Each samurai had a sword, a bow, and a lance, each of which served a different purpose. Only the samurai were granted the right to wield their swords—a katana. Samurai had two variations of their katana, a two-foot version as well as a smaller one-and-a-half-foot version.
Forged from iron dust over 72 hours, master swordsmiths created the sharpest carbon steel blade the world had ever seen. Each sword was said to hold each samurai’s spirit as well as his rank, honor, and strength. The sword was seen as a symbol of status because of the government only granted the samurai the privilege to wield the sword.
The samurai also wielded a “yari”, or long spear and a modified bow and arrow in combat. The yari was designed to keep foes at bay, while the bow and arrow was designed to shoot enemies from range. The samurai used arrows that were longer than normal due to the fact that the bows were meant to be drawn farther. As the samurai faded, their culture and spirit stayed in their weapons as well as Japan’s history.
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