Group of Samurai by the Sphinx in 1864

laEspadaAncha · 21st August 2012, 06:39 AM

I don't think they were made for the tourist market, and in fact am certain they are/were indeed 'users.' Ian Bottomley, the aforementioned curator and author of Arms and Armour of the Samurai, suggests they were possibly the weapon of common rank and file footsoldiers.

However, this itself would preclude the inclusion of any katana, which were reserved for the Samurai class, though to be honest, I can't tell with any certainty from the above photo whether it is a katana or a wakizashi.

Oh, and Gene, I failed to mention the photo of a bunch of samurai by the Sphinx in the OP freaking rocks... Thanks for posting that mate...

Cheers,

Chris

21st August 2012, 06:39 AM	#11
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	I don't think they were made for the tourist market, and in fact am certain they are/were indeed 'users.' Ian Bottomley, the aforementioned curator and author of Arms and Armour of the Samurai, suggests they were possibly the weapon of common rank and file footsoldiers. However, this itself would preclude the inclusion of any katana, which were reserved for the Samurai class, though to be honest, I can't tell with any certainty from the above photo whether it is a katana or a wakizashi. Oh, and Gene, I failed to mention the photo of a bunch of samurai by the Sphinx in the OP freaking rocks... Thanks for posting that mate... Cheers, Chris