"Mounted Samurai Bow Fire" Topic
9 Posts
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DFLange | 30 Nov 2014 4:34 p.m. PST |
As a newbie to Samurai warfare I was wondering if Mounted Samurai bow ever fired mass volleys at a distance or did they use their bows as a closer range as part of a charge? |
clibinarium | 30 Nov 2014 5:40 p.m. PST |
I'm no expert, but I've never heard of them using massed volleys, it was usually in loose skirmishing supported by attendants/ashigaru. I think that's in the Onin war and before, by the mind 16th century this sort of fighting had pretty much disappeared. |
cwlinsj | 30 Nov 2014 7:01 p.m. PST |
Mounted Samurai archers fought individually, taking part in archery duels against rival Samurai. Kinda like two skirmishing swarms. They never adopted volley fire tactics. During the Mongol invasions, Samurai horse would get swept away by massed fire from Mongol and Korean bows because of their fighting style. No firing before charges either. Samurai bows ranged from 6.9 to 8 feet in length. Kinda hard for a 5'-5'4" guy sitting on a pony (size of Japanese horses) to juggle a bow just prior to a charge. By the 16th Century (Sengoku Jiddai period), Samurai cavalry had mostly transitioned to a spear armed shock force. While provincial territories still probably had mounted archers, their numbers were never that many. |
olicana | 01 Dec 2014 3:04 a.m. PST |
This is the basics of samurai mounted archery – fast and close. YouTube link |
setsuko | 01 Dec 2014 6:12 a.m. PST |
The armour of the samurai was also designed to be as good as possible against arrows. You see it for example on the sloped helmet and the attached "plates" on the arms and legs. So you needed to get close and personal to penetrate that armour, making volleys less effective. Later on, as the samurai became less of a mounted archer and the influx of firearms, you also see the armour becoming more streamlined and less geared for arrow protection. |
EValerio | 01 Dec 2014 11:47 a.m. PST |
Some depiction of mounted samurai archers in Taiga dramas. In 'Taira no Kiyomori' two opposing armies separated by a river fight in a static position. Mounted samurai archers shoot volleys at each other. Mounted samurai archers and their footsoldiers fall under a hail of arrows. One side breaks and flees the battlefield. Depiction of mounted samurai archers during the Sengoku period. Mounted samurai archers and their foot retainers take part in mounted combat alongside their yari-armed horsemen. During mounted spear fighting, the mounted archer picks off 'worthy' targets, like enemy mounted samurai, standard bearers, enemy commanders, while his supporting footsoldiers collect the heads. If the mounted archer finds himself in close quarter fighting, he may withdraw or stand his ground where he drops his bow and draws his sword, or takes a yari from his footsoldier and engages in mounted spear fighting. In 'Komyo ga Tsugi', the hero Kazutoyo while still a foot samurai engages a veteran samurai general who was armed as a mounted archer and was supported by veteran teppo ashigaru. Kazutoyo's retainers engages the enemy general's footsoldiers, unhorsing the commander and separating him from his men. In a personal duel, Kazutoyo attacks with sword while the general fight back with bow. Both men strike the other down, but Kazutoyo's retainers take the general's head. A severely injured Kazutoyo present the general's head to a very impressed Oda Nobunaga. Kazutoyo is rewarded and promoted. He would then fight his next battle as a mounted samurai with a larger group of footsoldiers. |
Lion in the Stars | 01 Dec 2014 5:23 p.m. PST |
Before the Mongol Invasions, the Samurai fought as individual, charge-in-and-shoot-close types. It was the Mongols who showed the Japanese how and why to do volleys. By the start of the Sengoku (~1450 or so), most samurai fought with a long spear or pole-arm (and left the massed volleys to the ashigaru footsoldiers). That said, the samurai would still have an attendant carrying their bow if the enemy gave them a shot at long range. After 1550 or so, the samurai might have a matchlock instead of the bow. |
DFLange | 01 Dec 2014 10:05 p.m. PST |
Thanks for all of the input. It has more than answered my question. |
Uesugi Kenshin | 21 Dec 2014 5:22 p.m. PST |
It seems to me they advanced in small units, fired and retreated as another relay approached. Also, I don't see mounted archers working at any distance over 50 meters. |
Lion in the Stars | 21 Dec 2014 9:42 p.m. PST |
@Uesugi-san: The Japanese style is very close, within 10 meters. While I know that you can get extremely long shots with a bow (it's called flight shooting), but I only *think* the … Scythian(?) wheel was ~50m away from the target. Might have gotten closer, but aimed fire with a bow is just about impossible beyond 50m, even for people on the skill level of English Longbowmen (an hour or more shooting practice every day for life). The bowhunter I knew didn't take a shot over 25 yards, for example. But hunting has the objective of killing as quickly and cleanly as possible, which isn't necessarily the same goal as in warfare. So I will give a bit more reach for semi-aimed fire for warfare than precision shooting for food. |
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