Japanese Samurai Armor #131
24.May, 2011
Here is another 62 plate Edo Samurai Armor for everyone to look at and enjoy … I try to teach as I show it. It is real and old and Edo and nice …
Duration : 0:2:38
Britain’s Got Talent: 36-year-old English lecturer Hayashi takes to the stage with his happy, but terrified, helpers Dan and Ben to perform the most dangerous act ever seen on British television. Poor Ben doesn’t know what’s hit him! See more at http://itv.com/talent
Duration : 0:5:27
Samurai Armour Grand Exhibition Tokyo 2010
24.May, 2011
The first comprehensive exhibition featuring Samurai Arms & Armour hosted by Marutake Sangyo, the worlds preeminent Samurai Armour manufacturer from Kagoshima pref. On display were 40 objects from the worksite, including 29 reproductions of armours of Daimyo from the Warring States Period, Kabuto, children’s suits of armour, and matchlock guns.
Duration : 0:9:59
Secrets of the Samurai Sword Part One
24.May, 2011
Secrets of the Samurai Sword
Description:
English archers had their longbows, Old West sheriffs had their six-guns, but samurai warriors had the most fearsome weapon of all: the razor-sharp, unsurpassed technology of the katana, or samurai sword. In this program, NOVA probes the centuries-old secrets that went into forging what many consider the perfect blade.
The beauty and lethality of the curved steel blade became identified with the distinctive culture of those who wielded it so expertly: the samurai warriors of medieval Japan, celebrated in countless Japanese woodcuts, prints, and films. Fifteen traditional Japanese craftsmen spent nearly six months creating the sword that NOVA follows through production, from smelting the ore to forging the steel to sharpening the blade to a keen edge, capable of slicing through a row of warriors at one swoopΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥although NOVA does not put the super-weapon to this ultimate test. (See a slide show of the process.)
Not that samurai sword fighting has died outΓΓé¼ΓÇ¥far from it. The program also traces the schooling of a modern-day devotee of samurai combat: Midori Tanaka, a receptionist for a Japanese electronics firm by day and a blade buff by night. For Tanaka it’s a family tradition, since her father, Fumon Tanaka, is a grand master swordsman.
Father and daughter show their mutual respect with a breathtaking test of skill. Midori draws a bow, aiming an arrow directly at her father’s heart. His only protection is his sword. When she releases the string, he slices the speeding arrow in half, inches from its target.
Japanese sword-making developed centuries ago, before electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and other tools of modern materials analysis enabled scientists to understand exactly why the swords are as good as they are. Professor Michael Notis of Lehigh University, an expert on samurai swords, sheds light on the principles that underlie the weapons’ strength, resilience, beauty, and distinctive shape. (See an interview on metal’s properties with Notis’s colleague Rick Vinci.)
For example, during smelting, iron-ore sand is heated with charcoal, which provides a source of carbon that alloys with the iron to create steel. Ancient craftsmen deliberately stopped just short of a uniform liquid state for the white-hot steel, which resulted in a product with varying amounts of carbon throughout. The harder high-carbon steel was forged into the sword’s edge, which had to be hard and sharp, while the more resilient low-carbon steel was used as the core of the weapon to produce a blade resistant to breaking during combat.
This sandwich of two different types of steel contracted at different rates during rapid cooling, or quenching, which caused the blade to warp lengthwise, giving it its distinctive curve that proved so deadly when wielded in a slashing arc. “The unique aspect of the Japanese sword is that the craftsmen were able to put the right materials in the right place to get optimum properties for the entire object,” Notis tells NOVA.
Without access to the insights of modern science, Japanese craftsmen a millennium ago worked out an exacting method that is still followed by a devoted few and that produces the Stradivarius of swords.
Duration : 0:9:50
Samurai Swords Techniques
24.May, 2011
Samurai swords techniques are generally called either kenjutsu or kendo, but specific names for martial arts that involve a samurai sword include battojutsu, iaijutsu, battodo, and iaido. Battojutsu is an offensive form of self-defense and offense. Iaido is a competition-based style. Iaijutsu is borne of kenjutsu and is a weapon-based martial art. Kenjutsu and Kendo both refer to traditional sword styles and techniques, and likely originate in feudal Japan. On the other hand, Shinkendo is the actual samurai martial art used by original samurai and can include the use of samurai armor.
The literal translation of Shinkendo is the real way of the sword. Another interpretation is The way of Earnesty. This technique is comprised of five competencies cumulatively referred to as Goho Gorin Gogyo, or the fivefold way. It is comprised of Suburi, which are swinging exercises; battoho, which are drawing techniques; tanrengata, which are solo forms and can also be referred to as kata; tachiuchi, which are sparring techniques and can also be referred to as kumite tameshigiri, which, for all intents and purposes, is the final exam.
The Traditional Samurai Sword
04.July, 2010
Samurai swords are traditionally known as katanas, although this word in Japanese
is technically generalized and refers to any type of sword. In appearance, they
are long, curved blades with long grips to accommodate a two-handed stance. They
are renowned for their extreme sharpness.
Samurai swords were created during the Muromachi Period of feudal Japan, which
lasted from 1392 to 1573. The primary innovation that was applied to these swords
when they were initially designed was to store it with the blade facing outward so
that it can be drawn as well as cut an opponent in one motion. Between the 14th and
15th centuries, they were approximately 73 cm long, but this fell to 60 cm during
the 16th century, and were switched back to 73 cm as the century drew to a close.
The blades are comprised of both high carbon and low carbon steel fused together.
This is because high carbon steel is hard but brittle, while low carbon steel is
malleable, though easily dulled. Thus, the outer casing of the blade is made from
low carbon steel, while the edge is made from high carbon steel, resulting in a highly
effective, deadly blade.
why didn’t Samurai wear any leather in they’re armor?
12.March, 2010
also where they’re plates made of bone or metal
i understand that part of it but what i mean if silk was used to bind the armor together why not leather??
Japan contains very little pasture land suitable for grazing animals, and therefore breeding large herds of domesticated farm animals has never been possible there.This meant leather wasn’t as widely available in Japan as in, for example,Europe, so there was never enough of it to use on a wide scale in armour making.
Where or how could I learn to be a master samurai sword maker?
18.February, 2010
I want to be a master at making samurai swords. Where do I need to go to learn this and what king of equipment do I need?
Like any trade it is really something you have a passion for it is something you have to work for.
A good place to start is to become an apprentice bladesmith, join an organization such as:
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/
And work towards learning the hows of actually making blades. Most real sword makers and bladesmiths start off making bowie knives, in fact most of the certification towards becoming a master bladessmith is regarding testing your knife. Those same custom made knives sell for thousands of dollars. Those knives however undergo tests such as cutting a two by four, without the blade showing a single nick. Chopping upright cans (down on the lip) in half cleanly, again with a single blemish to the blade, etc.
Many bladesmiths continue on and make swords and the like.
Of course, if you are stuck on katana and katana only, you could try to pick up some correspondance overseas to see if you can apprentice under a Japanese swordmaker, but in all honesty, most of that is past down through the family lines and a foriegner would have a very hard time being able to get any master to apprentice him.
But you could learn the ins and outs of bladesmithing here in the US, (or wherever) and learn to make swords of your very own.
Keep in mind, materials, and tools are very expensive so have a good dayjob.
what did samurai’s wear under their armor when they went to battle?
16.February, 2010
and if u know a website that sells it that would be great too.
As may be expected, the basic clothing item in a samurai’s ‘everyday’ wardrobe was the kimono, which for men normally consisted of an outer and inner layer. Heavier kimonos were worn in the winter, while lighter examples (those made of finer silk, for instance) were worn in the summer. In fact, there was a ceremonial day where winter kimonos were exchanged for their summer counterparts, traditionally on the 1st day of the Fourth Month (by our reckoning, in the first week of May). A samurai’s kimono would normally be made of silk, a material considered superior to cotton and hemp not only for its feel and appearance but for it’s relative coolness in the hot Japanese summer. (Incidentally, kimono makers traditionally reckoned on one roll of silk measuring about two feet by 20 yards for one kimono). Naturally, the quality of a kimono a given samurai might wear largely depended on his personal station and income, though, at least prior to the Edo Period, there were no hard and fast rule in this regard. Hojo Soun, for instance, touches on the matter of clothing in his 21 Articles, "Don’t think your swords and clothing should be as good as those of other people. Be content as long as they don’t look awful http://www.samurai-archives.com/clothing.html but mongolian horsemen used to wear a silkshirt under their armour because if they were hit with an arrow, then the silk would be driven into the flesh with the arrow, which allegedly made it easier to remove from the body without causing additional damage.–Bamboo was also used in Samurai armour. Essentially like someone said metal plates or strips are laminated onto the bamboo with laquer resin. The armour was suppose to give the wearer good flexibility yet provide protection.Samurai armor was built out of splinted metal and heavy leather and was designed to deflect katanas and arrows, but could not deflect gunfire once guns emerged. http://www.bullshido.net/forums/sitemap/index.php/t-7471.html ———— How to buy the Japanese suit of Samurai Armor Armor prices start at just $125! http://www.japanese-armor.com/japanese-armor.shtml ——— So you need something that will look like what real samurai used to wear under their armor, and that was robes http://www.indymogul.com/backyardfx/post/1407/build-plans-how-to-create-samurai-armor ——-
I am not talking about cheap china-made metal. i mean the real swords that are either hand made with high quaility metal from china, or actually made from japan with certificates and those has collectable value. usually cost $500+
any idea?
You will probably never find a truly authentic sword in Toronto, but there are some places on the internet to find them. Try this website to get you started.
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/authentic-japanese-swords.html