA expensive and were only used for entertainment purposes. Specifically to hide in shadows to play drums for intense moments. And these masked suits were used RARELY. Real ninjas had to blend in and were tasked more at daytime than at night. Nighttime strategies were ambush based. And even if Flintlock guns were ineffective in some days (rainy days specifically, gunpowder would get damp) they were important. Samurais used them to directly harm other foot soldiers. When spears would get broken. And ninjas too used firearms. Hell, they were the first to invent hand-grenades. They also used small cannons and bomb-arrows to smite others.
If u guys didn't know even if your a samurai using a katana your left hand is always on the bottom also if your swinging to the left starting from the right your right leg goes front if you attack from left going to the right your left leg goes in the front
Top Nep Whether they're accurate or not is not the point, rifling is a specific firearms feature, twisted grooves in the barrel to spin-stabilize the projectile.
Michael Price Dude. Handguns have rifling. Does that mean that handguns are now rifles? No. You know what makes a gun a rifle? If it fires a rifle round.
a few of those guys fighting, looked like they were hitting the cutting edge against their opponents sword in the same place. they didn't actually do that, because hitting swords together like that would have a great chance to break the weapon, make it dull etc. they would usually use the side of the sword to block a hit.
Bows and arrows may be the preferred way of war but swordfights or close quarter combat is much cooler and personal in stories. Just look at movies. We see more of the infantry battles in very close quarters than movies about the doom and perils that artillery crew face tens of miles away. Even movies about fighter planes showcase intense dogfights than the crew manning the anti aircraft missile battery. Sci fi movies have energy weapons that can blast planets to bits but they all ended up with close quarter combats.In real life war videos like precision bombings or drone strikes feels so distant but the sound of shots snapping at the cameraman is enough to make viewers jump. Which would an exciting movie scene: a disciplined, professional hunter shooting a bear with an anti-material rifle from two miles away or a lone explorer facing the bear with just a knife?
The sword held the soul of the Samaria. It was a sacred blade to them. Often handed down generation to generation. Though it is true pole arms were used more in battle, the sword was still important to them in so many ways...
Bear in mind, the katana is a pretty shit battlefield weapon. I'm not saying it's bad as far as swords go, but popular culture such as games and anime make it to be some kind of "super sword". The reality is, the katana was mostly used to kill unarmored opponents and/or civilians. It did dick all against good armor, though there were techniques that you could use to cut the exposed parts of an opponents armor. (the armpits being the best target for a kill shot) This video did have a few things right; on the battlefield, bows were considered VERY important. On the topic of polearms, well....the yari saw more general use then the polearm they don't mention by name (which I assume to be the naginata)
Every weapon in Japanese culture was important to them in so many different ways. As you stated, the Katana held a soul. But the spear was also important, as it (according to their mythology) created the islands of Japan as well. If i can recall, bow and horse may have been of great importance because the Japanese suffered a great defeat against the Native people of Norther Japan around the Sendai region, they are known as the Emishi, who practiced the way of horse archery to hold the advancement of Japan.
Up until the Tokugawa Bakufu it was just another piece of their arsenal. Up until the Gekko Kujo and Sengoku Jidai the bow held primacy as evidenced by kyudo followed shortly there-after by the yari and the various incarnations there-of.
yes, the samurai should never part from his sword and bla bla bla,, acctualy most of these ideas came during the long peace after sengoku, it was also then they got the time to develop the 'art' in 'martial art', and many other arts aswell. During a battle they just used whatever tool that would ley them survive / win. Same with this "never block with the edge of the sword, it will chip"-nonsene, if it protects you from dieing then its totaly worth chipping the edge. Rather suriveve the battle with a chipped edge than having a pefect blade next to your dead body on the field.
I think he might not notice that. I’ve seen a lot of L5R being used as Feudal Japan videos (like Scorpian Ashigaru or L5R’s Sohei) due to the art team trying to make it more period accurate than its contemporary’s “generic fantasy with Japanese cover”.
If you ever do a facts video about ninjas, I have this little wisdom to share. Agent 47 from the Hitman video game series is the best fictional representation of the ninja.
I don't know why but after like 5 minutes I was looking at how long this will take and realized it was just 5 minutes and still felt like a whole documentary. Still love it thou.
What gets me the most is when you see movies and they're dressed up in their native clothes. It's always colors and materials that they never even had back then and they all look like they take a bath everyday
> Crude flintlock The Tanegashima, once taken from the portugese, was refined by the japanese, with some trial and error. More were in use in japan than in all of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
My only criticism of this excellent piece, is you didn't mention the three way war between Knights, Vikings, and Samurai that went on for thousands of years.
when discussing bow and arrow vs katana preference of samurai, its important to note the distinction between the feudal period or "warring states" era of Japanese history, and the more recent "ronin" period, which roughly corresponds to the American "wild west" time period. in the early period of samurai history, they were the warrior class, somewhat like how we would think of officers these days, so yes, they would focus more on ranged combat/archery often from horseback, while directing the course of the battle and commanding peasant conscripts or lower ranking samurai class men. however, toward the end of the days of class structure in Japanese society, centralized government and law took the place of the need for feudal lords and their strongmen to keep order and collect taxes, so many of the "samurai" class found themselves jobless and master-less. basically trained vagabonds wandering the countryside, taking up with bandits, or local mob bosses. They were more concerned with sword skill, since thats what you would have to use in a dark alleyway or when waylayed on the highway.
flags that the samurai wore into battle served a dual purpose. used not only to identify yourself for commanders but also used to deflect arrows. whoever figured that out was a genius.
In reference to point #7, the Japanese firearms were not flintlocks, they were matchlocks -- an earlier form of lock mechanism abandoned in Europe with the flintlock was perfected. In Japan, which deliberately isolated itself from most outside contact after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun in the 16th century, the matchlock persisted, and was still in use with Commodore Perry landed in Japan in 1854.
ninjas arnt what we thought samurai arnt what we thought so ninja vs samurai was probably a guy avoiding paying his taxes *samurai approaches, ninja sneaks out window*
Ninja were a branch of the military...if they were paid to be. They were secretive mercenaries who had loyalty to no one and would kill for whoever wanted to pay for it. This means they could have acted as individual hitmen or as assassin teams as well as being soldiers of fortune. Not sure I can fully accept the last fact given in the list, but overall it is very informative and really appreciated.
During the modernizing of Japan. Most samurai turned thier loved weaponry into concealed weapons. Sword canes and such which made them less noticable amongst their rival enforcers. True most melee weapons are last resort. Although most military tactics were to charge in to nulify range weapons. Samurai carried 4-5 swords, a bow, and thier naginata spear. Of the many weapons used. Weapons would break and shatter. Other swords like Nagamaki and Odachi were used. Chain weapons, fans, and more were used. It did depend on the samurai preference. The bow, katana, wakizashi, and tanto were just standard for each.
In short: The Japanese have romanticised and popularised their own culture to such a degree that they themselves are partially incapable of seperating fact from fiction. After the Sengoku Jidai, the warlike Samurai had to be civilised and put to work in the newly unified feudal Japan. The Shoguns couldn't have them running around and starting rebellions for some Daimyo, so they basically became beaurocrats and administrators. And after seeing the traders from the commoners gaining more and more fortunes, many Samurai pursued similar careers. The "Honda" corporation stems from an old Samurai family. The Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 was the last push of an otherwise outdated social class to hold on to old privileges. And they didn't exactly fight for "the soul of Japan" as portrayed in "The Last Samurai", but their old privileges like being able to carry weapons and tax exempts. And the rebels ironically only used swords and bows when they ran out of ammunition or guns or both. The romanticised era of the Sengoku Jidai clashes between honorable Samurai was long over.
Actually, the weapon that the Samurai used in close range combat to beat armour was the Yoroidoushi, a weapon close to being like a tanto but more a stabbing implement like a Rondello.
5. Samurai Men Considered Managing Money Beneath Them (and left managing money to their women) 4. Many Samurai Were Deeply In Debt To The Emerging Merchant Class Makes sense.
Liked the video however there are two points that I have to call into question. Archery was a prized skill due to the samurai starting off as mounted archers and the nesscessity of being skilled at hunting. This aspect and much of how the samurai waged war changed after the Mongol Invasions. It's importance never changed but swordsmanship was elevated in its importance. The Civil War between the Minamoto and the Taira saw more close quarters engagements as Minamoto No Yoshitsune rose up as a pivitoal figure in the war. This conflict was followed up by the eventual Mongol Invasions where the samurai were again pressed into situations where the bow and arrow didn't suffice. These events would shape samurai warfare doctrine. The samurai started conscription, it was cheaper to out fit the foot soldiers with spears due to the cost being cheaper. This is why the spear was more popular as its cost allowed them to equip troops more readily. You still had samurai who would use the whatever the preferred or whatever weapon was suited to the situation. This was during the Sengoku period and the advent of the Portuguese iron trade. The access to higher quality iron and better smiting techniques allowed for the sword to become more preferable from this period on to the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.
They were a victim of trends and fashion like every other fighting force. The Samurai started as swordsmen but as warfare evolved the bow became the weapon of choice. Let's not forget the Samurai legacy spanned several decades/generations. It was more the Ashugari that practiced Archery. It was prized for sure.
Last Samurai had ironically very realistic costumes for the Samurai, despite being stupidly historically inaccurate. Also the Samurai loved guns so much they developed tactics that wouldn't be used in other countries till the 1600's
I love you guys! I find all your videos to be informative and accurate! I love history, can't get enough of it! There are not enough historical videos on utube that are short but full of so much information on a vast array of topics. You guys are in a league of your own and set the bar extremely high! Thank you for all your hard work and keepem comin!
The samurai used traditional Jiu-jitsu which was developed to fight armored opponents..... and it's just okay in comparisons to other martial arts. If you are an experienced fighter and spar somebody using it you'll find stylistic holes very quickly. Judo is a streamlined version of it developed to emphasize throwing clothed opponents. (A clean throw is considered a win because slamming a guy wearing full armor is pretty much his death sentence when you walk over and stab him). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu took the submissions from Jiu-Jitsu and Judo and further developed on those. So arguably the most practical martial arts are being developed in modern times.
No. 7: The guns of the 16th and 17th century were not flintlock rifles. The pictures shown later in the discussion on this fact are correct. The firearms used were matchlock muskets. A musket is smooth bore, not rifled and have poor accuracy. The ignition source for the powder is not a flint, but a slow match. It is attached to a serpentine, an S, or snake shaped handle that brings the burning end of the match into contact with the primer powder.
Something else about archery, if memory serves the original incarnation of the samurai as a warrior was fulfilling the role of horse archer. Once upon a time, Japanese armies were tiny things centered around mounted warfare and samurai would try to out-maneuver each other from a distance. As armies got bigger and more infantry-centered, samurai took to mastering other weapons, including but by no means limited to the katana. So basically, bushido went through the same kind of history as chivalry. Neither code got a standardized codification until Victorian times, when romanticism was the name of the game. Prior to that, it was often determined by courage and prowess in battle, coupled with loyalty to one's feudal or heavenly lord and what they demanded of their retainers. Matchlock muskets were the firearms of choice in the Sengoku era; flintlocks weren't invented (maybe) or widespread (definitely) until the late 1600s, at the earliest. Same goes for rifling, that was a European invention from the mid to late 1600s and it didn't take off until the 1700s. Japan never had rifles until the late 1800s.
About Ninjas... After the fall of Koga and Iga, the Ninja started to be hired en masse by the Damyio's and by the Shogun... As such, they became as you described, a branch in the military of all the Feudal Lords, but the thing is, before all that, they were just peasants. And most of the ninja lived in Koga and Iga province, so yes, you are right for some of the right age, but befora Tokugawa Ieyasu, things worked in a diferent way. After that, the likes of Hatori Hanzo started to join the Shogun's army and started to *train* Samurai to do their job. While it was not only opened to the Samurai class, they often emplyoed high ranking woman to be trained as Kunoichi, but several peasant girls as well, to infiltrate the castles and kill the lords from the within... Actually, good part of why the ninjas were so good at killing Samurai Lords, is because they already had a good number of kunoichi inside the castle... One such High Ranking woman, and kunoichi managed to hire, train and later employ 130 girls just to get her target...
#2 It should be noted, that samurai did not train in striking arts. Striking arts aren't all that good an idea, when weapons are involved. They trained in grappling ...and grappling can often be part of weapon use (when you get in close. Sometimes using the weapon as a lever, as part of the grappling)
Ninjas were not originally highborn, they came from the farmer class. There were ninja clans that often recruited from the same families and villages. They were most often spies and the stealthy and hidden nature of their trade would have been considered dishonourable by upper class men. They were, however, often employed by great lords as they could do the dirty work that samurai were not prepared to do. Later, more well born men did become ninjas but they were generally minor nobles or younger sons, it was not a prestigious role. As to their dress, the famous black outfit was for stealth missions but usually they would have worn some sort of disguise as they were generally scouts and spies, some Ninja excelled at disguising themselves as women.
The popular misconception in the west about black-garbed ninja probably stems from the tradition in 'No' (serious as opposed to 'Kabuki' - almost farce) drama that the audience was supposed to ignore any character appearing on stage dressed in black as these were almost always the scene shifters; there are no pauses in 'No' such as 'acts' to allow for a change of scene. As you say it is far more likely that like now spies etc were dressed in 'mufti' appropriate to the mission.
No, Ninjas come from Farmers is a myth there's no evidence for that, one of the most famous ninjas, Hattori Hanzo was in fact also is samurai and bushido code has been greatly romanticize by books,movies and anime
Japanese Arquebus was one of the best rifles initially, but European rifles made vast improvement during Edo period when it shuts off contact with outside world with few exceptions. It was accurate up to 140 meters (bow back then were accurate up to 70 meters) and had a power to penetrate armor. Initially it was a main export from Japan to Europe; Japanese produced more rifle than any other countries in Europe.
I heard that the mainstream image of the ninja (the all black assassin suits) was actually based on what Japanese stage hands wore, in order to operate the puppets etc without detection. As opposed to how they would have really dressed.
One slight correction: The stage hands were still visible and detectable ...but the audience would treat them as not being there. Treating them as "invisible". The connection came about, because occasionally a stage hand might suddenly kill someone ...which would mean that the (ninja) killer suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as the ninja was treated as a master of stealth and that was a way to show that ...and make things exciting for the audience.
As far as I am aware, the martial arts we westerners are so found of were mostly developed and used by monks to defend their temples and/or shrines. Unlike the samurai, hand-to-hand wasn't a last resort for these monks, it was the only resort.
The narrator uses the term flintlock for early muskets in Japan, but the images show matchlocks. These are a very early version of gunpowder weapons that use the smoldering end of a slow-burning cord to ignite the powder charge. It's certainly what Europeans used when they first began using guns.
They'd be dopes alright. The samurais/officers of WW2 were brutal & vicious toward all Asians & Pacific Islanders w/ whom they came into contact. O's carried katanas & used them on prisoners too. The best name for special forces is......?....... (i.e. no name)
Bushido code is a bit of a mash up but Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi gives a much better overall picture and understanding of the concepts that were important. Though even this was written at a time when the Samurai and the need for large scale battles had lost their usefulness.
Knight vs Samurai.Samurai wore light armour.Knights wore plate armour which covered his whole body.The katana was not ment to fight plate armour. A knight can use the techniques of 'half swording' to push the tip ot his sword into gaps of one's armour.Result: knight wins.
I am pretty sure they were not rifles, but muskets. Rifles have a special type of barrel made to spin a rounded-cylinder projectile, that is far more accurate than a standard musket ball.
5:19 Guns, were very pratical, and also, they were just banned, forbidden to use by any people, during most of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and only samurai could carry any type of weapon.
They did develop hand to hand martial skills highly as part of their exercise daily regime. It takes a lot of stamina to charge into battle in piece mail armor. The original bujutsu was highly developed before the feudal era due to Chinese trade and immigration, some of whom brought martial skill and training with them. Thank for the great video. :-)
The Samurai was, like in Europe Knights were the Elite Soldiers, that were high paied and even got the right to own their own house, land and title. The Samurai often fought for "honor" but we should say for more payment the higher the head the better reward, an Enemy Generals Head were the most rewarding. It was that rewarding that even peasants or normal foot soldiers could rise to a Samurai and the right to rule. During the Sengoku Jidai these way of promotion were the most famous times of peseants rising to power for example Toyotomi Hideyoshi he was son of a farmer and thru achivements and survival during the many battles he undertook and rose to the most powerful position during that time. He even commanded an Invasion to Korea which failed but still he had the power to unify the whole of Japan as Shogun.
Prior to 1900s, average size of Japanese male was 150cm tall with around 50kg in weight. Samurais weren't so powerful as portrayed from modern pop cultured movies and animations, Bushido was actually work of 20th century book by Nitobe Inazō after studying European knight from his oversea student education. The introduction of firearms made sword & archery rather not very effective so by 1600s, most East Asian warefare was fought with canons and primitive firearms in all sizes since 15th century c.e.
I'll bet those little badgers were tough as hammers & quick as a shot. Recall the size difference between the short Romans & the giant Germanic tribes. Who won? & then came the little horsemen from the Asian Steppes. The Pygmies of Africa hunted elephants w/ spears & machetes. Size means nothing, alas.
The "flintlocks" you show at 13:31 minutes are not flintlocks, they are matchlocks. A flintlock uses a piece of flint striking against a piece of steel to create sparks to ignite the gunpowder charge. The weapons you show use a smouldering piece of rope to ignite the charge.
Skill in archery is indeed more valuable than Sword in battlefield. But what we were imagine about samurai were those who wandering/ronin/vagabond like rurouni kenshin and miyamoto musashi. They ain't using arrow iirc
I thought the reason the Ninja were usually attacking the Samurai was because the noble class was the one you would actually want to send a professional assassin after, and they would have enemies rich enough to afford professional assassins rather than the poorer people.
#9, "modern ideas of western chivalry". Except that there's not even _close_ to a single unified code of chivalry, and there never was one, as each king had his own one. #7, flintlock _rifles_? While they did use arquebuses and muskets, I've a hard time believing they used used rifles, those being more finicky to load and prone to powder-fouling.
Not only did they not use rifles (rifle being a gun with rifled barrel) but they did not use flintlock firearms of any type. All firearms in Japan before the modernization period were matchlocks.
@@benerdick_cumberbiatch The Boshin war and Satsuma rebellion were during the Meiji period which was the time they started modernization/post-modernization so Eternalnight was right. They used matchlocks primarily before then, because Japan was in a period of isolation from the West, so they were kind of behind there.
@@benerdick_cumberbiatch During the Boshin war the Tokugawa shogunate was desposed, followed by rapid modernization, classes were abolished by this point so effectively they weren't the same anymore, and the modern rifles weren't that prevelant till the country modernized during the boshin war, which weren't just samurai anymore
#2 Karate was developed by commoners as defense against samurai because they were not allowed to own weapons thus Empty Hand combat was developed, especially in Okinawa. They also developed kobudo to turn common working tools into weapons for the same reason. Another prized possession of the Samurai was their armor which this video didn't really go into.
Samurai trained in grappling arts. Jujutsu. Not karate. Your comments on the origins of karate, is thus irrelevant. Also, it is inaccurate. Karate was imported from China. The "kara" in karate originally meant Chinese (so "Chinese fist". This was later changed to "empty fist", for nationalistic reasons). Also Okinawa wasn't part of Japan, for most of its history. They were a separate nation, and Okinawan farmers would have little dealings with Japanese (and thus foreign) samurai.
The main reason a gentleman or samurai did not handle money has to do with the fact that most public officials were samurai. It was a means of preventing corruption. After all, if you are a police officer and did not understand the value of money and belonged to a class of people who held very deep taboos regarding money then it would be less likely you would accept a bribe. Even the offer of a bribe was considered a deep insult. Also, the Noble class was above the samurai. Next, under the samurai were farmers and under them trades men. The merchant were the lowest class with only the burakumin being below them. They were like the "untouchables".
"Crude flintlock rifles" So crude they had neither flint nor rifling. Those are smooth bore MATCH LOCKS not "Crude flintlock rifles" See the thin rope that goes from left forearm to the lock? That is a match = match lock fire arm not flint lock rifle. The Tanegashima is thought to have been based on the Portuguese snap lock (also a match lock) after some Portuguese became stranded on an island of Japan , the lord of the Japanese island, Tanegashima Tokitaka (1528-1579), purchased two matchlock muskets from the Portuguese and put a swordsmith to work copying the matchlock barrel and firing mechanism.
Saoirse .
meggawatt muffin "their (they're) extremely similer." well except for the matchlock pre dating the flintlock by 230 YEARS, so the guns Tanegashima Tokitaka purchased and copied existed and flintlocks didn't until 61 years after his death, There are no flints, no frizzens on a matchlock, the ignition is completely different, a Match lock uses an existing source of ignition (a burning slow match) while the flint lock creates it's own ignition though mechanically stored energy (spring) Driven means. Yea they are about as similar as an ice chest and a refrigerator. Both keep your beer cold only one needs an outside source of cold (ice) and one does it through another means. Or in short, no, they really aren't that similar
He got it wrong yeah, I think he just trying to say they weren't as advanced as other countries, which I may be entirely wrong on because I know nothing about Japanese firearms.
Oh picky picky picky....
@@qthedisaster1730 Japanese actually made a lot of upgrades to the matchlocks and they use it far more than all European powers combined all the way till the US knock the door and they skipped the Flintlock entirely.
They were matchlocks not flintlocks and they weren't crude either.
+Tim Shirley What's wrong with correcting misinformation?
And they weren't rifled either.
Too bad i cant grow a beard.
This whole video is misinformation x)
QuickAnice If that is the case, then why don't you comment with your specific grievances?
Food were scarce back then like Europeans boiling cabbage with mashed peas spread. Japanese only ate rice, smoked fish, and saki. Mostly just steamed rice. The lack of nutrient made the populace 5ft, frail, pail, and were prone to respiratory infection. Compared to Medieval Europeans they live slowly slightly longer but in array similar to early deaths in the 30s due constant roaring factions.
This video pissed off a lot of teenage boys.
Weeabos too.
If anything this presents a rather positive image of the Samurai, why would anyone be pissed?
An American so where English French Knights!😋
have you been enjoyed by one?
Mark Jones Exactly.
Seven Samurai and Yojimbo taught me most of this ; ) )
And Shogun 2 included.
One of the best samurai units being Naginata polearm wielding Samurai.
When im confused or studying for an exam - I come to TH-cam for all my facts and to clear my head of misconceptions.
I sense a little irony
There was an in-depth documentary of Japanese emperor who collected lot of books on Korean Hwarang warriors and believed it was essential to adapt Hwarang principle and ingrain it into Samurai code of Bushido. Mainstream historians agree that Japan only began to make their own swords 700 years ago, before that katana type swords were imported from Silla dynasty Korea where the way of Hwarang had huge influence.
top ten facts about native americans
TopTenz almost like top ten ancient warriors or whatever it was
Ever heard of wikipedia?
do Fijian warriors.
#1
Never owned even 10% of modern USA's lands and were half-nomadic savages
Олег Егоров
cool
I thought that Japanese social class triangle was really cool. It was interesting to see where the farmers landed.
H VonWolfenstein providing the main food source make sense to keep them happy
+robuk1981 Agreed. The way to my heart is through my stomach as well :) Although I'm curious to know the ease of trade routes in the local area. I was surprised to see merchants so low on the list given their status elevation in Florence in a similar time period. Even this video spoke about the wealth of the merchant class, which could easily procure exotic foods and goods through trading. Anyway, all very interesting!
East Asian countries tend to value merchants less because the rulers believe "production" is the way to build up wealth, not trading.
E.g. Netherland was one of the first capitalist country yet it failed in the competition with UK, because UK was an industry based capitalist country and Netherland was trading-based.
Yes and no merchents were often not valued as much in orenaintal society's because in the mindset of the people was the merchents did not make anything the farmer grew crops the artisans work the fields etc but in their views all the merchents did was sell the hard work and stereotypically seen as greedy it was about money but it also was how importantly they were viewed in society
It was like this:
Emperor- Has/No power depending on the Period
Shogunate- Has/No power depending on the Period
Daimiyo
Samurai
Farmers
Craftsman
Merchants
Outlaws/Foreigners
You were showing matchlocks not flintlocks. And they were probably muskets rather than rifles.
I noticed that too. Definitely matchlocks.
Arquebuses.
Or calivers.
There is a definite difference between Warring States era samurai and Shogunate era samurai.
The use of Rifles in Japan's Sengoku period actually helped Nobunaga Oda's and Ieyasu Tokugawa's forces win the battle of Nagashino against the Takeda Cavalry. While in most works of fiction Nobunaga is shown as being the ultimate victor, Ieyasu actually profitted the most from the battle. The Takeda forces lost over 20,000 men, while the Oda and Tokugawa forces only lost around 60.
Archery was more important.
Source: A dude from the Japanese archery team...
Yeah i see no reason why we would need additional sources.
This also overlooks that Japanese warfare was mostly warfare within one culture, with people all sharing the same relative values.
Such contest tend to be a lot more stylized and a lot less indiscriminatly deadly than wars between cultures... which makes archery, which was potentially much deadlier, less likely.
All in all this video would need its own debunking.
Ehhhh... Samurai's main skill was definitely mounted archery.
Ranged warfare is not definitionally more deadly. Most tribalistic ritual warfare was just two groups throwing things at each other and then going home. I also contend with the premise that men would be less inclined to kill their countrymen at that time period. Look at the city states of Greece to the feudal holdings of japan.. same shit different day
@Dushworker:
I can't see your comment, but i am just gonna assume it will be here.
First Japanese samurai tradition is LONG.
So the tail end of the Tokugawa Shogunate will not have much in common, for a myriad of reasons, with the medieval period, the period of the warring states (their's, not the Chinese') or the Heian period.
But generally (and i use generally here, because the video uses 'logically' ) societies with close social ties, relativly scarce ressources and comparativly small populations tend to not massacre each other because if they did even the winner would have little use of their victory because the society would break down with too few people.
In that regard Greek city states (which sometimes bordered on the overpopulated) can be much more generous with their troops than Japanese or European medieval (depending on era) armies.
It is also less an aversion of killing your countryman, it is the ability to formulate and enforce a code that makes fighting without the need for indiscriminate killing for self-preservation possible.
Ritualistic warfare needs strict rules for when people fight, when they do not, how a winner is determined and when and how fighting is stopped. Societies are able to implement in themselves universal ways of surrender and mercy and can also enforce those but that gets harder and harder (especially the enforcement) the bigger the social divide grows.
Think the idealized duel among gentlemen to settle a grudge:
There is a clear cut line from non-violence to violence (the moment the pistols have been taken from the case there is little chance of going back), there is a clear start of hostility (which the referee gives) that is enforced either by violence or social shunning (by the witnesses present), there is a clear rule how the duel is to be fought (prior agreed upon) as well as a winning condition (also prior agreed upon).
Also those combined provide a space where there is no pressing need to kill the other because he cannot be relied upon not to kill oneself but a space where killing is highly regulated and ritulaized.
So what you're saying is that people tend to use less effective and deadly weapons during civil wars. You what, mate?
But yes, in the 13th century samurai were cavalrymen, much like most noble warrior classes all over the world, and they used tachi, which was basically a cavalry sabre, and a bow. Then they started fighting on foot for about 250 years. And later they used guns. You know... the least deadly weapons ever, right?
Voice In the Wilderness Your rational makes no sense. Even in civil wars people try to kill each other.
You can kill people en masse by artillery, machine guns, etc.
Or you can fight within strict bounds, effectivly in a huge line of duels.
In both cases people die and in both cases people intend to kill.
Still these things are very different.
And to achieve a level of social understanding and cohesion to make the second possible, it certainly helps if a language and culture is shared.
No weapon was viewed as more important. The katana was believed to be the soul of a warrior, but the wakazashi and the tanto both had their place. Archery, both on foot and on horseback, were viewed as primary military weapons, but as any general would tell you no battle was won by archery alone. The naginata was not common, the yari was the lance like weapon used by foot soldiers, the naginata was often used on horseback to cut down swathes of archers.
Much of this is explained in Musashi's Book Of Five Rings where he talks about the failings of using the wrong weapon for the wrong battle.
Hakama were indeed horseriding trousers used to protect not only the uniform/armour from dust and weathering, but to protect the horse from being scratched by the armour. Hiding the footwork was simply a bonus for sensei when he was teaching students ..... hence why in the arts that aren't kendo (A very modern sporting version of kenjutsu) only senior grades are entitled to wear the hakama. Hiding the footwork was to stop students overreaching themselves (Again Musashi talks about this) as students were supposed to copy by rote. Once they reached a certain level the sensei would reveal "The secret" of the techniques ..... the footwork.
However; I digress. All weapons were considered equally important, but the katana itself was held in extremely high regard as a spiritual symbol of the samurai class. (Quite possibly because they are difficult to forge correctly and represent the huge upheaval following the failed Mongol invasion, in which the curved blades of the Mongols were so superior to the straight blades of the Nihongo, that they faced utter annihilation if it were not for a typhoon (known as the kamikaze) destroying the mongols' ships.
Regarding Point 7, the firearm in question was neither a flintlock nor a rifle. They were matchlocks, a type of firearm that used a slow-burning cord as its means of ignition. The typical matchlock of the 16th and 17th centuries, whether in Europe or Japan was a smoothbore, i.e. no grooves (called rifling) in the barrel intended to impart a stabilizing spin to the projectile. Furthermore, guns were generally given to peasant conscripts rather than to samurai retainers because all the training needed to use a smoothbore matchlock with all the effectiveness the weapon was capable of could be absorbed in a matter of days, weeks at the outside, whereas samurai weapons required years of training and drill to master. Using peasant musketeers was a quick and relatively cheap way for an ambitious diamyo to raise a powerful army.
And you are generalizing time periods, at the sengoku age sure spear and arrows were more used and praised buyt at the Tokugawa age (a time without war) archery was not as praised as swordfighting at all, there where dozens of new sword schools funded by ronins that needed the money to survive and also people didn´t walk through Japan with a bow and arrows, they walked with swords. Culturally in general the sword is way more precious to them than the bow.
Noan Manji. thank you.. they dont understand is that most people think of the tokugawa rounin instead of the armoured army samurais.
nobody carried bow and arrows or long spears in the streets.
That was a time of peace, samurai weren't fighting in wars, they were walking around in everyday clothes, sword were easy to carry around and were perfect for self defence and duels, therefore the importance of kenjutsu.
Question: Wouldn't it be in theory that the initially the bow/spears be more prized in the way he said, he was referring to the Senguoku Jidai more so than the Edo period from my understanding isn't he because he mention battles...while I do believe that the sword rose in stature in peace because the sword was more practical than the rest in peace which is why I think he mentioned it because I am pretty certain that the sword wouldn't have been as dominate in war as say the rest.
I just think that the sword would have necessarily trumped the sword to the samurai since they were still soldiers after all
carrying a katana said more about one's wealth than one's fighting skills
Warlike as the Samurai were, they would not exclude ANY method of killing their enemies. Western folklore has put a romantic spin on a bunch of people who were actually quite brutal and amoral.
Even among Japanese people samurai culture isn't common knowledge. I grew up studying a samurai curriculum with main combat skills focused on archery and horseback riding. When it came to using melee weapons we started with unarmed fighting which was the foundation building coordination and intuition. Swords were typically used to collect heads on the battlefield. If you were too close for a spear you'd use a war club to bludgeon their foes to death. Miyamoto Musashi once wrote that you always used the weapon that was best suited to what and where you were fighting. You wouldn't use a sword an a sprawling battlefield but you wouldn't use a spear inside castle corridor either. What I was taught was that samurai philosophy changed a great deal once the sengoku period ended. A lot of battles were decided by one side convincing soldiers from the other side to defect and change sides mid battle. Sometimes when things weren't going well samurai would just run away. I think the romantic version popularized by media is a lot more entertaining, just not entirely true.
The Hakama is very comfy, I sometimes wear mine on cooler days to keep warm!!
bruceownsu Nah dude, comfy and gets the ladies!!
Jiraiya_Ero_Sannin just stop....
Skinny penis pete you jelly!!
04:16 It's called a "Matchlock Musket"
They used crude matchlocks, not flintlock rifles. Neither flintlocks nor rifling had not been invented yet.
7. It should be matchlocks.
Well, people tend to conflate muskets with flintlocks though.
DND And Warhammer Fantasy (though there were old gunner models with matchlocks and supporting forks for the latter) being a prime example.
maybe label it correctly '10 popular misconceptions' instead of things YOU don't know.... especially if you include a bunch of obvious stuff.....
TopTenz perhaps that true. But I think people like to think they're smart, so saying they're "wrong"....well... could start a riot nowadays.
Ya just got your ass handed to you. Too funny. I wonder how many katanas you own?
TopTenz has the riot happend yet? Or can I still sign up? We'll start a petition and you'll tremble before our might, just you see!
"Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death."
"You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour."
-- Musashi.
Musashi was in a class of his own. We're talking about mere mortals here.
musashi is fiction. like superman
@@kongkong1364 you're almost a fiction yourself by the way you think
Archery was more important until after the Mongol invasion. And then they realized that foot soldiers and close combat was more important.
These facts are true. Samurai rarely engaged in sword fights. Those swords were not exactly used for long fights but for straight up for fast kill. Even in some cases they were used in a way that Samurais spread their arm and swiftly decapitate enemies heads. Samurais were also tasked to be ninjas in numerous cases and some ninjas were recruited or promoted to Samurai rank. Also real ninjas didn't wear black suits. They worn dark blue suits that blended with night better than black suits. On other hand black suits were HELLA expensive and were only used for entertainment purposes. Specifically to hide in shadows to play drums for intense moments. And these masked suits were used RARELY. Real ninjas had to blend in and were tasked more at daytime than at night. Nighttime strategies were ambush based. And even if Flintlock guns were ineffective in some days (rainy days specifically, gunpowder would get damp) they were important. Samurais used them to directly harm other foot soldiers. When spears would get broken. And ninjas too used firearms. Hell, they were the first to invent hand-grenades. They also used small cannons and bomb-arrows to smite others.
Hell Oda Nobunaga was almost killed by a ninja who used those kind of weapons.
If u guys didn't know even if your a samurai using a katana your left hand is always on the bottom also if your swinging to the left starting from the right your right leg goes front if you attack from left going to the right your left leg goes in the front
4:46, they used in the XVI nor flintlock, nor rifles, they were machtlock arquebuses...
Rafael Melo also BSA airguns!.22calibure!
Rifles? In the 1500s? Do you even know what rifling is?
He said samurai used them, not that they were accurate. But if you're shooting into a line of 30+ people, I doubt accuracy matters.
There were always different kinds of guns...Even in medieval times there were VERY VERY crude gunpowder based weapons. Read up on your history.
Top Nep Whether they're accurate or not is not the point, rifling is a specific firearms feature, twisted grooves in the barrel to spin-stabilize the projectile.
Trigerman333 Yeah they weren't rifled though were they?
Michael Price Dude. Handguns have rifling. Does that mean that handguns are now rifles? No. You know what makes a gun a rifle? If it fires a rifle round.
a few of those guys fighting, looked like they were hitting the cutting edge against their opponents sword in the same place. they didn't actually do that, because hitting swords together like that would have a great chance to break the weapon, make it dull etc. they would usually use the side of the sword to block a hit.
i hope their is a vid like this for each warrior they have covered previously.
Bows and arrows may be the preferred way of war but swordfights or close quarter combat is much cooler and personal in stories. Just look at movies. We see more of the infantry battles in very close quarters than movies about the doom and perils that artillery crew face tens of miles away. Even movies about fighter planes showcase intense dogfights than the crew manning the anti aircraft missile battery. Sci fi movies have energy weapons that can blast planets to bits but they all ended up with close quarter combats.In real life war videos like precision bombings or drone strikes feels so distant but the sound of shots snapping at the cameraman is enough to make viewers jump.
Which would an exciting movie scene: a disciplined, professional hunter shooting a bear with an anti-material rifle from two miles away or a lone explorer facing the bear with just a knife?
The sword held the soul of the Samaria. It was a sacred blade to them. Often handed down generation to generation. Though it is true pole arms were used more in battle, the sword was still important to them in so many ways...
Bear in mind, the katana is a pretty shit battlefield weapon. I'm not saying it's bad as far as swords go, but popular culture such as games and anime make it to be some kind of "super sword". The reality is, the katana was mostly used to kill unarmored opponents and/or civilians. It did dick all against good armor, though there were techniques that you could use to cut the exposed parts of an opponents armor. (the armpits being the best target for a kill shot) This video did have a few things right; on the battlefield, bows were considered VERY important. On the topic of polearms, well....the yari saw more general use then the polearm they don't mention by name (which I assume to be the naginata)
Every weapon in Japanese culture was important to them in so many different ways. As you stated, the Katana held a soul. But the spear was also important, as it (according to their mythology) created the islands of Japan as well.
If i can recall, bow and horse may have been of great importance because the Japanese suffered a great defeat against the Native people of Norther Japan around the Sendai region, they are known as the Emishi, who practiced the way of horse archery to hold the advancement of Japan.
Up until the Tokugawa Bakufu it was just another piece of their arsenal. Up until the Gekko Kujo and Sengoku Jidai the bow held primacy as evidenced by kyudo followed shortly there-after by the yari and the various incarnations there-of.
yes, the samurai should never part from his sword and bla bla bla,, acctualy most of these ideas came during the long peace after sengoku, it was also then they got the time to develop the 'art' in 'martial art', and many other arts aswell. During a battle they just used whatever tool that would ley them survive / win.
Same with this "never block with the edge of the sword, it will chip"-nonsene, if it protects you from dieing then its totaly worth chipping the edge. Rather suriveve the battle with a chipped edge than having a pefect blade next to your dead body on the field.
I love the small shout out to Legend of the Five Rings. Dragon Clan Monk teaching a Scorpion Clan youth.
I think he might not notice that.
I’ve seen a lot of L5R being used as Feudal Japan videos (like Scorpian Ashigaru or L5R’s Sohei) due to the art team trying to make it more period accurate than its contemporary’s “generic fantasy with Japanese cover”.
Naginata or sword staffs are basically a spear but with a sword-type head on 1 side. Sounds nuts.
If you ever do a facts video about ninjas, I have this little wisdom to share. Agent 47 from the Hitman video game series is the best fictional representation of the ninja.
I don't know why but after like 5 minutes I was looking at how long this will take and realized it was just 5 minutes and still felt like a whole documentary. Still love it thou.
Early guns were good as a sort of dramatic expensive, time consuming, production heavy weapon that was really only effective in a large volley.
What gets me the most is when you see movies and they're dressed up in their native clothes. It's always colors and materials that they never even had back then and they all look like they take a bath everyday
> Crude flintlock
The Tanegashima, once taken from the portugese, was refined by the japanese, with some trial and error. More were in use in japan than in all of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
My only criticism of this excellent piece, is you didn't mention the three way war between Knights, Vikings, and Samurai that went on for thousands of years.
Basically, things are never as glamorous in the real world as we like to think
when discussing bow and arrow vs katana preference of samurai, its important to note the distinction between the feudal period or "warring states" era of Japanese history, and the more recent "ronin" period, which roughly corresponds to the American "wild west" time period. in the early period of samurai history, they were the warrior class, somewhat like how we would think of officers these days, so yes, they would focus more on ranged combat/archery often from horseback, while directing the course of the battle and commanding peasant conscripts or lower ranking samurai class men. however, toward the end of the days of class structure in Japanese society, centralized government and law took the place of the need for feudal lords and their strongmen to keep order and collect taxes, so many of the "samurai" class found themselves jobless and master-less. basically trained vagabonds wandering the countryside, taking up with bandits, or local mob bosses. They were more concerned with sword skill, since thats what you would have to use in a dark alleyway or when waylayed on the highway.
flags that the samurai wore into battle served a dual purpose. used not only to identify yourself for commanders but also used to deflect arrows. whoever figured that out was a genius.
In reference to point #7, the Japanese firearms were not flintlocks, they were matchlocks -- an earlier form of lock mechanism abandoned in Europe with the flintlock was perfected. In Japan, which deliberately isolated itself from most outside contact after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun in the 16th century, the matchlock persisted, and was still in use with Commodore Perry landed in Japan in 1854.
You can't tell me what to IMAGE, I will believe what I want. (turns back and crosses arms)
william Murdoch Yeah I Know *Stomps Feet*
Flintlock means the musket uses flint to strike a frizzen to ignite the starter powder. The Japanese most likely used Matchlock muskets.
I like that the Samurai (Sakamoto Ryouma) in Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin can use guns along with the sword.
Playing the Gekokujo mod in M&B Warband explains a lot of this. Gunners and archers are extremely crucial.
Using the katana with one hand is the best way to loose a limb in a fight.
ninjas arnt what we thought samurai arnt what we thought so ninja vs samurai was probably a guy avoiding paying his taxes *samurai approaches, ninja sneaks out window*
Ninja were a branch of the military...if they were paid to be. They were secretive mercenaries who had loyalty to no one and would kill for whoever wanted to pay for it. This means they could have acted as individual hitmen or as assassin teams as well as being soldiers of fortune. Not sure I can fully accept the last fact given in the list, but overall it is very informative and really appreciated.
During the modernizing of Japan. Most samurai turned thier loved weaponry into concealed weapons. Sword canes and such which made them less noticable amongst their rival enforcers. True most melee weapons are last resort. Although most military tactics were to charge in to nulify range weapons. Samurai carried 4-5 swords, a bow, and thier naginata spear. Of the many weapons used. Weapons would break and shatter. Other swords like Nagamaki and Odachi were used. Chain weapons, fans, and more were used. It did depend on the samurai preference. The bow, katana, wakizashi, and tanto were just standard for each.
In short: The Japanese have romanticised and popularised their own culture to such a degree that they themselves are partially incapable of seperating fact from fiction.
After the Sengoku Jidai, the warlike Samurai had to be civilised and put to work in the newly unified feudal Japan. The Shoguns couldn't have them running around and starting rebellions for some Daimyo, so they basically became beaurocrats and administrators. And after seeing the traders from the commoners gaining more and more fortunes, many Samurai pursued similar careers. The "Honda" corporation stems from an old Samurai family.
The Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 was the last push of an otherwise outdated social class to hold on to old privileges. And they didn't exactly fight for "the soul of Japan" as portrayed in "The Last Samurai", but their old privileges like being able to carry weapons and tax exempts. And the rebels ironically only used swords and bows when they ran out of ammunition or guns or both. The romanticised era of the Sengoku Jidai clashes between honorable Samurai was long over.
Actually, the weapon that the Samurai used in close range combat to beat armour was the Yoroidoushi, a weapon close to being like a tanto but more a stabbing implement like a Rondello.
5. Samurai Men Considered Managing Money Beneath Them (and left managing money to their women)
4. Many Samurai Were Deeply In Debt To The Emerging Merchant Class
Makes sense.
Liked the video however there are two points that I have to call into question.
Archery was a prized skill due to the samurai starting off as mounted archers and the nesscessity of being skilled at hunting. This aspect and much of how the samurai waged war changed after the Mongol Invasions. It's importance never changed but swordsmanship was elevated in its importance. The Civil War between the Minamoto and the Taira saw more close quarters engagements as Minamoto No Yoshitsune rose up as a pivitoal figure in the war. This conflict was followed up by the eventual Mongol Invasions where the samurai were again pressed into situations where the bow and arrow didn't suffice.
These events would shape samurai warfare doctrine. The samurai started conscription, it was cheaper to out fit the foot soldiers with spears due to the cost being cheaper. This is why the spear was more popular as its cost allowed them to equip troops more readily. You still had samurai who would use the whatever the preferred or whatever weapon was suited to the situation. This was during the Sengoku period and the advent of the Portuguese iron trade. The access to higher quality iron and better smiting techniques allowed for the sword to become more preferable from this period on to the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.
They were a victim of trends and fashion like every other fighting force. The Samurai started as swordsmen but as warfare evolved the bow became the weapon of choice. Let's not forget the Samurai legacy spanned several decades/generations. It was more the Ashugari that practiced Archery. It was prized for sure.
The video could end right after "Hello, I'm Simon Whistler" and I'd still click like...
Last Samurai had ironically very realistic costumes for the Samurai, despite being stupidly historically inaccurate.
Also the Samurai loved guns so much they developed tactics that wouldn't be used in other countries till the 1600's
I love you guys! I find all your videos to be informative and accurate! I love history, can't get enough of it! There are not enough historical videos on utube that are short but full of so much information on a vast array of topics. You guys are in a league of your own and set the bar extremely high! Thank you for all your hard work and keepem comin!
The samurai used traditional Jiu-jitsu which was developed to fight armored opponents..... and it's just okay in comparisons to other martial arts. If you are an experienced fighter and spar somebody using it you'll find stylistic holes very quickly. Judo is a streamlined version of it developed to emphasize throwing clothed opponents. (A clean throw is considered a win because slamming a guy wearing full armor is pretty much his death sentence when you walk over and stab him). Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu took the submissions from Jiu-Jitsu and Judo and further developed on those.
So arguably the most practical martial arts are being developed in modern times.
No, those guys told the time machine to take them to a place where life wasn't awful and they ceased to exist. Common misconception
No grasshoper. Jew jitsu is the Kravmaga version of BJJ.VIVA EL MEXICO!
Jujutsu is an umbrella term for hundreds of different styles, and Brazilian Jujutsu came from modern judo not Traditional jujutsu.
No. 7: The guns of the 16th and 17th century were not flintlock rifles. The pictures shown later in the discussion on this fact are correct. The firearms used were matchlock muskets. A musket is smooth bore, not rifled and have poor accuracy. The ignition source for the powder is not a flint, but a slow match. It is attached to a serpentine, an S, or snake shaped handle that brings the burning end of the match into contact with the primer powder.
Something else about archery, if memory serves the original incarnation of the samurai as a warrior was fulfilling the role of horse archer. Once upon a time, Japanese armies were tiny things centered around mounted warfare and samurai would try to out-maneuver each other from a distance. As armies got bigger and more infantry-centered, samurai took to mastering other weapons, including but by no means limited to the katana. So basically, bushido went through the same kind of history as chivalry. Neither code got a standardized codification until Victorian times, when romanticism was the name of the game. Prior to that, it was often determined by courage and prowess in battle, coupled with loyalty to one's feudal or heavenly lord and what they demanded of their retainers. Matchlock muskets were the firearms of choice in the Sengoku era; flintlocks weren't invented (maybe) or widespread (definitely) until the late 1600s, at the earliest. Same goes for rifling, that was a European invention from the mid to late 1600s and it didn't take off until the 1700s. Japan never had rifles until the late 1800s.
About Ninjas... After the fall of Koga and Iga, the Ninja started to be hired en masse by the Damyio's and by the Shogun... As such, they became as you described, a branch in the military of all the Feudal Lords, but the thing is, before all that, they were just peasants. And most of the ninja lived in Koga and Iga province, so yes, you are right for some of the right age, but befora Tokugawa Ieyasu, things worked in a diferent way.
After that, the likes of Hatori Hanzo started to join the Shogun's army and started to *train* Samurai to do their job. While it was not only opened to the Samurai class, they often emplyoed high ranking woman to be trained as Kunoichi, but several peasant girls as well, to infiltrate the castles and kill the lords from the within... Actually, good part of why the ninjas were so good at killing Samurai Lords, is because they already had a good number of kunoichi inside the castle... One such High Ranking woman, and kunoichi managed to hire, train and later employ 130 girls just to get her target...
#2 It should be noted, that samurai did not train in striking arts. Striking arts aren't all that good an idea, when weapons are involved. They trained in grappling ...and grappling can often be part of weapon use (when you get in close. Sometimes using the weapon as a lever, as part of the grappling)
Ninjas were not originally highborn, they came from the farmer class. There were ninja clans that often recruited from the same families and villages. They were most often spies and the stealthy and hidden nature of their trade would have been considered dishonourable by upper class men. They were, however, often employed by great lords as they could do the dirty work that samurai were not prepared to do. Later, more well born men did become ninjas but they were generally minor nobles or younger sons, it was not a prestigious role. As to their dress, the famous black outfit was for stealth missions but usually they would have worn some sort of disguise as they were generally scouts and spies, some Ninja excelled at disguising themselves as women.
The popular misconception in the west about black-garbed ninja probably stems from the tradition in 'No' (serious as opposed to 'Kabuki' - almost farce) drama that the audience was supposed to ignore any character appearing on stage dressed in black as these were almost always the scene shifters; there are no pauses in 'No' such as 'acts' to allow for a change of scene. As you say it is far more likely that like now spies etc were dressed in 'mufti' appropriate to the mission.
No, Ninjas come from Farmers is a myth there's no evidence for that, one of the most famous ninjas, Hattori Hanzo was in fact also is samurai and bushido code has been greatly romanticize by books,movies and anime
when did Michael from Vsauce get a British accent??
Japanese Arquebus was one of the best rifles initially, but European rifles made vast improvement during Edo period when it shuts off contact with outside world with few exceptions. It was accurate up to 140 meters (bow back then were accurate up to 70 meters) and had a power to penetrate armor. Initially it was a main export from Japan to Europe; Japanese produced more rifle than any other countries in Europe.
I heard that the mainstream image of the ninja (the all black assassin suits) was actually based on what Japanese stage hands wore, in order to operate the puppets etc without detection. As opposed to how they would have really dressed.
One slight correction: The stage hands were still visible and detectable ...but the audience would treat them as not being there. Treating them as "invisible".
The connection came about, because occasionally a stage hand might suddenly kill someone ...which would mean that the (ninja) killer suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as the ninja was treated as a master of stealth and that was a way to show that ...and make things exciting for the audience.
ZarlanTheGreen Oh.
Well much obliged, that was quite interesting.
#8-The weapon was called the yari-the swordlike spearhead on a long staff.
As far as I am aware, the martial arts we westerners are so found of were mostly developed and used by monks to defend their temples and/or shrines. Unlike the samurai, hand-to-hand wasn't a last resort for these monks, it was the only resort.
The narrator uses the term flintlock for early muskets in Japan, but the images show matchlocks. These are a very early version of gunpowder weapons that use the smoldering end of a slow-burning cord to ignite the powder charge. It's certainly what Europeans used when they first began using guns.
Definitely one of my favorite videos from you. Absolutely loved samurai growing up. And it's fun to get to know more about them.
I feel like most anyone who takes real interest in the age of feudal Japan already knew most of this. Still though, pretty illuminating stuff.
Itd be dope if Japan made a special forces unit names samurai
What?
lol
They'd be dopes alright. The samurais/officers of WW2 were brutal & vicious toward all Asians & Pacific Islanders w/ whom they came into contact. O's carried katanas & used them on prisoners too. The best name for special forces is......?....... (i.e. no name)
Bushido code is a bit of a mash up but Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi gives a much better overall picture and understanding of the concepts that were important. Though even this was written at a time when the Samurai and the need for large scale battles had lost their usefulness.
interesting the title told me that my image would be wrong but they didn't tell me something new...
Knight vs Samurai.Samurai wore light armour.Knights wore plate armour which covered his whole body.The katana was not ment to fight plate armour. A knight can use the techniques of 'half swording' to push the tip ot his sword into gaps of one's armour.Result: knight wins.
I am pretty sure they were not rifles, but muskets. Rifles have a special type of barrel made to spin a rounded-cylinder projectile, that is far more accurate than a standard musket ball.
5:19 Guns, were very pratical, and also, they were just banned, forbidden to use by any people, during most of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and only samurai could carry any type of weapon.
Another thing about ninja. They weren't typically called Ninja. When they still existed as we know them they were more popularly known as shinobi.
just one thing to add, the samurai started using a matchlock not a flintlock.
They did develop hand to hand martial skills highly as part of their exercise daily regime. It takes a lot of stamina to charge into battle in piece mail armor. The original bujutsu was highly developed before the feudal era due to Chinese trade and immigration, some of whom brought martial skill and training with them. Thank for the great video. :-)
The Samurai was, like in Europe Knights were the Elite Soldiers, that were high paied and even got the right to own their own house, land and title. The Samurai often fought for "honor" but we should say for more payment the higher the head the better reward, an Enemy Generals Head were the most rewarding. It was that rewarding that even peasants or normal foot soldiers could rise to a Samurai and the right to rule. During the Sengoku Jidai these way of promotion were the most famous times of peseants rising to power for example Toyotomi Hideyoshi he was son of a farmer and thru achivements and survival during the many battles he undertook and rose to the most powerful position during that time. He even commanded an Invasion to Korea which failed but still he had the power to unify the whole of Japan as Shogun.
Prior to 1900s, average size of Japanese male was 150cm tall with around 50kg in weight. Samurais weren't so powerful as portrayed from modern pop cultured movies and animations, Bushido was actually work of 20th century book by Nitobe Inazō after studying European knight from his oversea student education. The introduction of firearms made sword & archery rather not very effective so by 1600s, most East Asian warefare was fought with canons and primitive firearms in all sizes since 15th century c.e.
I'll bet those little badgers were tough as hammers & quick as a shot. Recall the size difference between the short Romans & the giant Germanic tribes. Who won? & then came the little horsemen from the Asian Steppes. The Pygmies of Africa hunted elephants w/ spears & machetes. Size means nothing, alas.
The "flintlocks" you show at 13:31 minutes are not flintlocks, they are matchlocks.
A flintlock uses a piece of flint striking against a piece of steel to create sparks to ignite the gunpowder charge. The weapons you show use a smouldering piece of rope to ignite the charge.
Tom Cruise has his own day in japan because of the movie "The Last Samurai".
Skill in archery is indeed more valuable than Sword in battlefield. But what we were imagine about samurai were those who wandering/ronin/vagabond like rurouni kenshin and miyamoto musashi. They ain't using arrow iirc
I thought the reason the Ninja were usually attacking the Samurai was because the noble class was the one you would actually want to send a professional assassin after, and they would have enemies rich enough to afford professional assassins rather than the poorer people.
#9, "modern ideas of western chivalry". Except that there's not even _close_ to a single unified code of chivalry, and there never was one, as each king had his own one.
#7, flintlock _rifles_? While they did use arquebuses and muskets, I've a hard time believing they used used rifles, those being more finicky to load and prone to powder-fouling.
Not only did they not use rifles (rifle being a gun with rifled barrel) but they did not use flintlock firearms of any type. All firearms in Japan before the modernization period were matchlocks.
You're both completely wrong. They used pattern 1853 rifles and model 1857 six line rifles during the Boshin and Satsuma wars.
@@benerdick_cumberbiatch The Boshin war and Satsuma rebellion were during the Meiji period which was the time they started modernization/post-modernization so Eternalnight was right. They used matchlocks primarily before then, because Japan was in a period of isolation from the West, so they were kind of behind there.
@@qthedisaster1730 before the Boshin war yes. But during that had modern guns available.
@@benerdick_cumberbiatch During the Boshin war the Tokugawa shogunate was desposed, followed by rapid modernization, classes were abolished by this point so effectively they weren't the same anymore, and the modern rifles weren't that prevelant till the country modernized during the boshin war, which weren't just samurai anymore
Beautifully done.
#2 Karate was developed by commoners as defense against samurai because they were not allowed to own weapons thus Empty Hand combat was developed, especially in Okinawa. They also developed kobudo to turn common working tools into weapons for the same reason.
Another prized possession of the Samurai was their armor which this video didn't really go into.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate
mmr?
Samurai trained in grappling arts. Jujutsu. Not karate.
Your comments on the origins of karate, is thus irrelevant.
Also, it is inaccurate.
Karate was imported from China. The "kara" in karate originally meant Chinese (so "Chinese fist". This was later changed to "empty fist", for nationalistic reasons).
Also Okinawa wasn't part of Japan, for most of its history. They were a separate nation, and Okinawan farmers would have little dealings with Japanese (and thus foreign) samurai.
They used "matchlocks" and they were excellent with them.
As a longtime student of Japanese culture, this was fascinating! I must admit, many of these facts were new to me.
I was a little miffed until you mentioned Samurai used spears. After that I felt you actually did know what you were talking about.
The main reason a gentleman or samurai did not handle money has to do with the fact that most public officials were samurai. It was a means of preventing corruption. After all, if you are a police officer and did not understand the value of money and belonged to a class of people who held very deep taboos regarding money then it would be less likely you would accept a bribe. Even the offer of a bribe was considered a deep insult. Also, the Noble class was above the samurai. Next, under the samurai were farmers and under them trades men. The merchant were the lowest class with only the burakumin being below them. They were like the "untouchables".
Your pictures/drawings of "flintlock rifles" show many matchlock muskets.
That money bit must have been fun. Hey honey, when you get a chance go and pay Coco at the brothel for me.