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 Japanes