|
Arrows [Ya]
|
The construction of arrows includes
a straight bamboo body, three pieces of quills to stabilize
the arrow in flight, and a sharp iron head "Yajiri".
There are many variations of size and length, and difficult
heads are designed for different targets. When a battle was
started it is said that the first shot, which made a sound,
was hollow, and this type of arrow may have been used to stalk
certain game birds which were threatened to paralysis by the
sound, making their capture or killing sure. The styles of arrowheads
have descriptive names such as "leaf," "tongue,"
"root," and others.
A diamond shape (root) one is most common and it was used for
hunting and attack.
Others (leaf) are flat and thin. A wedge shaped arrowhead which
is heavy was used to break boards. Some arrows used four pieces
of quills for unusual wishbone shaped head which intends to
cut a rope.
High quality arrows have beautiful harmonious quills and lacquered
shafts with gold slips. The heads of those arrows are heavy
and many have signatures of the smiths.
|
|
Arrows
of Various Size |
At
the left is the longest, which is 93 cm in length. Moving
to the right, the arrows displayed are of 72 cm, 57 cm,
45 cm, and 30 cm. Most of the arrow's shafts are colored
gold at the feathered sections and are decorated with
black or red belts on the shafts proper. |
|
|
Various
Types of Special Purpose Arrows |
The
two arrows at the right have thin heart-shaped heads called
"Sukashi-ya." The middle arrow, behind its V-shaped
head, has a device made of bone, called "Kabyra-ya,"
which makes a sound when the arrow is shot through the
air. The next arrow to the left has a head made of slit
wood, but it has no holes for making sound; this arrow
might be used in " Inuoi," a kind of game where
the bow man on the horse back tried to hit a running dog.
At the far left is a Kabura-ya with a diameter of 33mm.
The body has three holes in it to produce sound when the
arrow flies; the section with holes is 50mm in length.
The overall length of this Kabura-ya is 96 cm. |
|
|
|
Various
Types of Arrow Heads |
The
longest head shown has a blade length of 6cm and the section
inside the arrow's shaft is 15cm long. A set of arrows
in a quiver may display different kinds of heads. |
|
|
|
|