Did Japan Have Shields

Earliest japanese armour is thought to have evolved from the armour used in ancient china.

Did japan have shields. In order to explain why we have to examine how the japanese fought and what shields are for. A samurai on horseback wearing ō yoroi 大鎧 in the beginning soldiers wore their shields so they had two hands to do other stuff like firing arrows using other two handed cqc weapons. Japanese actually had shields and their use evolved with the advancing nature of warfare as weapons became more sophisticated. They were just more clever about it because of the way weapons evolved.

They are held by the hand at a distance from the body to absorb blows such as melee weapons and projectiles. Cuirasses and helmets were manufactured in japan as early as the 4th century ce. Hand held shields are curiously never used in the vast majority of japanese military history. They were almost all of the time rectangular in shape 100 to 150 cm in length and 50 to 70 cm in width.

The japanese did have shields. In european context it would be mantlets. A chronology from their origin in the heian era to the modern era foot soldiers in eastern japan were being equipped with shields and long spears during the sixth century. Like all the types of japanese hand held shield they had a wooden handle in the centre.

Others have chalked it up to a fundamental lack of testing underscoring that japan in the initial weeks endured a short supply of test kits with china its only route of supply. Hand held shield were used in combination with swords spears or axes in close combat situation. They were just more clever about it because of the way weapons evolved. Hōjutsu the art of gunnery is the japanese martial art dedicated to firearms usage.

A second misconception is that japan has moved from the idea of putting up a shield to throwing a spear to protect itself. Tankō worn by foot soldiers and keikō worn by horsemen were both pre samurai types of early japanese cuirass constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. That is because the shield theory was never valid. Portuguese firearms were introduced in 1543 and intense development followed with strong local manufacture during the period of conflicts of the late 16th century.

They did actually use shields quite often during various periods of time depending on the necessities of that day and age. Firearms of japan were introduced in the 13th century by the chinese but saw little use. As op others have stated infantry archers did use shield walls to protect themselves. Shields are primarily sacrificial and spaced armour.

Why didn t japanese infantrymen and samurai use shields.