Was throwing spears never a thing in Japanese fighting techniques?

>>503804
As a total guess:

The main reason someone uses a javelin as opposed to a bow on the battlefield is they want to keep a shield in the off hand for greater protection, something which the bow precludes.

For reasons I'm not entirely sure of, shields were never a big thing in Japan, so a form of missile combat that works well in tandem with a shield is something that's not likely to arise.

>>503804
I meant throwing pole arms* btw

>>503804
>A lot of other societies seemed to have implemented throwing pole arms but I haven't seen it in any Japanese styles.
> shields were never a big thing in Japan

They had and did throw spears. Back in the Yamato Period.

Come the Medieval Ages, Javelins weren't quite popular across the world anymore save for a few places.

>>503831
Ahh make sense.
They were all about that[asymmetrical] bow...
That is strange, though. I hardly ever thought about the fact that samurai never used shields either.

>>503846
Were Javelins popular in any European country in the middle ages?

>>503857
Early medieval ages was rife with javelins, used by Skirmishers
Spain used them the longest up until the 1300's or something.

>>503831
>For reasons I'm not entirely sure of, shields were never a big thing in Japan, so a form of missile combat that works well in tandem with a shield is something that's not likely to arise.
I always wondered why shields never became a thing as well. Maybe its the focus on two handed polearms.

>>503857

Perceval begun his journey armed with javelins.

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>>503910

>>503899
Oh. What period is this?

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>>503852
>samurai never used shields either
Japan did have shields during the antique period up to the early middle ages.

>>503884
It should be considered that the golden age of infantry shields was the early middle ages. In Europe, shields weren't that common from the late middle ages on either. You still had specialised shields, such as targes, bucklers, etc. but large infantry shields had become quite rare. If your armour protects you well enough, there's no point in using a shield and you might as well carry a two-handed weapon instead.

>>503968
Which is before the rise of samurai, thanks smartass. Stop boasting with facts we already know.

>>503857
Spanish knights were very well know for using javelins from horseback up until high medieval ages

>>503852

Kind of. Before the mongols they ran a small scale low violence ritual bow duel style of warfare.
After the Mongols showed them they had to git gud they specialized in two handed polearms, mostly spears.

>>504144
How commonplace was shield usage in Europe then during the golden age of the Samurai that you'd point out that Samurai never used shields? You are aware that what most people have in mind when they hear "Samurai" is pretty much a late medieval to Early modern type of warrior, right?

>>503852
Japan was a bow culture. The Katana didn't become a symbol of the samurai until later

>>504232
Until they were a gun culture

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>>504199
>You are aware that what most people have in mind when they hear "Samurai" is pretty much a late medieval to Early modern type of warrior, right?

No, I am not aware of that and even if that was the case we don't have to misuse words to pander to normy misconceptions. This is a history board after all. Japs used no shields in high medieval as well. AND I am not even the guy who pointed it out.

Even though it is a flawed argument to begin with: Shields were pretty common in late medieval. Pavise, buckler, for medium infantry too. Not everyone was clad in plate armor.

>>503804
Haven't you seen The Last Samurai anon? They just threw their swords

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>>505289
No.
Speaking of, why was the emperor at the time portrayed as such a dork/ beta faggot? Was he really like this?

>>505320
The Meiji emperor was a modernizer with some pacifist leanings. While he oversaw violence during his rule our best understanding of the Imperial court during his rule probably means he himself had no direct control over them and his own level of influence is largely unknown. The best indicator as to the actual mind of the man is the following poem he composed;

The seas of the four directions—
all are born of one womb:
why, then, do the wind and waves rise in discord?

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>>504301
I wish Japan exported more of their guns

>>503857
Javelins were by far the most popular ranged weapons for the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons

>>503968

Is it me, or do Antiquity era Japanese soldiers look pretty Mayan/Aztec/Incan?

>>503804
People need to finally realize that japanese were bad at war.
To get good at war you need to fight different people from different places and different cultures, so you exchange ideas about battle.
Japanese mostly fought themselves, and a few times the chinese, mongols and koreans, who were at those battles much like the japanese.
Compare to the romans, who fought italians, slavs, thracians, greeks, germanics, brits, dacians, egyptians, persians, numidians, berbers, spaniards, other africans and asians, etc and from all of them got ideas to incorporate into their armies - weapons, armors, tactics, technology.

>>503857
Iberia was plentiful on javelin throwers and were used until very late (in war in Europe until the Italian war, in the Americas and the African campaigns late 17th) the Gascons of france used them too , and the irish loved them. I don't know about eastern europe but the Persian loved them too, using all metal ones like the Jarid.