- You know, I used to be an adventurer like you,
but then I took an arrow in the...
oh, you heard that one.
(goofy music)
Samurai served many functions in Japan's history,
but the role we know them best for is that of the warrior.
That said, slapping on some homemade armor
and buying a sword from your pawn shop
is not enough to make you a samurai.
It took years of training to learn the art of battle,
often beginning at the age of five.
As renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi once wrote,
"A member of a warrior family who does not learn
"to use weapons and understand the specific advantages
"of each weapon,
"would seem to be somewhat uncultivated."
Did you know that for the first few centuries
they were around, samurai were better known
as mounted archers than sword fighters?
In fact, the samurai code of honor of Bushido
evolved from the devotion to horseback archery
known as "the way of the horse and bow."
A samurai horseman's primary weapon
was a six foot yumi bow made from an oak/ash base
and finished with bamboo.
Arrows could be accurately fired from a fitted hand grip,
allowing for accuracy from a moving horse.
To train, archers tethered swinging targets to a pole.
In fact, this included living dogs
until the cruel practice was abolished.
Eventually, the sword was considered a crucial part
of a samurai's life.
When they were born, a sword was brought
into the bedchamber during the samurai's delivery,
and when a samurai died,
his honored sword was placed by his side.
Before making these blades, a swordsmith would pray,
fast, and even purify himself with cold water.
And they faced a difficult metallurgical challenge.
See, samurai sword steel had to be forged
so it had both a sharp edge
and wouldn't break during a duel.
If it's too hard, the sword is brittle,
but if it's too soft, it won't take on a keen edge.
So the solution was to make the sword's core
with a soft metal that wouldn't break,
then cover it with harder metals
that were repeatedly folded and hammered
until there were literally millions of layers
laminated together.
If you had vermin to kill,
this steel would cut them right in half.
Samurai warriors actually wielded two swords, though,
referred to as Daisho.
Dai, meaning "large,"
represented the single edged katana sword.
Focusing until his mind was clear of distractions,
a samurai could draw his katana
and kill an enemy in a single move.
The samurai's second sword was the wakizashi,
the small part of Daisho.
It was used in close combat
and for beheading an honored opponent after killing them.
But the wakizashi's most important role was for a samurai
to ritually disembowel himself during the act of seppuku.
This form of suicide was performed
to maintain a samurai's honor.
Sometimes a ritual dagger was used instead of the wakizashi,
but regardless of the blade chosen,
another samurai stood by to behead the victim
so their death was quick.
When they weren't shooting you down
or cutting you to pieces,
samurai also used pole arms in combat.
The most common of these long poles with attached blades
was the naginata.
Its blade was two to four feet long,
while its shaft reached up to five feet.
This extended reach allowed samurai to strike
before a sword-wielding opponent could even reach them,
or to bring mounted enemies to the ground.
Finally, when European traders
began to arrive in Japan in the 16th century,
the reproduction of their matchlock guns
was quickly mastered.
These firearms were an influence on all of Japanese warfare,
so samurai took them up as backup weapons.
Some even wore solid body designed plate armor
that was intended to be bulletproof.
When the emperor banned samurai from wearing their swords
in public in 1876, it was the beginning of the end
for this warrior culture.
But tell me in the comments,
if you were facing combat with a samurai,
which of these five weapons would you choose
to defend yourself?
For more about samurai,
from their armor to the Bushido code,
check out our original article on "How Samurai Work."
And for more videos to arm yourself with,
don't forget to subscribe to our How Stuff Works channel.
Finally, we have to say thank you to Alkaloid Networks
for allowing us to use this wonderful setting.
It's just like feudal Japan.