Hoko (鉾) - Early Japanese Spears
Hoko (鉾) - Early Japanese Spears
A double edge Hoko spear, from 後三年合戦絵巻
The Hoko (鉾) also written with the character 矛, is an old type of spear used in Japan from antiquity until the 14th century, when the most known Yari (槍) was introduced.
I wanted to dedicated a short and brief article to this early spear due to its importance, since almost every polearms developed in Japan owes its origins to this weapon.
The Hoko was probably derivative of early Chinese spear design which might have been introduced during the Yayoi period (弥生時代), although most of the survivals were found inside Kofun burials.
These spears were initially made of bronze and later on, when Iron Age started in Japan, they were made of iron and steel as well.
The differences between Hoko and Yari
Now let's address the "elephant in the room".
Japanese language is somewhat hard to translate into other languages, and to make things even worse, there is a relevant flaw inside Japanese weapon terminology in my opinion.
Finding things like "Hoko yari" on the web could create some confusion, so these are the principal characteristics of each weapon;
Hoko are essentially socketed spear with a metal head fitted into a wooden shaft.
The blades used were straight, flat, double or single edged with some variations which will be discussed further on this article. Blade length was short, around 35 cm.
The shaft's length was in between the 2 and the 4 meters, with the longest example used in the later period.
The Hoko was used before the samurai age, and it was (as many spears are) a dedicated thrusting weapons, a one-directional stabbing tool.
In addition to that the shaft was rounded, wrapped with bands of thread or metal. This reinforced the shaft, which was often made of laminates of wood and bamboo, but its principal function was to prevent the user’s hands from slipping about.
The Hoko was also used in one hand with a shield during the early centuries.
The Hoko was probably derivative of early Chinese spear design which might have been introduced during the Yayoi period (弥生時代), although most of the survivals were found inside Kofun burials.
These spears were initially made of bronze and later on, when Iron Age started in Japan, they were made of iron and steel as well.
The differences between Hoko and Yari
Now let's address the "elephant in the room".
Japanese language is somewhat hard to translate into other languages, and to make things even worse, there is a relevant flaw inside Japanese weapon terminology in my opinion.
Finding things like "Hoko yari" on the web could create some confusion, so these are the principal characteristics of each weapon;
Hoko are essentially socketed spear with a metal head fitted into a wooden shaft.
The blades used were straight, flat, double or single edged with some variations which will be discussed further on this article. Blade length was short, around 35 cm.
The shaft's length was in between the 2 and the 4 meters, with the longest example used in the later period.
The Hoko was used before the samurai age, and it was (as many spears are) a dedicated thrusting weapons, a one-directional stabbing tool.
In addition to that the shaft was rounded, wrapped with bands of thread or metal. This reinforced the shaft, which was often made of laminates of wood and bamboo, but its principal function was to prevent the user’s hands from slipping about.
The Hoko was also used in one hand with a shield during the early centuries.
A raw sketch of a double edge classical Hoko
The Yari is much more complicated to define.
While the direct translation of Yari in modern english is Spear, the category is much wider than that.
Most of this problem within the terminology will be discussed in a dedicated article, however while a Su-yari could be definitely called a spear, the same cannot be said for some types of Kama-yari or Katakama-yari which have different characteristics and purpose.
Yari blades have more variations compared to Hoko blades, and they (usually) have tangs that are inserted into the shaft, which was smooth and sometimes oval, so the hands could slide on the surface.
It was mainly used with two hands and could be used not only to thrust, but given the right blade geometry, also to cut or to deliver heavy impact.
A raw sketch of a Tsuki-nari Yari with Hadome crossguards; although that's definitely not a spear, is still considered a Yari. This example highlight how the term "Yari" should be translated as "Polearm" rather than "Spear"
The Hoko is generally speaking a spear, the direct forerunner of the Yari.
A detail taken from "絹本著色聖徳太子絵伝" where shields and spear are shown
Due to their design and shape, as I mention before, the Hoko was mainly a thrusting weapon. It was easy to use for untrained conscripted troops and well suited inside close and organized ranks; two typical features of the Ritsuryou armies.
However, with the rise of the Samurai class and a new type of warfare, Hoko spears weren't as useful as before.
The soldiers which fought on foot during the Heian and Kamakura periods were often associated to the warrior's class, and weren't simple conscripted farmers. These warriors were usually trained, fought on small groups and had to deal both with mounted archers as well with other foot soldiers.
However, early Samurai warriors didn't have the resources and the numbers to rise solid and organized rank of soldiers, capable of creating a line of spear to resist enemy charges.
With this limit, much emphasis was given on small skirmishes fought across the battlefield.
While simple spears are capable of performing well in this context, they aren't as good as other polearms like the famous Naginata (薙刀) which was able to cut, thrust, more suited to deal with more enemies at once and performed better against cavalry.
In fact the Naginata was much more common than the Hoko during the late Heian and Kamakura Periods. Yet there are some sources mentioning the Hoko being used during the early medieval Japan.
A single edged short Hoko, also known as Teboko (手鉾), from the 春日権現験記. 第１９軸
Other two Teboko; the one on the left looks like a type of Naginata, it might be a "Konaginata", while the one on the right is more similar to the classical shaped "Kataba no Hoko". From 春日権現験記. 第１９軸
Common hoko blades typology
The former is often associated with the Teboko (手鉾) which essentially means "Hand spear"; this were probably the forerunner of the Naginata, given the fact that often medieval sources used the term interchangeably with the word Konaginata (小薙刀).
On the left, other types of hoko spears; from 武器袖鏡. 初編
Gunbai
Great article as always, very interesting subject, for some time now, I was believing that only the Mongol brought spear to Japan where they weren't used. I recently figured that it was not the case, by reading a samurai book by Clive Sinclaire, and this article completed the information that were not in the book, thanks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a question ; why are true mace like ararebo, not truncheon, that rarely depicted or just used in Japan. They were a very important weapon through out the entire world, why not in Japan?
Hi, thank you for coming again here! I appreciate it!
DeleteYes is a common misconception that Japanese didn't use spears prior to the 14th century; but they actually did, they were just called with another name (Hoko instead of Yari).
Well, to address your question about mace, I'll write an article on the subject of heavy impact Japanese weapons. It is again a common misconception of Japanese don't using maces. They did, but not as much as spears for example, since the latter are much more versatile weapons.
Also, although the Ararebo, which is a one handed mace, were rarely use, the two handed version commonly called Kanabo saw some use from the 14th century onward.
There are visual references inside the "Poetry context of the 12 Zodiac Animal" and inside the "Taiheiki".
They also seems to prefer more "warpicks" sort of mace like this one:
http://userdisk.webry.biglobe.ne.jp/020/451/67/N000/000/000/128513929920816214317.jpg
To sum up, they had their own way to deal with armor, and I will surely make articles about it!
Something I would also like to add the upper shaft was always meant to be used like a club not just for the Yari but for the Naginata,I seen somebody mentioned this in discussion
Deletea person by the name of MyManifoldermention this on metatron's Roman legionary vs. Samurai video the Yari have a Tang which mean the shaft was made with a steel core, wrapped in hardwood, wrapped in bamboo,coated in lacquer and bound with metal fittings so it can deliver a strong blow not as strong as a kanabo but still good and the cross-blades like that of a katakama or jumonji Yari could be used to deliver a swinging strike it's like a more powerful version of the 'murder stroke'
We do have mentions of Samurai using the Yari to beat down opponents to the ground so that's something we should keep in mind
Hi Kevin, is nice to see another comment of yours! Well yes to some extent, although if you hit with the shaft you would be far from the centre of percussion and thus deliver a less powerful blow.
DeleteBut it was done with Nagae Yari (which were essentially Pikes) and I've also found a reference inside the famous Takeda Kōyō Gunkan which say that spears were fitted with a mallet to hit harder. Like an European Poleaxe to get a visual reference.
Here is an illustration inside a Japanese book:
http://photozou.jp/photo/photo_only/1849954/224763404
Thanks that's interesting but I got to ask how often was that done having a mallet on a spear I mean, the image only have one spear with a mallet or was that just the artist making a
Deletemistake
Also do you know of any references of Samurai using a regular Yari or perhaps the naginata to bash an opponent doesn't matter if its with a cross-blade or not, I have trouble finding any references
Unfortunately I cannot say with precision how often it was done, but it was done enough to be recorded by the Takeda. I can't say either if this was done by other clans too, but what is interesting is that they mention Mochiyari (持槍 )instead of nagae yari, so they are referring to regular length spear.
DeleteIt does however makes sense to hit with some yari; especially with some katakama or kama yari.
As far as the Naginata is concerned, I haven't find any yet, but I haven't look too much.
Thanks you for responding. Yeah I was knowing about the kanabo usage.
ReplyDeleteI also just wanted to maybe give you a a idea of posts about the samurai anti arrow cape. Their is nearly not any documentation on it, excepted in Japanese. So if you ever want to do it, I would be very pleased.
I also recommend your blog to the people from the forum I am on, I hope you will be successful
I forgot to linked it sorry https://pin.it/sh6lag3agp4scu
DeleteThe Horo! Yes I have some info on it, as soon as I will have more I'll do an article! There are many things I would love to write about it but my time is limited unfortunately so I prefer to research until I'm satisfied and then write.
DeleteSooner or later I will definitely have an article on it! And by the way thank you so much for your support!
I'm planning to create a good blog with solid content and lot of info... There is still a lot of work to do ( the menu itself need some re work) but I'm taking this seriously!
Mmh,certainly there are some cases in which the practical difference is blurred, like the socketed Fukuro Yari, but guess at that point it is just semantics.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, it's more about semantic than anything else, although the hoko was used primarily to thrust while the yari was almost universally a cut and thrust weapon, especially with the more complex design like the katakama or jumonji.
Deletewhen shock cavalry started to be employed in japan?
ReplyDeleteNaginata proved excellent at dismounting cavalry and disabling riders during the genpei war, but just like european pikemen? against shock cavalry opponents? a late european example would be VERSUS gendarme knights. It seems to me the widespread use of japanese pole weapons as anti-cavalry weapon is much earlier....
the first true stirrups were invented in China, cataphracts were a dominant pattern in eastern East Asia from liang jin to the song dynasty. If it were not for the stirrup, the knights of medieval Europe would never have existed and stirrups were in Japan as early as the 5th century
anyway in this goguryeo fresco:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goguryeo_armor.jpg
https://notefolio.net/biggemstone/66905
As you can see it is a shock cavalry.
"According to the book Shinsen Shōjiroku compiled in 815, a total 326 out of 1,182 clans in the Kinai area on Honshū were regarded as people with foreign genealogy. The book specifically mentions 163 were from China, 104 such families from Baekje, 41 from Goguryeo, 9 from Silla, and 9 from Gaya."
but what I'd like you to read is the relation between the koma clan (goguryeo origin) and horses in the history of japan:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koma_clan
curiously the koma clan is contemporary to the development of the nara-period hoko in the 8th century:
the page 63:
https://books.google.com.br/books?id=vFS2iT8QjqEC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=hoko&f=false
would the koma clan have begun the beginning of shock cavalry in Japan? certainly the impact of them was not the bow, since the Korean bow of the goguryeo frescoes is clearly the image and likeness of the typical korean horn-based composite reflex bow:
http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=eurasiad&logNo=221315110579&categoryNo=50&parentCategoryNo=0&viewDate=¤tPage=1&postListTopCurrentPage=1&from=search&userTopListOpen=true&userTopListCount=5&userTopListManageOpen=false&userTopListCurrentPage=1
the simplified story is all about the takeda. Did the mounted samurai use bow and spear as weapons of choice long before the sengoku period? but the takeda reversed putting the spear above the bow like no one else before in japan?
about that page 63:
Delete"they were also carried by men on horseback, among whom there existed a spirit of keen rivalry in the use of the NEW weapons"
三十八年戦争 and the nara period were contemporary, the history and their shrine are in saitama, the kanto region ... but I do not know when the kanto region was conquered by the yamato court, the kansai-based yamato court had built several forts/castles in the northward, perhaps it was there in these fortifications or new settlements that the koma clan made their tactical contribution
Very complex answer;
DeleteWe do know that by the 14th century cavalry started to decline in general since many more people on foot were deployed by the Japanese armies and battles were fought on mountains with early fortresses or on forest.
In this period horse archery was still important, but as samurai were much more likely to be "swarmed" by infantry they started to rely more and more on polearms on horseback, namely naginata and nodachi, rather than the spear. Some also used the kanabo on horseback, according to the Taiheiki.
This shift happened during the 14th century and has nothing to do in particular with the Takeda.
I know that more often than not the Takeda are claimed to be the creators of "Japanese shock cavalry" but that's just wrong.
This period also is the same in which horse armor started to appear.
So they acted more or less as shock cavalry when needed, and by the 15th century gradually the spear became the main weapon on foot and on horseback.
This is the period in which spear shock cavalry was a thing in Japan, but only in the north east part of Japan (the Kanto plains).
Clans like the Hojo had the highest amount of cavalry troops. The Takeda, the Hojo and partially the Uesugi were the major clans who arguably fought on horseback as shoock troops, the other samurai more often than not acted as mounted infantry.
I have two articles on this:
http://gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/05/sengoku-period-warfare-part-2-cavalry.html?m=1
http://gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2018/05/did-cavalry-existed-in-japan.html?m=1
BUT it's not over there. If we look at accounts & depictions of the Kamakura period, it was a common practice for the horsemen to charge in groups against enemy while shooting arrows.
https://enacademic.com/pictures/enwiki/84/Tagezaki_Suenaga%2CEkotoba5.jpg
That being said, I won't call this type of cavarly "light" as it is often done when mounted archery is involved. Sometimes they also used their swords but only if needed, and the size of the yumi bow didn't allow them to carry other polearms or spears, but they did charge against small infantry groups and chased the others horsemen.
So it's really complicated.
And if we go further to pre-samurai warfare, Karl Friday says that the cavalry used by the Yamato was much more akin to shock cavalry used in China and Korea, but his theories about horses (especially the later ones) are very debatable imho as I have wrote in my article. So I'm not exaclty sure on this one.
However, the Emishi used light/medium mounted archers to harrass the Yamato army and this tactic, paired with the knowledge of their land, made the Yamato struggle and they asked to the Kanto people to fight for them, who used the same tactics and the rest is history.
So to TL;DR early cavalry was likely a combination of mounted archery and shoock cavalry but with bows, late (after the mid 14th century) was mounted infantry and spear shock cavalry.
The accademic consensus is that Korean clans brought warfare horsemanship in Japan, although they also brought with them horse archery.
DeleteI don't think that one clan in particular made such a huge impact, but it was rather a process involving a lot of people. The bow was different since the material and the limitations of Japan didn't allow that kind of bow to be made in great numbers, but the bow and mounted archery had the same role often found in other East Asian society.
Also, hoko means spears and spears were used in Japan since the Yayoi period; the fact that Nara period hoko are important is because as far as findings goes, there are plenty of them, but this design might have been developed few centuries before; at the end of the day, a spear is a spear.
So I don't think that Koreans clans in particular developed some kind of spear design.
Also, the Yari is different in the sense that is a wider category of weapon and has a different construction, this is why the word "new" is used, spears have been used in Japan for ages. The yari type was created in the 14th century though and it's slightly different to a hoko.
To conclude, the Kanto was the area in which foreign influences (horsemanship) arrived the most, and it wasn't conquered like with the Emishi but rather assimilated into the Yamato sphere due to alliances and marriages. Despite this, the Kanto was a special autonomous region.
Thank for your answer, now that you said that.. i noticed kanto is the largest Japanese plain. Makes sense... and the 14th-century infantry revolution was more than in Europe, i see..
DeleteHi, very nice blog you have here, so many interesting things.
ReplyDeleteSince this article is about spears, I have a question. In the second half of Sengoku Jidai, pike formations started to be a regular occurrence. Now as far as I found, longer spears like nagae yari started to be used more often. But what I'm wondering, is whether the samurai ever used such long spears, or they just stuck to the normal yari? Some movies like Heaven and Earth portray what seem to be samurai wielding these long spears. Now of course, movies will always confuse fact and fiction, and it's definitely not something that should be considered when thinking about historical accuracy.
Hello and thank you!
DeleteI will have an article dedicated to the yari in the future, but you are right: (actually, since the 15th century), nagae yari were used during the Sengoku period.
Nagae yari however weren't used by the samurai since they had a different role on the battlefield. They were either cavalry or inside the pike blocks to rush/flank opposing teams and acted as heavy shock infantry: you can read more on my "Cavalry tactics" and "Infantry tactics during the Sengoku periods" articles!
A nagae yari is too unwieldy to be used on horseback and not that good to be used on close quarter fights, two typical roles that the samurai had to do during the battles. Moreover, it is very heavy and while it can hit very hard, the samurai used smaller (but still quite long) battle spears with various different spearheads useful to hook and bypass armor.
The western equivalent "pikes for the infantry and pollaxe for knights" could describe the same scenario.
It might have happened sometime that a samurai used that, but it was definitely not common at all
Hello, Gunsen,
ReplyDeleteI found this picture a long time ago.
https://nihontou.jp/choice03/toukenkobugu/sonota/012/08.jpg
As far as I know this is named Teboko. Is it developed in the Nara Period?
What is the purpose of such blade and how are they used?
This might actually be a ceremonial blade since it's unique in its shape and we have plenty of hoko spears. Moreover, I do believe that it's a ceremonial blade since it's shape doesn't really offer any advantages to a normal spear.
DeleteThe shape is certainly strange, but it's not a unique example.
DeleteIf you want to search it in Japanese, this is the Japanese word I search 手鉾 .
Here is another examples.
https://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/kyoiku/bunka/bunkazai/17768/kougei/tetuhiru.data/jfb1-241-1.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/xySinriRS1Ztz65-u_JIvbdrXKMxnbA-h_ViuizXf9DRYa9omww7kS1j7dn0JoGtZ38ggXl9feACAKXCLGHp4GwPzuCM
https://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/20141109/18/isaom/cf/b5/j/t02201137_0600310013124163592.jpg
The size of the blade
https://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/20150503/15/kreisnorden/b1/a7/j/o0460061313294939352.jpg?caw=800
I once read that it is adopted from the Tang Dynasty. If it really date that far back, it could be a Japanese attempt to imitate Korean glaive.
Gaya glaive head
https://www.flickr.com/photos/101561334@N08/17812129249/in/photostream/
Reconstruction of Goguryeo glaive
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9a/6f/8d/9a6f8d9ff1f464b055a1bf07ddd0d1d1.jpg
Oh well you are right; I did some research, afaik there are 5 examples in the famous Sosho in collection.
DeleteMoreover, if you look in the article in the last picture there is one of these blades drawn in the 武器袖鏡. 初編.
Main issue with these polearms is the length of the shaft, only 3 shaku which means on average 90 cm of length as listed in the book above. This is extremely short for any type of polearms. There aren't really a lot of references on this specific version.
What we know about teboko is from Heian period sources, and we think that they are essentially the type of spears depicted in the emaki above of this article, the link in between naginata and spears (at least according to K. Friday and Kondō Yoshikazu the term was used together with konaginata).
It might be an adaptation of Tang weapons or Korean glaives but I have never seen one of them and the blade shape is somewhat weird. That Korean glaive you linked look very similar to a chikushi naginata actually!
Again I think of their ceremonial usage mainly due to the limited size of the shaft (assuming that they were in their original mountings).
However, If I will find something more I will let you know!
DeleteThank you for spending time to research the Teboko.
DeleteSo it is from the Heian Period?
The shape of the Teboko I think is pretty much this except the joint to the handle is incorporated into the the blade.
https://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/kyoiku/bunka/bunkazai/17768/kougei/tetuhiru.data/jfb1-241-1.jpg
Also that kind of blunt quarter circle tip is actually used in other polearms as well like one in a Song Dynasty painting.
Look at the glaive in the upper right near the horse.
http://upload.8mhh.com/2014/0104/thumb_1000__1388821272367.jpg
Yes indeed, in between the Nara and Heain period.
DeleteWhat is interesting about the ones in the Soshoin is that they have a tang and not a socket, and this is pretty much the requirement to be classified outside the "hoko" category :'D!
Thank you.
DeleteEven the weapon of Pre-Samurai Japan is already interesting.
I will reply more in the Wanto article.