Gunbai: Ancient Japanese Warfare

Tsuruhashi (鶴觜) - The Samurai's Warpick  In the centre, an unarmored soldiers wearing a Tsuruhashi on a two handed shaft, with an hammer side and a white-hardened point, from the Ukiyo-e " Descending Gees at Yahagi Bridge" by Yoshitoshi, 1868 In this article I want to cover a dedicated anti armor weapon known as Tsuruhashi (Crane's beak ) also known as Motayu  ( 藻弛 ) and often erroneously called nanban hachiwari ( more of this later on ). This warpick was a percussive weapon which resemble an European warhammer or an Indian Zaghnal , both in shapes but also in usage as well. The war pick was made of iron or steel , usually fitted onto a lacquered wooden handle that could vary in length; most of the time it was one handed , but there is at least one depiction showing it to be two handed length. The one handed version occasionally had a "D-shaped" handguard on the handle. Even if it was rare , it was used from the 14th century onward to overcom...

Sengoku Period Warfare: Part 2 - Cavalry Tactics  A cluster of horsemen wielding various polearms, taken from  姉川合戦図屏風 After having explained how late Sengoku armies were mustered and how they approached the battle with different formations in the first part of this series , today I will cover one of the main role of the bushi in this period: Samurai cavalry. Since there are different theories about the actual use of war horses in Japan, this article will be released with a twin article which clarify few points on Japanese cavalry itself , while this one will be entirely dedicated to cavalry tactics as the name suggested it. If you haven't read it, it is highly recommended to do so before reading this one: Did Cavalry Existed in Japan? The role of the cavalry troops - Kiba Tai ( 騎馬隊 ) Sakuma Morimasa (佐久間 守正) depicted on horseback, wielding a spear. During the Sengoku period, cavalry had lost their hegemony of the field of battle in favor of mass i...

Did Cavalry Existed in Japan? A Samurai charging with his horse, wielding a spear with both hands. Before reading, it is worth notice that the main purpose behind this article is to have a better understanding about the use of Cavalry Tactics   during the Sengoku period   and it is highly recommended to read this one in the first place. The mighty cavalry charge ; for any military history enthusiast, the image of horsemen charging into a cohesive formation is probably one of the most fascinating and heroic picture one could immagine. In any culture, horsemen were valued as élite members of the military , and sometimes even of the society when it came to knight and samurai. Having an horse, being able to fed it and ride it were all features of highly trained and rich warriors. When we talk about Japanese military history, there is no debate, it is quite evident that Samurai are almost universally associated with horsemen ; and for a very good reason. In fact, throug...

Ninja (忍者) - An Introduction An actor playing a farmer; this might have been a very common disguised utilized by Ninja. From "A ctor Playing a Farmer - Utagawa Toyokuni III" Ninja ( 忍者 ) , also known as Shinobi ( 忍 び ) or Shinobi no mono ( 忍びの者 ) are among the most iconic characters in world culture, in a military history context as well inside a  pop-cultural  ones. There is no escape, everyone is aware of Ninja; but very few people know what Ninja actually were and were not. Today my aim is to introduce this "figure" with a lot of emphasis on debunking some common misconceptions that, despite the efforts of many historians and amateur history buff like me, still exist nowadays. It is not a novelty that such a mystique character as the Ninja would have developed a strong impact on people's imagination; Ninja were supposed to be magical even inside Japanese folklore. However, there are a lot of facts (that facts are not ) which people believe to ...