Yajiri arrowheads

[Bugyotsuji]

Firstly, apologies. I know that in many literary works such as Kabuki they are often referred to as Yanone', perhaps a more poetic word. 

 

On the other hand, living in Japan for many a long year, and bending my ear to many a long yarn, I have only ever heard of them referred to here as 'Yajiri'.

 

Seeing that we had a thread on Yanone polishing, I thought it might be a good opportunity to present the other side of the coin and get the word 'Yajiri' up there in the headline! (Direct Action)

 

It might be worth restating the Japanese perception/orientation of arrows, opposite to us in the west. We talk about an 'arrowhead'. The Japanese saw a field sown with arrows, so the part buried in the ground or stuck into an enemy body was not a 'head', but a -ne (root) or -jiri (from Shiri) butt/bottom.

 

Recently I have come across some interesting examples, which might be good to post here.

 

Suffice it to say that there were both common iron 矢尻 Yajiri which, once fired, were probably no great loss, (besides you could re-use the enemy's ones) and then those wonderfully intricate (and expensive) Yajiri (Yanone) which were probably shot off only when there was someone guaranteed to retrieve your arrowhead for you.

 

Word of warning, as usual.

*There are many examples of 'fake' yajiri on the market, and the very high cost of a good one means that there are also modern reproductions out there made to look old. Can we always tell the difference? Perhaps posters might want to give out pointers for spotting 'wrong-uns'.(?)

[ROKUJURO]

....Recently I have come across some interesting examples, which might be good to post here.....


Yes please, Piers!

I am always interested to see them. I only have a few; as you mention correctly, they are quite expensive. I am very interested to learn about the differences between iron and steel items. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Right Jean, thanks for kicking the ball!

 

1. How about 300 yajiri displayed in someone’s Shoji? Mostly small, unsigned, of standard shapes, with relatively short Nakago.

[Bugyotsuji]

And here we have the other end of things, 2.

 

Now, some might say that these are late Edo, Meiji or even more modern, but the NBTHK member and owner thinks otherwise.

 

Interestingly, I found an early-Edo Tsuba (3) recently showing that these or similar were known some four hundred years ago.

 

2.

[Bugyotsuji]

As you can see, the Setsumei calls them 矢尻 ‘Yajiri’ and the Katchushi Tsuba is said to be early Edo.

 

3.

[Bugyotsuji]

Forgot to mention that it is said that the Ainu were wont to dip their arrowheads in wolfsbane, 鳥兜　トリカブト aconitum japonicum, but not so the Yamato people. (see J wiki below)

 

And another little snippet someone told me (apologies for passing on stories) barbed arrowheads were generally considered among the Bushi as 'unfair'.

 

日本[編集]

漢方においてトリカブトの塊根から取り出した毒素は附子（ぶす・ぶし）と呼ばれ、強心薬として、また毒薬として使用される。北海道のアイヌ民族は、このトリカブト、あるいは附子を「スルク」と呼び、狩猟に用いてきた^[14]。矢の先に塗布するほか、獣道に仕掛けた仕掛け弓「アマッポ」でヒグマやエゾシカを捕らえる。矢の刺さった箇所の周囲の肉を握りこぶしほどの量ほどえぐり取って捨てれば、ほかは食べても問題が無かった。

大和民族においては、『養老律』において附子を用いた暗殺への罰則規定が見られ、猛毒あるいは薬と理解されていた^[16]ものの、武器として積極的に使用されることはなかった。

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AF%92%E7%9F%A2#%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC

[Brian]

Piers, no fair!!
Aaargh...that picture is killing me. Can't I just have 20 or 30?
Wow....impressive. Would love a few of those. The simple "real" ones used in battle etc have an appeal. Love that display. At current market prices he has quite a fortune there too.
 

[Bugyotsuji]

Someone offered him around $3,000 I believe... 

 

To be quite clear, this is purely educational; none of the examples above are mine. 

[Brian]

Someone offered him around $3,000 I believe... 

Umm, yeah. lol.

They can fetch $100 each, but even average examples have to be $40 or so each. So that is $12,000. I think someone was taking a chance.

[Alex A]

 

*There are many examples of 'fake' yajiri on the market, and the very high cost of a good one means that there are also modern reproductions out there made to look old. Can we always tell the difference? Perhaps posters might want to give out pointers for spotting 'wrong-uns'.(?)

 

See a lot of reproductions coming from India. India coming up a lot these days in reproductions, anything from Yanone to medieval suits of armour.

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for that, Alex. India is a first for me, not one of the usual suspects on my mental list. 

[Alex A]

Cheap fakes/reproductions will stick out like a sore thumb, lack of wear, patina, crisp edges etc, look machine made

 

Fakers need a balance between profit, and how long and how difficult it is to reproduce.

 

Ive read of folk buying iron reproduction arrowheads and ageing them, burying them etc, then a few years later back on Ebay as medieval 

 

Not looked into expensive yanone much, but don't think its at that level.

 

But what do I know.

[Beater]

And I thought my miniature screen was a novel idea...never mind! I’ve also got some more which I put in a more conventional picture frame.

All this talk of fakes has me slightly worried but luckily I was almost gifted these, which were thrown in as a sweetener with a sword purchase.

[Alex A]

Hi Kevin, where did you get those framed?, looks good

[ROKUJURO]

Kevin;

some of yours look to be not Japanese, but I am looking only at photos.... .

[IanB]

All,    Fakes abound, not least on Japanese Yahoo. One way in which a lot of fakers fail is by omitting a proper 'neck' between the blade and tang. This should normally be concave and polished. I have noticed a good number of what at first seem really desirable ones that are of the forked variety, which I know as karimata, with a diaper pattern in gold nunome zogan. I got a bit excited by the first one I saw, and thank goodness I didn't buy it because I was broke at the time. Since then I've seen quite a few and they look good. 

  I have never managed to acquire and fancy pierced shield-shaped ones, supposedly fretted out to minimise the effect of a cross wind, but I do have a selection of the armour-piercing variety that are often almost square in cross-section that were fitted to a bundle of arrows I once bought. A few are signed on the blade, with a kanji on each side, most of the others in tiny katakana characters on the tang.

Ian Bottomley

[Bugyotsuji]

Kevin, are any of yours signed? I had a few, some really nice, but stupidly I sold most of them...

 

In a minute I will upload a photograph of what is said to be a full set of four whistling arrows. All four notes were sounded in order for the start of battle, according to the owner. On the old box are the letters 蟇目箭 (Hikime-sen) which he has kindly transcribed onto paper for the shot. The only other set he has ever seen was in a private collection, gold lacquered and in pristine condition.

[Bugyotsuji]

PS Just found six assorted arrows in a box that I had completely forgotten about. Nothing stunning unfortunately.

 

And maybe in the UK I still have two fairly nice biggies with sukashi which came from a fantastic collection in Shikoku that my friend bought. He kindly allowed me to purchase just these two as I was a witness to the transaction!

[Dave R]

 It's worth remembering that Japan was not the only nation that used tanged arrowheads. I bought a load of original antique Indian ones years ago for less than I would pay for replicas now.

[ROKUJURO]

Dave,

that has to do with the shafts used. It is aquestion of suited bamboo availability.

[Beater]

Kevin, are any of yours signed?

No sir.

[Beater]

Hi Kevin, where did you get those framed?, looks good

Thank you. It’s a very cheap DIY job. I bought the frames in “The Range” for under a fiver, stuck felt to back board and drilled small holes for elasticated thread to hold them in place.

[Beater]

Kevin;

some of yours look to be not Japanese, but I am looking only at photos.... .

Ok, thanks for letting me know. I knew absolutely nothing about them but as they were just thrown in to a sword deal, I haven’t lost anything.

Can you indicate which ones and I might consider a cull.

Regards,

 

Kevin.

[Bazza]

Kevin;

 

some of yours look to be not Japanese, but I am looking only at photos.... .

To my eye they are all Japanese.  The variety of shapes in yajiri is amazing.  My favourite is the curtain piercer...

 

BaZZa.

[ROKUJURO]

Kevin,

it is not really safe to judge by photos, but I suspect (left photo, from left to right) No. 2 and 3 and the rightmost are late copies. Right photo: No. 2 and the one rightmost do not look genuine to me.

I have seen (and had) a number of YAJIRI, and the authentical Japanese ones were almost always finely and carefully crafted. Their tang is quite finely forged and evenly filed down to a level and smooth surface. As Ian wrote correctly, the copies sometimes have no 'neck' between blade and tang, while their Japanese 'models' do show that feature. This round 'neck' with almost the same diameter as the shaft is an important feature in arrows as the YAJIRI can only penetrate armour and bodies properly, if the impact of the arrow-tip is securely supported and transferred to the shaft.

In direct comparison, European arrow-tips are visibly less carefully made (while no less lethal) and were mainly disposable items. The common socket arrow-tip model for warfare was forged in 2 to 3 minutes a piece and often used without additional filing and finishing.     

But I have to confess that I have not seen hundreds of YAJIRI, so it could well be that there are also mass produced ones which were less carefully made.

However, the patina of the arrow's NAKAGO might also be a good indicator for its age (and authenticity).  

[Beater]

Hi Jean,

 

I appreciate you taking the time to explain your initial thoughts and concerns about those particular yajiri. I do see the features which you highlight; both the neck and tang finishing.

Many thanks for your reply.

 

Regards,

 

Kevin.

[John C]

Reviving an old thread here:

I was wondering what type of arrowhead this is? My guess would be target practice, but possibly togari-ya? It doesn't seem to match the standard styles. It's actually square shaped.

 

John C.

[ROKUJURO]

In my opinion, this is one of several types of battle arrow-heads. The cross section can be square, but mostly it is rhombic.

The YAJIRI for target practice are round and have no NAKAGO (cap type).

[Andi B.]

Do these yajiri all have hamon?

I wonder, because I assume, battle yanone are "disposable" arrow heads, right?

 

[ROKUJURO]

I don't know but I don't think so. It might be an exception. Japanese YAJIRI are forged from steel, and they are hardened. They could be re-used, while European arrowheads were made from iron, so one-way items.