What Weapons Did Samurai Use in Battle?
Samurai were the warrior class of ancient Japan, known for their skill, honor, and loyalty. They used a variety of weapons in battle, each with its own purpose and advantages. Here, we’ll look at five of the most important weapons used by samurai, ranked by their popularity and effectiveness.
Katana
Samurai swords are popular in modern times, many people like to buy one, or even customize their own katana.even customize their own katana. But Katana were not the primary weapons on the battlefield.
According to statistical data, during the Sengoku period, most injuries on the battlefield were actually caused by arrows, accounting for 38.6% of total injuries.
Following this were injuries caused by firearms, making up 22.2%, and then spears as close combat weapons, contributing 20.8%. Surprisingly, the next most common cause of injury was stones, which accounted for 11.3% of total injuries, while the damage caused by samurai swords was only 4.5%. It should be noted that these statistics mainly apply to ashigaru (foot soldiers), who were better armored than regular foot soldiers.
On the battlefield, the samurai sword was more of a secondary weapon or even a self-defense tool, similar to the role of a handgun in modern warfare.
The scenes depicted in films where samurai rush into battle, drawing their swords and fighting without any formation, are not historically accurate. The katana is indeed extremely sharp when used against unarmored targets, and Japan has a long tradition of testing cutting techniques and sword sharpness by slicing rolled tatami mats, which are believed to closely mimic the density and feel of human limbs.
Some people today use pigs to test a sword’s cutting power, and Cold Steel’s katana has even been shown to cut through four pigs with a single stroke in tests. These tests confirm that the katana is undoubtedly effective against unarmored targets. This result also highlights that the katana’s primary role was not as a battlefield weapon but as a tool for self-defense and dueling in everyday life.
Spears
In the context of cold weaponry on the battlefield, the spear was the primary weapon for close combat. Even the revered “Sword Saint” Kamiizumi Nobutsuna primarily used a spear on the battlefield. Before being honored as the “Sword Saint,” he was known as the leader of the “Sixteen Spears of Nagano” and earned the title “Ueno’s First Spear.”
Japanese spears were not particularly long (the Japanese measured spear length in ken, roughly equivalent to 1.8 meters, with the most common length being 3.5 ken). Typically, spears ranged from 2 to 3 meters in length, with 2.5 meters being the most common.
In special circumstances, foot soldiers also used extremely long bamboo spears, some as long as 10 meters, which represented the extreme limit of spear length in the East.
Due to their sturdy construction, Japanese spears could be used not only for thrusting but also for striking, chopping, and blocking enemy attacks, effectively disrupting enemy formations before delivering a final thrust. As Japanese armor technology improved and armor became lighter, even lower-ranked retainers could wear armor in battle.
In response, the effectiveness of swords diminished, while the spear, with its piercing and armor-piercing capabilities, became increasingly advantageous. Consequently, the spear eventually became the mainstream weapon on the Japanese battlefield.
Tachi
The Heian period marked the origin of the tachi. To accommodate horseback slashing, the early warabiteto swords became increasingly curved. By the early Heian period, the taikogata tachi used by samurai retained the curvature of the warabiteto and could be wielded with one hand on horseback.
During the Genpei Wars in the late Heian period, samurai wielded long tachi swords with great effect on the battlefield, taking advantage of their length and weight to gain the upper hand in single combat between warriors.
The prestige gained on the battlefield led samurai to recognize the value of “longer is stronger,” and although large tachi were too heavy for everyone to wield, even regular tachi began to increase in length.
During the protracted wars of the late Heian period, the tachi gained status not only due to its battlefield performance but also because of the rise of the warrior class and the strengthening of military and political systems. Samurai began to highly value their swords, and even the Emperor became a fan of tachi.
During the Nanbokucho period, large tachi became popular, but smaller tachi also became increasingly common. These smaller tachi, typically two-thirds the length of a regular tachi, are considered the prototypes for later uchigatana.
The evolution of tachi during the Nanbokucho and subsequent Muromachi periods was characterized by shorter blade lengths and greater curvature, reflecting a trend toward more practical designs.
As this evolution continued, some schools advocated further reducing the curvature and length of the tachi to make it more suitable for use in various indoor settings. By the mid-to-late Muromachi period, the tachi had largely been replaced by the uchigatana, which had a blade length of around 60 cm.
Samurai began carrying a pair of swords: the uchigatana and a shorter wakizashi. Although tachiand nodachi still played a role in certain situations during the Sengoku period, they were no longer the primary weapons of the military, and the role of the sword-wielding samurai on the battlefield was overtaken by the spear-wielding foot soldiers.
Naginata
The naginata is a unique Japanese weapon, featuring a curved blade mounted on a long pole, resembling a long-handled katana but with distinct differences. The exact origin of the naginata is still debated in Japanese academic circles, but one thing is clear: the long pole was primarily used to increase the weapon’s slashing power.
This weapon was popular from the late Nara period to the Kamakura period. Later, the handle lengthened, and the blade’s style evolved, giving rise to the naginata we are familiar with today.
During the Meiji period, naginata-jutsu became popular among the general public as a martial art. By the Taisho period and early Showa period, naginata-jutsu had gradually become a martial art practiced mainly by women, a development that is well-documented.
As a result, the image of the naginata as a “woman’s weapon” became ingrained in the Japanese psyche. In modern times, like iai and kendo, naginata-jutsu has become a performance art used for fitness and cultural representation, having lost its military significance.
Bow
In ancient Japan, the primary combat form of the samurai was archery, particularly mounted archery. Two Samurai wear full Japanese armorfull Japanese armor, and ride on horse shot arrows against each other.
The well-known yabusame is a sportified version of this tradition. If a samurai duel (ikkitosu) occurred, it often began with archery. During the more familiar Sengoku and Edo periods, archery became a core skill for samurai, especially foot archery and mounted archery, known as kyubado.
The frequent wars of the Sengoku period heightened the importance of archery. The Japanese yumi had a relatively short range but strong penetration, as noted by Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang, who mentioned that the “Wokou (Japanese pirates) fired large arrows with longbows at close range.” Many schools emerged, each aiming to maximize the effectiveness of the yumi.
However, with the introduction of firearms, the status of archery faced challenges, even though the technology of the time had not yet allowed muskets to be used on horseback. Mounted archery with the yumi remained significant.