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    1. This is good meme that I don’t need context for

      But still, it’s a meme without context:

      Japan government in samurai era was extremely isolationist and don’t want simple people to own arms, not mentioning firearms. Thanks to this, any samurai will literally murder anyone to arm himself with gun and whole honor code went flying through the window the second any Dutch merchant was willing to sell one

      More context will be appreciated, why the hell you are willing to create meme but don’t explain what is it about

    2. Angel_OfSolitude on

      Even before guns they weren’t primarily sword fighters. Like most civilizations they realized being further from the enemy was better. Sword play was important, but battles were mostly fought with spear and bow.

    3. Also even before firearms, Samurai often used bows and arrows as much as katanas. So the “ranged Samurai build” was actually a thing even then.

    4. That’s why in Age of Empires 3 you can arm them with an anti-building handheld mortar.

    5. ShiraLillith on

      “historians”: samurais died off because they refused to adapt to new warfare tactics

      Actual historians: Samurais died off because they threw a bitchfit when they started losing power to the merchant cast and then they lost even more power

    6. OnionsoftheBelt on

      I really want a historically accurate Sengoku film. Crazy amount of guns with all that Samurai drip. I remember reading there were more guns at the final battle of this era than there were in all of Europe at the time.

    7. Beat_Saber_Music on

      Samurai were originally horse archers as well. Bow is the ultimate Samurai weapon really

    8. A true warrior doesn’t nerf themselves in a war! I’m not an expert at all, but guns seem more efficient than the blade.

    9. Lords of medieval Japan, as soon as they saw the Europeans arrive with firearms: FIVE HUNDRED ARQUEBUSES.

    10. PyrpleForever on

      Why does everyone, without fail, always only think in terms of large scale, army vs army battles when talking about Samurai and samurai weapons. Of course they used primarily spears and guns.

      When people talk about Katanas, they’re talking about *duels*. No one says Samurai fought with Katanas in gigantic battles. They mean fighting 1 on 1 against other samurai: a situation when indeed, swords were used quite often compared to other weapons.

      This is like if people said “the revolver wasn’t really used in the American west because battles were fought with rifles.” Like, that’s not the same conversation.

    11. Successful_Baby_5245 on

      Samurai in fiction: Melee fighter. Samurai in real life: * asian English bow Man and mongol calvary *

    12. Remember kids: a gun is a dishonourable and soulless weapon for the weak and shameful. Unless you can get a decent supply in which case they’re great and every bit as honourable as what you had two seconds ago.

    13. Emotional_Newt_2227 on

      Oda Nobunaga literally won Nagashino by lining up 3000 tanegashima in rotating volleys. bro industrialized warfare in 1575 while Europe was still figuring things out

    14. cut_rate_revolution on

      The sword, like it was in Europe during the same time period, was primarily a status symbol. Samurai fought mostly with bows and spears. And guns once they became available.

    15. Massive_Bike_1441 on

      Didnt they use bow and spear like 99% of the time using only the sword for daily protection/chopping peasents?

    16. Oda Nobunaga to Takeda Katsuyori:

      *”Washi about to end this man’s whole career”*

      **Three line formation goes brrr**

    17. OperatorInMask on

      Samurai were mostly archers before firearms, their armour was designed to be comfortable to use during shooting on horses. Katanas as much as Europe knights swords served rather status function while for actual combat were used different, easy to maintain and use options.

    18. Samurai were professional warriors and administrators with a strong motive to win. Defeat usually resulted in death. They were very open to diverse military technology and tactics. The first samurai fought as armored archers, with swords as their secondary weapons. While an individual samurai might excel with a particular weapon, they were expected to be proficient with bows, swords, polearms, spears, horseback riding, unarmed combat, and, when they became available, firearms.

      They are often depicted as swordsmen because those were the weapons that they carried at all times when going about their lives and duties. The daisho combination of a long katana and a shorter wakizashi was restricted to the bushi social class to distinguish them from lesser classes.

    19. Ok-Substance-6034 on

      I mean, even their contemporaries, medieval knights, trained with bows. Far better to shoot a dude before he has a chance to stab or shoot you lol

      Just like in a book I’m writing that’s religious fantasy set after a huge world altering event, even the “knights” with magical powers are pulling out a rifle before they resort to a sword lmao

    20. AwareOfAlpacas on

      Tanegashima is a place (an island) that had its name co-opted as shorthand for the weapon, since that’s where the gun was first introduced. 

      The matchlock rifle / araquebus was a *hinawaju*. 

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