Yari
The straight-bladed Japanese spear
The yari is the straight-bladed spear of Japan, the main weapon of the battlefield in the Sengoku period (1467 to 1615). Its head is a straight, double-edged point forged by swordsmiths in the same way as a sword, joined firmly to the shaft by a long tang, the nakago, driven deep into the wood. By the form of the blade there are several variants: the su-yari with a single straight blade, the jumonji-yari with cross-shaped side blades, and the kama-yari with sickle-like curved side blades. The blade runs 15 to 90 cm and the total length with the shaft about 250 to 650 cm, and the especially long nagae-yari, the long-shafted pike, was wielded en masse by the ashigaru, the foot soldiers. The shaft was lacquered and the blade covered with a saya, a protective scabbard.