The Art Of A Samurai Bow Ancient Japan Timeline
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Date: 2022-07-19
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Comments and reviews: 20
Nick
39: 51 Man, watching the Japanese archers here is just amazing. I really wish this clip was longer. The formation they follow, with the dual, interweved lines of archers who are alternatingone line firing while the other is reloadingand how the archers who are reloading actually get super low to the ground in order to become smaller targets. The way they advance toward their targets, step by step.
This traditional Japanese archery is impressive enough just considering the fact that it's not merely aim and fire, but there's multiple aspects of your form that are very specific and need to be very precise in order to master this weapon, but on top of that, these archers must maintain aspects of that form while simultaneously controlling how far they raise their arms, for instance, to prevent exposing their abdomen underneath the arm. The precision in their physical movements alone is unreal.
Just imagine the dedication. These people aren't simply engaging in a hobby, they're taking up a lifestyle that demands a very high degree of exactotude. I could only ever hope to approach in my life, a fraction of the discipline and near-perfection they achieve repeatedly.
There's a very spiritual aspect to the amount of work they put in, and the degree of precision they achieve, in this practice. It must be just incredibly rewarding.
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39: 51 Man, watching the Japanese archers here is just amazing. I really wish this clip was longer. The formation they follow, with the dual, interweved lines of archers who are alternatingone line firing while the other is reloadingand how the archers who are reloading actually get super low to the ground in order to become smaller targets. The way they advance toward their targets, step by step.
This traditional Japanese archery is impressive enough just considering the fact that it's not merely aim and fire, but there's multiple aspects of your form that are very specific and need to be very precise in order to master this weapon, but on top of that, these archers must maintain aspects of that form while simultaneously controlling how far they raise their arms, for instance, to prevent exposing their abdomen underneath the arm. The precision in their physical movements alone is unreal.
Just imagine the dedication. These people aren't simply engaging in a hobby, they're taking up a lifestyle that demands a very high degree of exactotude. I could only ever hope to approach in my life, a fraction of the discipline and near-perfection they achieve repeatedly.
There's a very spiritual aspect to the amount of work they put in, and the degree of precision they achieve, in this practice. It must be just incredibly rewarding.
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Electro
I've never held either a Welsh longbow or a Japanese yumi but I know this much: the yumi was primarily a precision tool and a philosophical martial arts weapon. Its assymetry and lighter draw weight made it ideal for yabusame / horse archery and for fast sequence movement on foot, which was practiced in extreme coordination by the samurai. Being recurved, it did not require as much strength to operate but it needed to be kept in a certain tension setup not to weaken over time. The Welsh/English warbow is a completely different beast. It was designed to penetrate European mail and plate over long distances and in order to do that with a self bow it requires thickness and strength of the base material more so than a certain form. Longbowmen were exclusively infantry and the warbows could have draw weights exceeding 500 pounds. Archeological finds have discovered bone deformities of the upper body in regular man-at-arms longbowmen.
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I've never held either a Welsh longbow or a Japanese yumi but I know this much: the yumi was primarily a precision tool and a philosophical martial arts weapon. Its assymetry and lighter draw weight made it ideal for yabusame / horse archery and for fast sequence movement on foot, which was practiced in extreme coordination by the samurai. Being recurved, it did not require as much strength to operate but it needed to be kept in a certain tension setup not to weaken over time. The Welsh/English warbow is a completely different beast. It was designed to penetrate European mail and plate over long distances and in order to do that with a self bow it requires thickness and strength of the base material more so than a certain form. Longbowmen were exclusively infantry and the warbows could have draw weights exceeding 500 pounds. Archeological finds have discovered bone deformities of the upper body in regular man-at-arms longbowmen.
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Duck
Umm. Anyone who knows about bows know that Japanese bows were nothing more than toys compared to those of other Asian countries. Japanese bows had ZERO usefulness in real battles outside of Japan. The composite bows of Mongolians and Koreans were far, far superior. Japan never had any meaningful long range weapon (bows and cannons) until they started using European firearms. During invasion of Korea in 16th C, Japanese soldiers were massacred by Korean archers despite having Portuguese firearm. In melee combat, Japanese soldiers were superior to both Koreans and Chinese. The lack of effective long range weapons was one of the reasons why Japanese navy was completely destroyed and demolished by Korean navy lead by general Lee. I think this video glorifies what actually is a failure/practical garbage.
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Umm. Anyone who knows about bows know that Japanese bows were nothing more than toys compared to those of other Asian countries. Japanese bows had ZERO usefulness in real battles outside of Japan. The composite bows of Mongolians and Koreans were far, far superior. Japan never had any meaningful long range weapon (bows and cannons) until they started using European firearms. During invasion of Korea in 16th C, Japanese soldiers were massacred by Korean archers despite having Portuguese firearm. In melee combat, Japanese soldiers were superior to both Koreans and Chinese. The lack of effective long range weapons was one of the reasons why Japanese navy was completely destroyed and demolished by Korean navy lead by general Lee. I think this video glorifies what actually is a failure/practical garbage.
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Atli
It has been clearly demonstrated that English War Bows drew between 100-200lbs or 45kg - 90kg so reducing their draw weight to that of a 25kg Japanese bow is hardly a realistic comparison. I am sorry but the hollow Japanese Bamboo arrows may be longer but they are no comparison in weight to actual English Warbow arrows which were about 12mm thick and solid timber. What this is comparing is nothing more than a Japanese War Bow with an English Hunting Bow that could be drawn by my daughter. In addition, much medieval are also shows that the longbow was often fired over the thumb from the right-hand side of the bow. There are obvious advantages to this in right handed archers, especially in speed.
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It has been clearly demonstrated that English War Bows drew between 100-200lbs or 45kg - 90kg so reducing their draw weight to that of a 25kg Japanese bow is hardly a realistic comparison. I am sorry but the hollow Japanese Bamboo arrows may be longer but they are no comparison in weight to actual English Warbow arrows which were about 12mm thick and solid timber. What this is comparing is nothing more than a Japanese War Bow with an English Hunting Bow that could be drawn by my daughter. In addition, much medieval are also shows that the longbow was often fired over the thumb from the right-hand side of the bow. There are obvious advantages to this in right handed archers, especially in speed.
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SebastianTran
If bow was still the primary weapon today, any short bow (under 16 inches) must be registered under NFA. Strings with special coating to reduce noise would also need to be registered as Bow Suppressor. Mini crossbow owners must apply for Conceal Carry permit in order to carry them in public. There would be 3 main arrow tips weight, 115gr, 124gr, 147gr. Arrow sizes (diameter) would also be available in 9mm, 10mm, .40acp, .45acp, not to mention some surplus arrows imported from the Comblock like 7. 62 Tokarev. Ultimately, Short Bows with stabilizer may not fall under NFA rules, but cant not be used with a handle attached.
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If bow was still the primary weapon today, any short bow (under 16 inches) must be registered under NFA. Strings with special coating to reduce noise would also need to be registered as Bow Suppressor. Mini crossbow owners must apply for Conceal Carry permit in order to carry them in public. There would be 3 main arrow tips weight, 115gr, 124gr, 147gr. Arrow sizes (diameter) would also be available in 9mm, 10mm, .40acp, .45acp, not to mention some surplus arrows imported from the Comblock like 7. 62 Tokarev. Ultimately, Short Bows with stabilizer may not fall under NFA rules, but cant not be used with a handle attached.
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MrBabylon
many of the test variables have been chosen specifically to show off the Japanese Bow, e. g. the draw weight of the bows set at 23Kg (46lb) is not realistic, the longbows found on the Mary Rose had draw weights of between 50Kg - 92. 5Kg (100lb - 185lb, with a typical war longbow estimated at 75Kg draw weight, much higher than the 23Kg set for the comparison. In the end both bows were intended for different uses therefore a direct comparison is misleading, but as killing instruments the English longbow is only beaten by firearms.
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many of the test variables have been chosen specifically to show off the Japanese Bow, e. g. the draw weight of the bows set at 23Kg (46lb) is not realistic, the longbows found on the Mary Rose had draw weights of between 50Kg - 92. 5Kg (100lb - 185lb, with a typical war longbow estimated at 75Kg draw weight, much higher than the 23Kg set for the comparison. In the end both bows were intended for different uses therefore a direct comparison is misleading, but as killing instruments the English longbow is only beaten by firearms.
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Linda
I am an American target archer. One of my friends who is not Japanese and is over 80, has a Yumi she purchased about 8 years ago. She is interested in Kyudo but not a practitioner. She is also a target archer. I was fortunate to see a Kyudo exhibition in Weirsdale, Florida in about 2018. Amazing! I have only been to Japan once and that was in 1970. I do really appreciate Kyudo. Thanks for sharing about the Samurai history and the equestrian archery and bow making there in Japan these days. A true Martial Art and full of ritual.
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I am an American target archer. One of my friends who is not Japanese and is over 80, has a Yumi she purchased about 8 years ago. She is interested in Kyudo but not a practitioner. She is also a target archer. I was fortunate to see a Kyudo exhibition in Weirsdale, Florida in about 2018. Amazing! I have only been to Japan once and that was in 1970. I do really appreciate Kyudo. Thanks for sharing about the Samurai history and the equestrian archery and bow making there in Japan these days. A true Martial Art and full of ritual.
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Blue
The Japanese bow is a descendant of the Scythian euro Asian recurring bow what nobody talks about cause recurring bow is a Hungarian invention. That was the Hun armies main weapon. Basically japanese are a Scythian descendants who migrated from Ural through the Korean peninsula to Japan. They not Japans natives. They Japans conquerors. Japan bow basically is the Hungarian invented recurring bow. Period.
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The Japanese bow is a descendant of the Scythian euro Asian recurring bow what nobody talks about cause recurring bow is a Hungarian invention. That was the Hun armies main weapon. Basically japanese are a Scythian descendants who migrated from Ural through the Korean peninsula to Japan. They not Japans natives. They Japans conquerors. Japan bow basically is the Hungarian invented recurring bow. Period.
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artur
veeeery poor demonstration and usage of the longbow. whats the draw of the tiny old man? 26 inches? back in the day Longbow man where very big strong man which drew the arrows to their ears! What kind of specialists did they hire for research xD?
This is the same bullsht as with the Katana. mystifiying a very beautiful but otherwise not so special weapon. : (
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veeeery poor demonstration and usage of the longbow. whats the draw of the tiny old man? 26 inches? back in the day Longbow man where very big strong man which drew the arrows to their ears! What kind of specialists did they hire for research xD?
This is the same bullsht as with the Katana. mystifiying a very beautiful but otherwise not so special weapon. : (
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Vincent
2: 19 minutes in and i must point out an error. The bald white guy is right and wrong; Yes, the bow was important as much as the katana, the katana was never second. The katana was used for close combat and the bow for long range to medium range combat. katana never second option. never. When the bow was not useful then Katana became the main weapon.
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2: 19 minutes in and i must point out an error. The bald white guy is right and wrong; Yes, the bow was important as much as the katana, the katana was never second. The katana was used for close combat and the bow for long range to medium range combat. katana never second option. never. When the bow was not useful then Katana became the main weapon.
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education
Nasuno Yoichi
The whizzkid of the samurai bow that Japan is famous
William Tell who says in the foreign country
Forgetting to say a terribly valuable thing
Even if it shoots to death, it pays a respect.
To the extent that there is a minutely bowing samurai, too
Is it being propagating through clumsy English?
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Nasuno Yoichi
The whizzkid of the samurai bow that Japan is famous
William Tell who says in the foreign country
Forgetting to say a terribly valuable thing
Even if it shoots to death, it pays a respect.
To the extent that there is a minutely bowing samurai, too
Is it being propagating through clumsy English?
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vote
Whenever there is killing to be done, after less then two minutes this undue imbecile apears on the scene to tell us how important it all was, as if the implements of murder are the greatest accomplicement of mankind. He looks like his bloodpressure is through the roof and the whole thing could give him a heartattack at any minut.
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Whenever there is killing to be done, after less then two minutes this undue imbecile apears on the scene to tell us how important it all was, as if the implements of murder are the greatest accomplicement of mankind. He looks like his bloodpressure is through the roof and the whole thing could give him a heartattack at any minut.
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Blind
Fantastic documentary on a fascinating subject. However I don't understand the obvious bias and attempts to compare an English longbow to a Japanese longbow, it was not a fair comparison in fact I don't even know why they put in the segment about the English longbow cos they barely touched on it at all so what was the point
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Fantastic documentary on a fascinating subject. However I don't understand the obvious bias and attempts to compare an English longbow to a Japanese longbow, it was not a fair comparison in fact I don't even know why they put in the segment about the English longbow cos they barely touched on it at all so what was the point
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Hg
English war longbows had average draw weight of 150-180 pds70-80 kgs, not 23 kgs. My respect to the japaneses culture in general and the mastery of creating and using the samurai bow in particular but this comparisson was rubbish. The rest of the video on other hand was absolutely marvelous and informative, thank you.
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English war longbows had average draw weight of 150-180 pds70-80 kgs, not 23 kgs. My respect to the japaneses culture in general and the mastery of creating and using the samurai bow in particular but this comparisson was rubbish. The rest of the video on other hand was absolutely marvelous and informative, thank you.
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Cal
So they took a longbow and weakend it to compare with the Japanese bow? That sounds like it is not really a longbow anymore. Should have kept the draw weight of the longbow as it is in reality. Then you could fairly compare them. This test is rigged in favor of the weak overrated Japanese bow.
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So they took a longbow and weakend it to compare with the Japanese bow? That sounds like it is not really a longbow anymore. Should have kept the draw weight of the longbow as it is in reality. Then you could fairly compare them. This test is rigged in favor of the weak overrated Japanese bow.
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Percaya
hmmmm. in my opinion, this type of archery, the bow japanese use, and ultimately limit them on how to use bow while mounting a horse (because its to big, its for shows only, an entertainment, a display.
not for actual war, it wont work. simply because its not practical,
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hmmmm. in my opinion, this type of archery, the bow japanese use, and ultimately limit them on how to use bow while mounting a horse (because its to big, its for shows only, an entertainment, a display.
not for actual war, it wont work. simply because its not practical,
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Kv
you forget that the average medivial longbow had a drawforce of around 120 pounds so double the force you guys tested
also when he says at around 48: 25 is true.
take your time, feel yourself and your surroundings and if you do you will hit your target perfectly
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you forget that the average medivial longbow had a drawforce of around 120 pounds so double the force you guys tested
also when he says at around 48: 25 is true.
take your time, feel yourself and your surroundings and if you do you will hit your target perfectly
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Marc
Kyudo is a martial art, Do is art. No, DO mean Way. Jitsu means art. Kyujutsu was the art of the bow, kyudo is the way of the bow. kenjitsu art of the sword, kendo way of the sword. Jujitsu was the art of unarmed fighting judo is the peaceful way.
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Kyudo is a martial art, Do is art. No, DO mean Way. Jitsu means art. Kyujutsu was the art of the bow, kyudo is the way of the bow. kenjitsu art of the sword, kendo way of the sword. Jujitsu was the art of unarmed fighting judo is the peaceful way.
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scott
The problem with the bow comparison is that the English longbows used in battle were significantly higher in draw weight. The little Samurai were obviously very formidable warriors, but most probably couldn't even pull an English longbow back.
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The problem with the bow comparison is that the English longbows used in battle were significantly higher in draw weight. The little Samurai were obviously very formidable warriors, but most probably couldn't even pull an English longbow back.
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peter
Peter Gore Seer,
These Bowmen, Train In A Religious Way, Like Being On The Alter, And Each Move Of The Body Creates A Magnificent Bowman, Its Pure Correct Discipline, And It Produces perfection, Things Change But Perfection Must Never.
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Peter Gore Seer,
These Bowmen, Train In A Religious Way, Like Being On The Alter, And Each Move Of The Body Creates A Magnificent Bowman, Its Pure Correct Discipline, And It Produces perfection, Things Change But Perfection Must Never.
reply
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