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Japanese have been traditionally fighting with many different weapons for as long as we can remember. They made a point on having the best technology in every new weapon that came out, ranging from swords to armor to even firearms. Each year they came up with new ideas and improved their simple weapons. Cultural diffusion would come and go and weapons would too. Ideas came from multiple places, and multiple people. And all the while each weapon was found to be famous and even now you can see the similarities in our weapons now, and old Japanese weapons.

Swords were the main Japanese weapon and probably the best weapon in the world. Japan had the upper hand, crafting their swords with great care and wonderful skill. Japanese sword making in Japan, that it has become more or less an art and a trained skill. The final make or break step in making the sword is dipping it in cool water. This step could cost weeks or even months when the Japanese sword makers do that one step. The Japanese were so skilled at sword making, making the best swords in the world, far surpassing those of Europe. Samurais even had the skill of fighting with the sword down, so skilled that they thought of their moves way before they even happened, planning it all out in their head while still fighting. Swords were the biggest thing in Japan until somewhere around the 1500s when two travelers came and introduced firearms, and the Japanese were some of the first countries to use them. From then on, firearms were used most often in Japan and were the dominant weapon in Japanese wars. They were adorned, just like Japanese swords, and artistic like the swords too.

Some samurai swords have a personality of their own. This is why a sword smith could only be of the highest morale values. Samurai swords are designed to slay swiftly and precisely. There are over a dozen folds in the metal. A samurai’s sword weighs less than 3 pounds. The blade has a characteristic curved shape because it is hardened by dipping the red hot blade in cold water. Two kinds of steel are combined to create a sword with a flexible core and a hard outer edge to hold a razor sharp cutting surface.

Samurai armor is formed from pieces of leather, iron, bamboo, and silk. Each rawhide plate overlaps with the next to make flexible panels which are then sewn into the suit of armor. The armor sometimes might include Haramaki - light cuirass, mostly made for foot soldiers, covered soldiers chest and sides, and included multiple skirts (kasazuri) for more protection in the lower torso. It included Tetsu-gai, leather lining and loops for fingers also known as hand guard. This type of armor takes about a year. It may be because it is designed to be flexible, act as protection and to show power and strength.

Samurai Armor and weapons were adorned in wonderful artistic patterns. Armor had a crest on it, to show that they were a Samurai. Better decoration involved: mechanical alteration of something's shape or form, and adorning the surface with artistic styles including paints, semi-precious and precious metals and stones, textiles, and fur. Other adorned weapons included- swords hilts, and firearms. Samurais loved to adorn their weapons. Sword smiths say that they put their own personality into the swords that they make.

Although the ancient Japanese art of making, decorating and crafting weapons has seemed to disappear. Some still cherish Japan's many ideas in decorating of the weapons. Now it might seem worthless to know what Samurai armor is made of, or what weapon was used the most often. But someday all of this information may be helpful in the future.

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Department of Arms and Armor. "Techniques of Decoration on Arms and Armor". In . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (October 2003)
“Samurai.” //Knights in central park.// The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Web. 17 Feb. 2010.