11:27 ''so here I am in full samurai armour'' you forgot to say ''as you can see I've sworn fealty to the Takeda clan''

@tn9711

7 жыл бұрын

All he needs is a horse that is of superior breed

@LordVader1094

7 жыл бұрын

Usugi clan for life!

@murilocaruy

7 жыл бұрын

No arrow flies truer than the Chosokabe's!

@kenzofinucane4057

7 жыл бұрын

what are you talking about?

@weedfrosch459

7 жыл бұрын

SHAMEFUR DISPRAY

A truly wonderful video sir Metatron. I suspected the Japanese might have used shields but until now I've never found any information on them apart from that they simply didn't use them. Well I am thrilled to know something I didn't know a few minutes ago.

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching Shad and it's a pleasure to hear from you :)

@shaderunner8220

5 жыл бұрын

@@Grinnar no, i read it in Shad's voice too.

@JohnMiller-zr8pl

3 жыл бұрын

@@Grinnar not at all, the same happened to me with Shad and The Metatron

@slasher1563

Жыл бұрын

Hey it's that guy

The bow theory (being why they chose to use shields less) is an interesting one, though in other cultures where the bow was an important and primary weapon - Mongolia, Persia, Turkey, India, England - they seem to have retained the shield (the first four kept the medium-sized round shield, either worn on the back or hung on the horse when the bow was being shot, the last one kept the buckler, hung from the sword or belt).

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Interesting points. I'm actually planning on a second video on this topic where I'll bring up a few examples of samurai using shields and samurai not using them so we can have a clearer picture of how things might have worked and a few other educated guests. Thank you for watching and commenting Matt :)

Great video. I get asked this question sometimes and I didn't know a good answer.

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching mate I'm glad you liked the video :3

@SterbsMcGurbs

11 ай бұрын

​@@metatronyt I liked it too

From everything you've said it would seem like the Japanese created their own entire meta in regard to conflict, tactics, weapons and armour production. I can quite easily imagine the possibility of an outside threat exploiting this specialist style of fighting to defeat them. Did this ever happen and if so how did they react?

@LordVader1094

7 жыл бұрын

As far as I know, no. The Mongols invaded before the Japanese fighting style was fully developed.

@obliviousoblivion

7 жыл бұрын

+LordVader1094 the mongols got caught up in a storm twice and never managed to actually land on Japanese soil

@aragornstarscream803

7 жыл бұрын

Europeans with their boomsticks, did you not watch the historical documentary called "the last samurai"?

@LordVader1094

7 жыл бұрын

Alexander Hamilton They did land, actually. I'm surprised you don't know how they invaded, but the storms destroying much of their fleet drove them off since they needed supplies.

@xirensixseo

7 жыл бұрын

As much as i know, they developed rockets like the chinese, though rockets were ineffective and rarely used. Europeans never tried to exploit anything, they wanted to explore how Japan survived without christianity. Certain provinces did get pushed back when europeans introduced ballistic armor.

The Japanese did not have any 100 percent damage reduction shields(just wood) so they just used weapons in their hands. Also it is less weight and thus less points into vitality for a quality build, better for rolling

@MatiasMarczak

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah...try to trespass a thick plank with anything that's not an axe and say that again. Most shields in most human history were made out of wood with some reinforcements.

@aurourus6894

6 жыл бұрын

He was making a dark souls joke, in that game if your shield doesn't have 100% defense it's practically useless and almost no wooden shields have 100%

@MatiasMarczak

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Now it makes sense. I was wondering about that "rolling" thing

@ArtietheArchon

6 жыл бұрын

hence the popularity of the zweihander in japan with its 70% damage reduction

@thegoldenfret123456

5 жыл бұрын

didnt he show a metal japanese shield in the video?

you speak softly and have a nice blue shirt so it feels like I'm being introduced to a cult

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

xD

@GeminibBorn

7 жыл бұрын

The Cult of HIstory...im in!

@scottmcconnell9211

7 жыл бұрын

Jeffrey McConnell me too

@taunotalitappi6978

7 жыл бұрын

Italians can wear fancy shirts any day they want :)

@trrebi981

7 жыл бұрын

Well if Gryphon Word is from America, he is likely referring to the Mormon folks who like to go door to door while nicely dressed, and try to convert you.

He addressed every point accurately just as I hoped he would. I'm impressed. Subscribed.

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

I'm glad I did, and welcome to the community :3

From my understanding the shield fell out of favor as archery (particularly horse archery) came into favor with the large shoulder guards (because you can't really use a hand held shield at the same time you are shooting arrows) taking their place. The infantry favoring long yari (spears over 8 ft are quite difficult to use effectively in one hand) and naginata (which require two-hands) also led to hand held shields disappearing. I suspect the large shoulder guards also led to infantry ditching shields as, much like Macedonian pikemen, their shield was fixed allowing two-handed usage of their weapons (permitting longer spears, I recall that some yari would reach the 20 ft mark of sarissa pikes). So a variety of factors led to the personal shield falling out of favor. I do wonder how a line of two-handed spearmen would do against one-handed spearmen. A shield is amazingly effective at dealing with thrusting weapons (it passively cuts off most lines and spears have a difficult time getting them to open up) but the two-handed spearmen have much more control and potentially longer spears (giving them the reach advantage). It would be a rather interesting experiment I think. In a 1v1 scenario I think I've only lost one out of at least 15 duels against polearms with my spear and shield (spears and longaxes, with my one loss being a winged spear which managed to get me right in the chest after hooking my shield), but on a large scale I don't think they would play out the same.

@alexanerose4820

7 жыл бұрын

Interesting thought and you make many good points. Personally, I think the two handed ones would have the advantage because two hands equals longer spears , more control, more power per thrust, and etc. You train in spears? Let me guess HEMA has that too? If so,what do they call it?

@demomanchaos

7 жыл бұрын

Alexane Rose The power/control/reach advantages are pretty good (though once your reach a certain length of pike you start losing power and control), but a big shield is also really really good. All that power/control doesn't mean much when you have no targets to hit, and a big shield is an excellent tool for ensuring safety while closing distance. In duels it really only goes in favor of the shield user, but in large groups it could go either way honestly. I would love to see a few group battles testing that honestly. I haven't in a long while (disagreements with group members), but I used to do Dark Age combat. There aren't any manuals for the period, so it was reconstruction based off later works adapted to large shields with a good chunk of experimentation of new ideas.

@iolandanavone4177

7 жыл бұрын

Regarding the shield/spear vs two handed spear, I think that the Greek phalanx vs Macedonian phalanx offers a pretty good example of the pike having the upper hand on the battlefield. Which doesn't mean it always has to, by the way. It depends on the formations used: a yari ashigaru formation would be far different from a macedonian phalanx, and a saxon shieldwall would be far different from a greek phalanx.

@demomanchaos

7 жыл бұрын

iolanda navone The thing about the Macedonian phalanx is they had proper shields slung on their shoulder, so in a sense they did have shields. The Macedonian sarissa was also quite a bit longer than the average yari (while the yari could reach the same length, they generally weren't more than 10 ft on average if what I could find is right), so it isn't a perfect analogy. They are all unique in their own way, this is true. I was thinking more a general spear line rather than specifically a phalanx type formation.

@ctrlaltdebug

7 жыл бұрын

Kataphraktoi wore heavy armor, and still used a small shield strapped to the arm with bow and lance.

Always a delight to hear your explanations about armor, weaponry, techniques and ancient history. I always learn something new by just listenin', thank you :D

Sir, it's a honour to watch your work. I didn't saw any high quality content for years. Kudos!

Just wondering, have you made a historical analysis of Total War: Shogun 2? If not, would you be interested in making one? Would other viewers be interested? We could start a patreon thingy :P

@kakashi101able

4 жыл бұрын

Did he ever made a video of it?

Excellent discussion. Thanks!

C'mon man pauldrons are not shields.

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

A shield is supposed to protect you from arrows and attacks, that's what the pauldrons did. They are not shields, but they are replacing shields this is the concept. It is a fact that Pauldrons were taking the place of the shield for the samurai who didn't carry shields.

@onderyildiz54

7 жыл бұрын

Officio Prefectus Commissar why use shields when you have plot armor?

@darkranger116

7 жыл бұрын

They most certainly are. Hand-free, neck protecting shields. Especially if you customize them to be even bigger.

@ChibiQilin

7 жыл бұрын

Exactly. While the definition of a shield is broad, the concept most definitely revolves around some main material with handles or straps to be wielded when necessary. This includes stationary shields which can be wielded and moved. Pauldrons are armor, they're like clothing. To call a pauldron a shield is like calling a helmet a shield, or gloves a shield.

@stupidburp

7 жыл бұрын

Some were quite large. Larger even than some shields used in Europe.

thanks for covering this. i have wondered about this topic for a while but hadn't come across any information until this video

Dude, you're awesome. You're absolutely my favorite historical/weapon KZreadr.

Since the japanese chose the bow, it would have been very logical to use shields for their melee troops to protect from the enemy arrows. Then again, if their bows were so weak that the armor alone would efficiently protect from them, why did the japanese focus on bows in the first place?

@jacobblanton5179

7 жыл бұрын

Metalbirne Because of the horse. Horse + Bow = enemy archers at all sides constantly running away from you and shooting you in the back. No shield is going to give you 8 arms. Or you can get horses too and shoot from your horse as well.

@ElBandito

7 жыл бұрын

Arrows offer demoralizing effects on the enemy, as well as suppression of sorts.

@Metalbirne

7 жыл бұрын

But was horseback archery really the main tactic in the samurai era? I don't really know if that's true. I know that european cultures used (handheld) shields to great effect while better bows where available and utilized. Horses where also utilized in europe without the need to abandon shields on the battlefield. There must be more to it. It feels more like the samurai tradition and culture didn't like handheld shields as they were looked at as a defensive device for cowards which might also be the reason why two-handed weapons were preferred (as mentioned in the video that they did prefer katana and yari). This viewpont is probably shared amongst most people who ask the question "why didn't they use shields". And on another side of the topic: How many horses were actually available to the japanese. If your argument is that horseback archery was very common and a main tactic for japanese samurai-era battles then there clearly must have been a lot of them available

@LadCarmichael

7 жыл бұрын

What you suppose would be the same as saying "Did all Knights really have horses?". Samurai were Samurai because they followed the Way of the Horse and Bow, just like Knights were Knights because in battle they followed the jousting charges tactics. As I said in another answer, the samurai emerged as the dominant cast because they were granted land for the express purpose of breeding their horse and raising enough money to buy their armor. When requested to come to battle, it was often explicit that they must come mounted and armored, otherwise their suzerain would think "Why did I give my lands to this man?" Concerning the bow and shield, I think it is tied to the tactics. Because you had horse circling around you, as a foot soldier it would be suicidal like other said to expect to protect yourself with an individual shield. What the Japanese foot soldiers would often do is gather in group and protect themselves with the large shields (planks) and retaliate with their own bows. In fact, even during the levy period of Japan, levied peasants were required to bring a bow as much as spear and sword. Archery was a culture basic. And I think you have too much expectation of the samurai honor. Defending yourself wasn't dishonorable, just like running away wasn't. There is a lot of cases in the monogatari where warriors would flee because of the circumstance as if it was normal and not suffer dishonor. The first of all Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the most popular samurai ever who would first be respected for his tricks and tactics and would flee through half of Japan before suffering a tragedy death.

@MariusThePaladin

7 жыл бұрын

I don't know about earlier era, but when it comes to the era where musket is already common, the Europeans also stop using shield and even their late medieval full-plate armor. Basically, I believe there's this one common inspiration between the Japanese's warfare reformation, and the reformation of European warfare where the use of halfplate, pike&musket formation, and cavalry with no shield replace older medieval stye combat. Shield would be not worth it when fighting against musket. Pikemen/melee troops would protect the musket line from cavalry, cavalry then would either charge at unprotected musket line, or shoot the shit out of their protector with ranged weapon of their own. Pistol in European's case, and bow in Samurai's case. (There were Samurais who use pistol also though).

Shields is dishonerobru!!

@armoredp

7 жыл бұрын

HEY HEY hey... This is ribrary!

@based_prophet

7 жыл бұрын

armoredp fill ribreal to sayso

@irishdc9523

7 жыл бұрын

TheBarser No lacists

Keep making great videos. I could watch and learn from you all day.

Thanks for the video. Very informed and well spoken, loved the info about attacking with spears head down :D

I'm a huge fan of +Metatron (the guy in this video). I love his videos. I never listen to what he says in them but his look is just so cool. I often daydream about being friends with him where we can listen to music together, hang out, smoke weed, talk about philosophy and pick up girls. He would be a great wingman. Well, I'd like to say more but I got to go back to daydreaming about doing all these cool things with him.

@vivemotion

7 жыл бұрын

I agree. I was just daydreaming of being friends with him too. He must have a lot of black friends which is great because if we both became friends, we could pool together our black friends thus increasing the number for each of us. It would be a win-win situation. Although I don’t know him I think we are similar in spirit because we both believe in peace.

@DingDong-nk4yf

7 жыл бұрын

.....

@Orcrist

5 жыл бұрын

LLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL

When you were showing off that charge with the spear. Suddenly I recognized it from a lot of game hailing from japan. It makes sense now. Quite educational.

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you found my video educational :)

I had always wondered about this. What a well thought out explanation. Thanks bro

glad you made a video on this, was wondering about this myself

that gun is very cool. is it functional or just for display? if it is functional i would love to see a video of you firing it!

@boredfangerrude

7 жыл бұрын

Go back to Star Trek Worf! :D 8/2/2016

@JustGrowingUp84

7 жыл бұрын

Just for display, but it's an accurate replica.

@phaenon4217

7 жыл бұрын

+Boredfan Gerrude Time to fuck up some Humans with some Klingon melee weapons.

@boredfangerrude

7 жыл бұрын

Lol.

@PopTartNeko

7 жыл бұрын

I'm more interested in the reloading part with these old guns

60000 subs?? congratz!

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Thanks for answering a question I had for years! It really makes lots of sense now!

First time saw your video! You're great guy, I love how you support other guys, that's what YT community needs!!! Good job, liked and subscribed... now going to watch your other vids :)

I used to wonder a lot about Japoness shields. I've never seen them on pictures, cosplay etc. On the other hand, it's an extremely basic tool and they seemed to have a word for it (tate). My solution to the problem was that I assumed that all of islander's strategy and tactic was probably a very crap due to isolation and thus not worth attention. It was a great video though that changed my mind on many things. It's amazing that pauldrons were used functionally as shields! Your armor actually stopped looking as dorky as it did before when you explained it's uses :O Thanks for the video!

Thanks for the shout out, Metatron! :)

@ColtDouglasMusic

7 жыл бұрын

Had to watch the video again (yes, only an hour after watching it the first time lol) Congratulations on reaching 60,000 subscribers! :)

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

My pleasure and thank you for watching

+Metatron, Thank you for another excellent video!

Thanks, enjoyable video with lots of info I've not heard before.

I have got a question: Why do we never see the Japanese use axes in warfare? Did they use axes at all?

@rollingthunder1043

4 жыл бұрын

Interestingly enough, they did have a war axe, the Gunbai, but you're right, we rarely if ever see it.

when european armour tech developed , european also abandoned shield.

@ShiningDarknes

7 жыл бұрын

Right, they abanded it in favour of two-handed pole weapons designed to combat full-armour. Can't really use a shield and a pole-hammer

@Faerindel

7 жыл бұрын

At the same time when firearms were getting popular and efferctive. That might have something to do.

@tabula_rosa

7 жыл бұрын

armor doesn't preclude shields, armor is more effectively countered by pikes, and pikes preclude shields (you're giving up your shield for a spear that can kill an armored knight before his handheld weapons can reach you)

@ShiningDarknes

7 жыл бұрын

Deshara "before his handheld weapon can reach you" And tell me again, what perchance are you holding your spear with? (not serious)

@Gebunator

7 жыл бұрын

Except the shield stayed as long as field plate stood relevant, but when muskets and crossbows reached a level where they easily pierced through any steel and could be easily mass produced, Europe entered Renaissance basically

Great Video! I learned a lot here and you answered several questions that have crossed my mind from time to time.

@matthiasm3147

7 жыл бұрын

One thing I have wondered is what influence, if any, did the Mongols have on Japanese warfare after the Japanese clashed with the Mongols. From a glance I don't see much Mongol influence in the later centuries, but I would not be the least bit surprised if some very interesting points of nuance have escaped my limited knowledge.

@matthiasm3147

7 жыл бұрын

As far as I know it is twice as well. I think you are right, though I am a bit surprised that ship-mounted catapults hurling early gunpowder bombs did not seem to leave a lasting impression. Considering how readily they adopted the Arquebus I would think that some would have more interest in replicating such things. I've heard it said that they considered the Mongol's use of such a weapon dishonorable and thus eschewed it. But I don't know off-hand whether that is true or whether it is western historians highlighting the theme of samurai honor as it plays into an easy and entertaining narrative dichotomy of noble samurai vs ruthless Mongols. I would not be surprised either way. Different times though, perhaps a different mindset could explain a shunning of bombs in one period but the widespread adoption of early firearms in another. Perhaps there was less need or incentive to find a military advantage over rivals? Or maybe the Japanese did have such things, either before or after and I am simply unaware of it. Well, this is why I am writing about this here. I know there are clever and knowledgeable people watching this channel who know their stuff.

Stumbled across your channel at random and wow, great work and very informative :)

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Hey there thank you so much I'm glad you like it :3

Do knight's armor sound like tied cans clanging as samurai armor?

@eduardofreitas8336

7 жыл бұрын

From the videos I've seem it looks like it lol

@dragonsamurai559

3 жыл бұрын

They were also loud

Mr. Metatron, Recently I've been watching the netflix show Marco Polo. The show is entertaining, but has reminded me of and issue I have with almost all historical fighting in movies and shows. The issue I have is that the people are always wearing armor; however, everyone is always just being slashed and stabbed as if they were wearing no amor. This is true with swords or spears or arrows. I thing this is absurd, but I'd like to hear your educated opinion on it. Thanks.

@tn9711

7 жыл бұрын

Have you seen season 2?

@micahpardee1467

7 жыл бұрын

yes

@micahpardee1467

7 жыл бұрын

part of it

@micahpardee1467

7 жыл бұрын

im talking about that issue in general i feel like combat doesnt have to be like that

@HeadCannonPrime

7 жыл бұрын

+Meriadoc Gunson The opposite is actually more true for armored opponents. Real fights are LONGER and less dramatic. Heavily armored warriors can actually pound on each other for a LONG time. Its generally whoever gets tired or careless and then its zip/slice the point of a blade gets into a weak spot and they start bleeding and its over. If you ever watch two people with shields actually go at it it's about 2 minutes of pounding back and fourth until one guy gets a leg hit. Now fighting without armor or shields, its fast and ends quick, a lot of times both people get stabbed or cut.

A very insightful video, thank you Metatron.

thanks for adressing the subject. i was always wondering about this.

"Tertiary", not "thirdiary" @9:35. Your English impresses me anyway. See also how base 2 is "binary", but base 3 is "ternary", and I can't imagine how anyone would expect that.

@nerferfan

7 жыл бұрын

Base 3 is also 'trinary', but yah...

@Gstrangeman96

7 жыл бұрын

Why? Because latin. Same reason the italian verb "andare", "to go", at 1st person present, "I go", is "Io vado".

@blakewinter1657

7 жыл бұрын

Let's be honest, 'thirdiary' would make a lot more sense.

@tisFrancesfault

7 жыл бұрын

secundus or secondary not binary is more accurate.

@HeadCannonPrime

7 жыл бұрын

Considering Metatron is VERY italian, i'm impressed his english is as good as it is. In my experience italians have some of the worst english in Europe.

“They chose the bow instead” Hmm Ok, but then why not just create units of dedicated archers, and then everyone else use handheld shields? That’s what pretty much everyone else in the world did. Or why not use the shields on horse back and make a simple strap/hook device to stow them/pick them up again quickly??? Lots of horse archer units from around the world did that.

This is one of your most interesting videos. Grazie!

Very informative. Well done, keep it up.

subbed, you seem like a reasonable weaboo

@tryhardhd1225

7 жыл бұрын

Emanuel Desperados I think he is just very interested in Japanese history, because it is very interesting. We don't make fun of people who like to study the Scandinavian Vikings. I don't understand why we laugh at people who think samurai are cool warriors.

@laurence_lookmyr

7 жыл бұрын

TryhardHD because they are disgusting weaboos

@comradebear9477

7 жыл бұрын

You think that's bad? If you study Ancient or Classical Indian warfare, Liberals will call you a Fascist and a Nazi.

@BERNTRR

7 жыл бұрын

yeah the difference is that they are glorified, the knights are a better comparison than the vikings, but there was a huge propaganda-fst trying to justify the place of samurai and the shogunate in japanese society before the end of feudalism in japan. but everyone know knights were just a class in society and yes they took a pledge to do good, but everyone know they were still humans and humans do stupid and cruel shit. with the japanese samurai eeryone thinks they are perfect beeings fighting for justice and righeusnes perfecting their art of war their whole life, no, they were just like knights, they had no problems cutting down peasants revolting. what i meant is that this guy seems like a guy that likes it for what it truly is not what people like the weaboo are trying to make it seem like. ^^

@spacemanapeinc7202

6 жыл бұрын

Are fucking kidding me dude? This italian man said he has a damn University degree in Japanese History at the start of the fucking video. A fucking certified historian IS NOT A WEEABOO!

how you can dislike so much knowledge? .........

@exploatores

7 жыл бұрын

Some dislike being wrong.

@damakuno

7 жыл бұрын

some dont like to learn? or just find the information distasteful? perhaps they aren't satisfied with the presentation?? but then I question why did those people came here to watch the video in the first place. perhaps they were expecting something else? And they were disappointed?

@brianfigueroa1119

6 жыл бұрын

Maybe in their search for knowledge, they fried their CNS and adrenal glands and disliked the video in a maniacal ironic Respect.

@Anino_Makata

6 жыл бұрын

It goes against their pre-established knowledge of the samurai. I mean, and this is coming from a weeb, but the thought of these badass warriors using shields just sounds wrong now. And that's because of our false knowledge, which has now been widely accepted as "fact". Personally, I'm ok with it. But I'm sure most weebs wouldn't.

I've always wondered about this, great video.

Love this video, well done!

What about those balloon things cavalry used? Could they be counted as shields?

@ludara8697

7 жыл бұрын

Yes. To catch arrows. Horo.

@vampuricknight1

7 жыл бұрын

Yes they were "soft shields" called Horo to catch arrows in the fabric and light internal framework. Even if the arrow still made it through that you can imagine its impact would be diminished hopefully keeping it from being a killing blow on the back armor.

@MariusThePaladin

7 жыл бұрын

Oh, so that's what those gay looking things are for. And I thought it was just a fasion statement, seeing as how Europen were pretty fancy in battle back in some period too.

you said the english long bow is in fact stronger than the japanese yumi but i heard that the yumi has a lot more power than the long bow

@AZ25231

7 жыл бұрын

I don't know much about the subject, but I think that the yumi wouldn't deform your body as much as the longbow, so it wouldn't have as much draw weight

@faffingabout6905

7 жыл бұрын

from what I have read a modern yumi has a average of 30 pound draw weight and a maximum of 90 pounds were i've read that English long bows could have a draw weight from 80 to 180 pounds but 140 were apprently common during the medieval period but I could be missinformed also I have read long bows had a draw weight of 90 to 110 pounds

@faffingabout6905

7 жыл бұрын

+faffing about so take what I say with a grain of salt and look it up

@tn9711

7 жыл бұрын

What is the draw weight in a Yumi? I know that English Longbows went up too 300 (I think) and maybe even more.

@eddy3300

7 жыл бұрын

The Asymetrical design of the Yumi wasn't just for mounted archery. It helped to counterbalance the force of gravity, as well as facilitating a more effiecient draw by the archer. Slight asymmetry in design has been proven to be advantagous, with Olympic modern recurves using a asymetrical design. Of course many people will point out that the biggest longbows that more often than not exceeded 100 lbs, whilst Yumi of the same size and power did not exist. Quite frankly I'm a bit skeptical of this, but another question is if the average Japanese archer was able to effectively wield a high pound bow to begin with. It seems to me they specifically chose NOT to bother making many Yumi bows exceeding 100 lbs becuase there wasnt enough soldiers strong enough to use them effectively in the first place.

omg, thank you thank you for explaining all that. always wondered why, but hearing those reasons, it makes more sense. thank you good sir.

Great vid. I found the same conclusion while reading about oyoroi design and samurai history. thumbs up on the charge stance.

the theory of abandoning the hand head shield due to the introduction of cavalry doesn't make much sense, even if they existed in large numbers the infantry would have spent most of their time being shot at by arrows or in hand to hand combat where a shield would be useful. I would say that the samurai not using a shield makes more sense due to the investment in the warrior class being so that they could afford better armour than the enlisted soldiers and the skill of the samurai in close would make them capable enough. Also classifying a pauldron as a shield is much like calling greaves a shield, fundamentally it does the same thing (which is block) but they are not the same thing. last point is that medieval archer were often equipped with a buckler which they could hold while using their bow or at least that is how i've seen it depicted

Short answer: The Japanese did. Samurai tended not to. Samurai weren't soldiers, they were duelers, bodyguards and enforcers in the employ of nobles & didn't do shit that Japanese soldiers did

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Samurai were deployed in battle mate

@stephenstokes4350

7 жыл бұрын

Samurai most certainly did fight in battle. They did not compromise the majority of the soliders but they were the officers/ calvarymen. They compromised a substantial number of a unit and through thier skill and proffesional schooling in tactics played a vital role in battles. Metatron clearly knows his stuff guys back off

@lu-chan1745

7 жыл бұрын

You are talking about edo era

@wolfwarrior9373

6 жыл бұрын

Metatron they where the elite I believe correct me if I am wrong

Great video and very informative!

You answered something that I've always wondered about. Thanks.

Informative! Thank you.

Thanks, Metatron, always informative.

As always, a pleasure and a very easy thumbs up.

Thank you. Very Informative.

like always, excelent video!

Cool video, very interesting information. I believe I was the one who asked you that question on Facebook, but it's been a few weeks now, I am not 100% sure. :)

Your videos are really interesting and your speech is clear and super-comprehensible!! Which book do you recommend about japanese samurai history and about ancient China (in general)? THANKS!!!

love your video really informational

Over time you've become my second favorite history youtuber, only behind Captain Context himself.

very interesting, thanks for this

Excellent video! I just subscribed.

you finally got a boom mic! great video btw.

Except the shield continued to be used after the 5th century just infrequently. There are even paintings of its use as late as Boshin war. In a pinch samurai did at times use their hat as a buckler.

I have been meaning to watch a video like this. thanks so much it was very eye opening for me and helped me understand anime cliches better.

this is truly cool ty

I come from playing Shogun 2 who was OBSESSED with this question. I have high hopes for this video.

Great info!

good video as always!

@kevinrodriguez-gv3iq

7 жыл бұрын

+Power Reef it was meant as a joke.

@kevinrodriguez-gv3iq

7 жыл бұрын

+Power Reef how's that mean? I know his vids are good it's a just a jest

Very educational. Thanks

Il tuo canale è fighissimo, il tuo username anche. Il cubo di Metatron è una figata pazzesca!

Thank you so much for this information! I shared this clip in Japanese fan group in Facebook!

it's a pretty good setup for speaking in (the room) But you should really consider soundproofing the room so your acoustics don't clash. (only saying because you have a somewhat professional setup Other than that, it's a pretty good and informal video.

Always found it entertaining that when "Gundam" came along, part of the design of a series of the mechs in it was that their "shield" was basically a large pauldron. Remember actually seeing a suit (might have been a recreation) where the left pauldron was even bigger than the early examples you showed. Such that it would have extended halfway down the forearm if arms at the side. And had a tassel that the wearer could grab to maneuver it a bit for better protection.

keep up the god work love this D:

this is my favourite youtube channel meta

very insightful

4:38 that double breath xD

Good video!

what a great video, it's clear up almost every misconception about historical Japanese warfare relation to shield. though I do want to know why exactly many of Japanese media/entertainments very rarely portrayed their samurai cultures with shield and is there a japanese martial arts that used shield survived in modern era?

My understanding was that the Japanese refused to use shields because they felt that using a shield was the purest way of saying that you were a coward.

very cool things to think about!

Meta, Could you do a video discussing the hospitalliers and different holy orders? You've done alot of great coverage on the templars themselves however you don't have anything discussing different holy orders. I'm especially interested in the Hospitaliers right now(what was the difference towards the templars? Why did knights not just join the Templars instead? Why did they wear black? They were the predecessors to the Knights of St. John, why did they change?) but I would also be fascinated by other holy orders such as the Knights of Santiago.

@Peanutcat

7 жыл бұрын

Furthermore, What was the relation between the Hospitalliers and the Templars? Were they rivals, friends enemies?

I remember learning that even during the era of the Teppo and Samurai they still had shields made of light wood and tatami in handheld and deployable forms for cover from arrows and by adding a thin layer of metal to the angled design even provided limited defense against firearms for defensive battle and tended to allow withstanding of a volley to charge out after the volley during the line shift.

Nice video Raff, congrats on reaching the 60,000 mark. Silver Play button will be coming soon

Fascinating!

Excellent!

Hey Metatron at 4:00 , the thing you discuss reminds me , that guy on history crash course on KZread that always says :"When people start using trading, everything becomes better". I guess this is very true in this case.

Two years ago, I asked myself the very same question, and spent a lot of time researching this. How much time I could have saved had I just waited (and I could also have saved a few historians a bit of time, as I ended up contacting them) ;) In my research I also found notes & illustrations talking about "Chinese shields", which in the context meant round shields, that were used both before the time of the Samurai, and also by individuals during it, though they never were widely used.

The samurai weren't pretty much like cataphracts or shock cavalry, at least early on. They were like mounted archers who skirmish blocks of enemies from afar or maybe like hit n' run tactics but were more heavily armored than the typical mounted archers--also early on they weren't like cataphracts/lancer cavalry who charged in formation but rather fought in smaller groups which is quite perfect for fast hit n' run tactics but still provided you protection plus their adjutants/shield bearers could've carried their polearms for charging into enemies/melee. Their encounter with the mongol army is what changed a lot of things later on, especially with their view of fighting on formations.

Congrats on 60,000 subs

@metatronyt

7 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much

Very interesting and informative video, one question though, wasn't tanegashima matchlock introduced to Japan in the XVIth century? Most sources I've encountered suggest somewhere circa 1543.

someone who actually knows what he is talking about and provides good historical facts. There are 2 youtubers that I know to actually worth watching. And one of them is you.

Excellent video. I have not read through all the comments to see if this has been posted before, but here goes: Much like western Europe, armor, weapon and missile technology, as well as warfare tactics, had developed to a point to make hand held shields less than ideal in 15th century Japan (and in 15th century Europe.) Much as happened in Europe, the Japanese deployed their commoners in either spear (pike) blocks or as missile troops, often protected by large stationary shields so they could reload in safety. The Nobility (Samurai in Japan, Knights in Western Europe) fought either as very heavy lancer Calvary or as very heavy well armed infantry, depending on the needs of the battle. The Japanese Samurai of course also served as mounted archers, and we saw this to a limited extent in Europe at this time, though later (16th, 17th and 18th centuries) the concept of mounted knights using ranged weapons (usually guns/pistols) became very popular, just not as quickly as it did in Japan. The armor worn by knights and Samurai of this time, while different, was of such a quality that arrows could not easily penetrate it, and one handed weapons were typically not strong enough to do so either, so they were forced to employ either a lance when crouched on horse back, or a two handed weapon when on foot to defeat the enemy armor. Their small arms also represented a change to weapons where a lot of force could be focused in a small area, letting them defeat armor if used properly. Anyway, just a comment. Good video!

Nice point about the evolution of the sode as a substitute for the handheld shield and the influence of the bow as the primary weapon on preference of two handed secondary weapons. Have you read much of the works of Karl Friday and William Wayne Farris? I'm just about to finish Friday's work on Taira Masakado. I know, this comment is pretty late with regards to when you posted this.