My new 3D printed Samurai parts from Cowabounga(Arnaud)

[cheng]

A little bit of history to explain the Naginata;

The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-bu geisha, female warriors from the Japanese nobility.
Wives were expected to defend their castles while their samurai husbands were away at war.
The naginata enables her to keep opponents at a distance, making up for their lesser height, weight, and upper body strength.

Itagaki, famous for her naginata skills, led the garrison of 3,000 warriors out of Toeizakayama castle
against 10,000 Hōjō clan attackers before being overpowered.

When Cavalry battles become more important, the naginata proved excellent at dismounting and disabling riders.
The widespread adoption of the naginata forced the introduction of greaves as a part of the Samurai's armor.

However the introduction of western matchlocks reduced the use of the naginata and were replaced by the yari (spear).

[GrahamB]

Don't mess with Itagaki!
A beautiful figure and weapon combination, master!

However the introduction of western matchlocks reduced the use of the naginata and were replaced by the yari (spear).

A medieval Japanese arms race!

[playmofire]

Thanks for the background to Cowabounga's latest production, cheng.  Very interesting indeed.

In the Civil War between King Charles 1 and Parliament, there were a number of cases of wives, on both sides, defending fortified manor houses or castles against the enemy, and repelling them, too, or at least holding them off until help came.

[tahra]

Very nice, masters

(and thank you for the history lesson too, cheng!)

[cheng]

thanks Graham! and Gordon, for the bit about brave women, when forced to, everyone can fight back! 
and youre most welcome Tahra (the credit's Mr.Wiki & Mr.Google's)

[cheng]

another bit of interesting samurai history to accompany Anaud's 3D samurai topknot;

The chonmage(the Samurai's topknot haircut),
was meant to hold his helmet steady during battle (if anyone here has any illustrations on how their top knots are secured to their helmets, do let me know....perhaps the central hole in his helmet was for that purpose and not just for airing?)

Their chonmage featured a centrally shaved pate with their remaining hair left long, oiled and tied into a small queue
and folded onto the top of their heads in the characteristic topknot.

The Samurai's Chonmage was his status symbol but if he were to abandon his societal role to join the priesthood
or to choose life as a peasant (the samurai were forbidden to work the fields and starve if unemployed),
he had to cut off his top knot and undergo a dramatic decline in his social status.

After August 9, 1871, the Meiji government
issued Edicts, encouraging all samurai to cut their topknots (creating a minor photography boom when
samurai rushed to photo studios to get their photos taken before they changed to their present day Western hair styles.)

Subsequently, the Samurai lost their right to carry their swords but continued to be paid salaries by the government,
but these were so low that many samurai were forced to find new employment. (while many Japanese sword smiths lost their jobs
and turned to the production of farming implements and kitchen cutlery.)

Thus ending the samurai system.
(my klickiy is supposedly from the movie with Tom Cruise in "the last samurai")

[tahra]

That is really interesting cheng. Thank you for sharing

Klicky looks great too (though I don't really remember the movie )