Samurai vs Pahlawan

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Weapons

Samurai helmet with a half-face mask, made of leather and iron,Edo period, 17th century.

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

The samurai used various weapons, but the katana is the weapon that has come to be

synonymous with samurai, metaphorically speaking. Bushido teaches that the katana is the

samurai's soul and sometimes a samurai is pictured as entirely dependent on the weapon for fighting. They believe that the katana was so precious that they often gave them names and

considered them as part of the living. After a male bushi child was born, he would receive hisfirst sword in a ceremony called mamori-gatana. The sword, however, was merely a charm

sword covered with brocade to which was attached a purse or wallet, worn by children under

five. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a ceremony called genpuku (), a male child

was given his first real weapons and armour, an adult name, and became a samurai. A katanaand a Wakizashi together are called a d aish (lit. "big and small").

The wakizashi itself was a samurai's "honour weapon" and purportedly never left the

samurai's side. He would sleep with it under his pillow and it would be taken with him whenhe entered a house and had to leave his main weapons outside.

The tanto was a small knife sometimes worn with or instead of the wakizashi in ad aish. The

tanto or the wakizashi was used to commit seppuku, a ritualized suicide through

disembowelment.



Samurai with assorted weapons.

The samurai stressed skill with the yumi (longbow), reflected in the art of k yjutsu (lit. the

skill of the bow). The bow would remain a critical component of the Japanese military even

with the introduction of firearms during theSengoku period. The yumi, an asymmetric

composite bow made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather , was not as powerful as the

Eurasian reflex composite bow, having an effective range of 50 meters (about 164 feet) or

100 meters (328 feet) if accuracy was not an issue. On foot, it was usually used behind a

ted ate (), a large and mobile bamboo wall, but could also be used from horseback

because of its asymmetric shape. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto

ceremony known as yabusame ().

In the 15th century, the yari (spear ) also became a popular weapon. It displaced the naginata

from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became moreorganized around massed, inexpensive foot troops (ashigaru). A charge, mounted or

dismounted, was also more effective when using a spear rather than a sword, as it offered

better than even odds against a samurai using a sword. In theBattle of Shizugatake where

Shibata Katsuie was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi,

seven samurai who came to be known as the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake" () played a crucial role in the victory.

Samurai helmet with a half-face mask, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York .

The later half of the 16th century saw the introduction of thetepp or arquebus in Japan

through Portuguese trade, enabling warlords to raise effective armies from masses of peasants.

The new weapons were highly controversial. Their ease of use and deadly effectiveness was perceived by many samurai as a dishonorable affront to tradition. Oda Nobunaga made



deadly use of the tepp at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, leading to the end of the Takedaclan.

After their initial introduction by the Portuguese and the Dutch, the tepp were produced on a

large scale by Japanese gunsmiths. By the end of the 16th century, there were more firearmsin Japan than in any European nation. Tepp, employed en masse, largely by ashigaru

peasant foot troops, were in many ways the antithesis of samurai valor. With theestablishment of the Tokugawa shogunate and an end to civil war, production of the guns

declined sharply with prohibitions to ownership. By the Tokugawa period most spear-basedweapons had been phased out partly because they were suboptimal for the close-quarter

combat common at the time; this combined with the aforementioned restrictions on firearmsresulted in the d aish being the only weapons typically carried by samurai.

The zutsu (), a swivel breech-loading cannon, 16th century

In the 1570s cannons became a common part of the samurai's armoury. They often were

mounted in castles or on ships, being used more as anti-personnel weapons than against castle

walls or the like, though in the siege of Nagashino castle (1575) a cannon was used to good

effect against an enemy siegetower. The first popular cannon in Japan were swivel-breech

loaders nicknamed kunikuzushi or "province destroyers". Kunikuzushi weighed 264 lb

(120 kg). and used 40 lb (18 kg). chambers, firing a small shot of 10 oz. The Arima clan of

Kyushu used guns like this at the battle of Okinawate against the Ryzji clan. By the time of

the Osaka campaign (1614-1615), cannon technology had improved in Japan to the point

where at Osaka, Ii Naotaka managed to fire an 18 lb (8.2 kg). shot into the castle's keep.

Staff weapons were also used occasionally by samurai, theb being the most famous

example of this. It could also be made stronger by being covered with steel rings, an example

being the j. A club called the Kanabo, which was coated in steel studs, was more frequently

seen in mythology than in reality. However, when actually used, it would be a deadly force

on the battlefield.



The samurai (or bushi) were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors.

Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their mostfamous weapon and their symbol was the sword.

Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of thewarrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master,

self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.

After a defeat, some samurai chose to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) by cutting their abdomenrather than being captured or dying a dishonorable death.

Below follows a short history of the Japanese warrior:

Heian Period (794-1185)

The samurai's importance and influence grew during the Heian Period, when powerful landownershired private warriors for the protection of their properties. Towards the end of the Heian Period, twomilitary clans, the Minamoto and Taira, had grown so powerful that they seized control over thecountry and fought wars for supremacy against each other.

Kamakura Period (1192-1333)

In 1185, the Minamoto defeated the Taira, and Minamoto Yoritomo established a new militarygovernment in Kamakura in 1192. As shogun, the highest military officer, he became the ruler of Japan.

Muromachi Period (1333 - 1573)

During the chaotic Era of Warring States (sengoku jidai, 1467-1573), Japan consisted of dozens of independent states which fought each other constantly. Consequently, the demand for samurai wasvery high. Between the wars, many samurai worked on farms. Many of the famous samurai movies by Kurosawa take place during this era.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573 - 1603)

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi reunited Japan, he started to introduce a rigid social caste system whichwas later completed by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his successors. Hideyoshi forced all samurai to decidebetween a life on the farm and a warrior life in castle towns. Furthermore, he forbade anyone but thesamurai from arming themselves with a sword.

Edo Period (1603 - 1868)

According to the Edo Period's official hierarchy of social castes, the samurai stood at the top,followed by the farmers, artisans and merchants. Furthermore, there were hierarchies within eachcaste. All samurai were forced to live in castle towns and received income from their lords in form of

rice. Masterless samurai were called ronin and caused minor troubles during the early Edo Period.

With the fall of Osaka Castle in 1615, the Tokugawa's last potential rival was eliminated, and relativepeace prevailed in Japan for about 250 years. As a result, the importance of martial skills declined,and most samurai became bureaucrats, teachers or artists.

In 1868, Japan's f eudal era came to an end, and the samurai class was abolished.



Weapons The samurai used various weapons. Bushido taught that a samurai's soul is in the

katana that they carried. Sometimes a samurai is pictured as entirely dependent on the

katana for fighting. This is, much like difference between the role of a crossbow in

medieval Europe and the role of sword to a knight, a symbol of being samurai ratherthan the actual importance of katana itself. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a

ceremony called Genpuku (), a male child was given a wakizashi and an adult name

and became a samurai. This also gave him the right to wear katana though it was

usually sealed with strings to prevent accidental drawing of a katana. A katana and a

wakizashi together are called daisho, lit. big and small.

The samurai s weapon of choice was yumi or a compound bow and it was unchanged for

centur ies until the introduction of gunpowder and r if le in the 16th century. A Japanese stylecompound bow was a powerful weapon. Its si e made it possi ble to shoot var ious pro jectiles

li e f ire arrows and signal arrows over a distance of 100 meters with accuracy, over 200

meters when accuracy was not an issue. It was usually used on foot behind a tedate ( , a

large wooden shield, but it could be used even from horseback. The practice of shooting

from horseback became a Shinto ceremony of Yabusame ( . In battles against

Mongolian invaders, these compound bows were the decisive weapon outdistancing smaller

compound bows and crossbows that Chinese and Mongolian preferred. Mongolians lackedhorses that they had used so devastatingly against opponents and were forced to f ight on foot,

reducing their effectiveness.

In the 15th century, the yar i or spear also became a popular weapon. It displaced the naginata

from the battlef ield as personal bravery became a less of a factor and battles became

organi ed. It was simpler and more deadly than a katana. A charge, mounted or dismounted,

was more effective when using a spear and it offered better than even odds against a samurai

using a katana. In the Battle of Shi ugatake where Shi bata Katsuie was defeated byToyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashi ba Hideyoshi, the Seven Spearmen of Shi ugatake

() played a crucial role in the victory.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding the weapons of the samurai is whether samurai

ever charged on horseback. Horses of that time were smaller yet durable but it was

questionable how well they would perform carrying heavily armored samurai. A traditional

belief held that samurai mainly fought on horseback acting as heavy cavalry and charged

through hapless foot soldiers. It is currently believed that samurai mainly fought on foot and

used horses for transpor tation and only occasionally charged on disarrayed and retreating

enemies. The Battle of Nagashino was one of such battle where samurai supposedly charged

on horseback.

Af ter the matchlock r if le was introduced from Europe, samurai star ted practicing this

weapon. It became the favor ite weapon for sni ping on the battle f ield as samurai were

awarded for every enemy he took down himself, though commanding was an impor tant

aspect of samurai. Conscr i pted soldiers also used matchlock r if les but instead f ired in volleys

to break up enemy ranks. Toward the end of the feudal per iod, some samurai organi ed

dragoons as par t of their troops and some were repor tedly used in the Battle of Sek igaharaand later battles.



Some samurai were unarmed on the battle f ields except for katana. Takeda Shingen was one

such samurai. This did not mean that they fought using katana. Instead, they focused oncommanding and were conf ident that they could trust those they commanded for protection.

In one of the Battle of Kawanaka jima, this almost got Shingen k illed. A plan went wrong andtroops of Uesugi Kenshin charged into troops under Shingen's command, who were unaware

that his entrapment plan had been detected. With only half of his troops and completely

surpr ised, Shingen himself had to defend his life with a wooden stick that he used to order attacks. The rest of his soldiers barely returned in time to save Shingen and the rest of his

force from being completely wi ped out.

Other weapons used by samurai were jo, bo, grenade, catapult and cannon. However, specif ic

samurai sometimes favored others. In battles around Meiji restoration, more modern

weapons like Gatling gun and r if les were used.



Keris

Keris merupakan senjata pendek yang digunakan oleh orang Melayu sejak zaman keagunganpemerintahan Kesultanan Melayu, lebih daripada 800 tahun yang lampau terutamanya pendekar,

pahlawan serta kalangan pembesar istana.

Satu alat kebesaran bagi raja-raja atau lambang kekuasaan atau kedaulatan. Keris mempunyai

dua belah mata, melebar di pangkal dan tirus dihujungnya serta tajam.

Terdapat mata keris yang lurus dan berlok-lok dengan keindahan pamor serta hulu yang menarikdan juga sarungnya.

Keris mempunyai berbagai-bagai bentuk dan ukuran. Kebanyakan keris terdiri dari jenis yangberlok, sama ada tiga, lima, tujuh atau sembilan dan lurus.

Tiga aspek penting mata keris adalah rupa awan larat dan corak pamor, bentuknya dan corakberombak yang wujud dari campuran logam dan nikel.

Persejarahan senjata di Malaysia amat rapat dengan unsur-unsur seni mempertahankan diriseperti silat.

Keterampilan reka cipta Pandai Besi (pembuat keris) maka kepelbagaian alat persenjataan telah

terhasil, antara yang amat digemari sehingga kini seperti keris, parang, kelewang, beladau,tombak dan banyak lagi.

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Samurai vs Pahlawan