Yari and its use

[OceanoNox]

My apologies if this is not the correct place.

Having watched some period movies in feudal Japan, I was surprised to see that the spear in formation is used to bash people on the head. It just looks like two groups trying to bring the other groups' spears down and hit them over the head. Speaking with a history aficionado, he told me that it's well-known that spears were used that way in battle, and sure enough there are videos and websites in Japanese that do state the same, but unfortunately without source.

I found a post on another forum citing a source, and reading for myself, it seems to have originated in the 17th century: 雑兵物語. I have used the miwo application to transcribe the text and it seems to admonish the use of the spear as above: do not think to stab, everyone must hit the other in unison. Stabbing (and "fencing" maybe) with a spear is described as being fine for 1-2 people on each side, but not for large groups.

 

Thus, I ask, has anyone seen anything like that? If it was written in a military manual, it is likely to have been taught at some point, but it still seems very counter intuitive.

[DTM72]

I too saw a video of spear fighters using both sankaku yari and jumanji yari the same way, (bashing from above, not stabbing) in hopes that it can hit shoulders, necks, forearms, etc. A wounded soldier becomes a liability in battle. 

[DoTanuki yokai]

Stabbing could be too easy to parry and when you hold your spear too low enemys could step on it and hold it on the ground. When you strike from above you don’t run risk of losing the control over your weapon.

You can free your spear from the ground even if someone steps on it when you can move back but that is maybe the main problem fighting in a line. 

Also if you are the only one holding your weapon low when everyone tries to hit your head from above is a bad idea in my opinion. 

Striking with a long shaft gives some good leverage that can be used against you when you push your arms forward to stab. 

 

Just my thoughts I never fight on battlefields. 

[Baka Gaijin]

Good evening Arnaud,

 

As you are in Japan, perhaps attend the Meiji Jingu embu on Sunday 3rd of November.

 

You will see a vast array of Koryu schools demonstrating their various arts.

 

Its a great event.

 

 

[Mushin]

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Warfare was an aspect of life from ancient times, but as an adjunct, so was the battle against Nature.

 

In the UK today the most dangerous animal might be a woolly sheep, a wasp or an adder, but Japan was very different. Every village would have come together out of necessity to fight off wild animals like boar or bear, and beating the ground and surrounding these quick-moving, muscly, aggressive animals with long poles or sharpened bamboo must have been a part of everyday life. Experiences like this would have filtered through to the bushi and aristocracy, not only on their hunts for wild animals, but also into battle. Spears of different lengths held upright showed a moving army from a distance, striking fear into the heart of the enemy, and a variety of movements (apart from simple stabbing) must have been quite disconcerting. Horses too might take fright at flashing spears being waved around.

 

There was a time when curved bladed spears like hoko evolved into the straight blades of su-yari though, so maybe efficiency gradually overcame tradition.

 

(Naturally the actual weapons to be used for human warfare were in a different category, far more sophisticated and artistic than the crude *implements used by peasant villagers.)

 

*I remember visiting a house in the Japanese countryside where a lethal-looking spear blade was being passed around the room. A traditional blade? I'd never seen anything quite like it.

"Sssshhhh..." someone said. "This is an 'unclean' weapon, a spear manufactured for sliding into the heart of a boar. Naturally it could never be legally registered."

[OceanoNox]

Thank you all for the insights!

[suketaka]

The Sword and Samé, page 125....

 

 

With Yari, Asayemon adjusts the handle. In the sand of the tameshiba a small place is depressed to keep a head steady,

and a hinin stadies the head with a spade, Asayemon partly undresses, and tries the Yari on the temple, then reports later.

 

Sometimes when a Yari i tried on a skull it does not come out when drawn back, especially with flat triangular blades,

because the flat side has a shinogi, sharp on on side only, so that it does not thrust straight and it is caught by the bone.

Regular spears of triangular section give good tests. If the blade is too thin it may bend, and if the nakago is too thin, it may bend also,

so that one must take great care to have the blade, neck and Nakago well proportioned. (Kawabe Masahide)