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Japanese History 101!!!

Japanese History 101!!! | YOU CANNOT EXPLAIN JAPANESE HISTORY IN A MEME; YOU CAN SAMURAIS IT | image tagged in memes,warrior,puns,samurai,japan,sword | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
63,109 views 221 upvotes Made by anonymous 6 years ago in fun
44 Comments
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3 ups, 6y,
2 replies
Change My Mind Meme | JAPANESE ARMOR LOOKS COOLER THAN EUROPEAN ARMOR | image tagged in change my mind | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
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4 ups, 6y
NORTHERN EUROPEAN BADASS | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
I don't know, these guys are pretty cool looking too!
3 ups, 6y,
2 replies
I KNOW WHICH I'D FEEL SAFER WEARING INTO BATTLE | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
Knight armor is worse that it really only protects from the wounding damage and will cause you to feel the damage of the force of the swing. That's why Japanese armor has cushions it will cover the whole blade from every angle except the belly. So you won't fall as if someone swung a bat into your knight armor is considerably worse as many knights don't train with the armor until you go to battle meaning they are very ill-experienced at the first time. Unlike samurais who use heavy and thick gis and robes to give a simulation of restriction of the armor showing that the Japanese can run nearly at normal speeds when wearing their armor. Also, the weight difference wears a 70-pound samurai armor with 10-pounds of a katana and nobushi(small Japanese dagger) or 200-pound knight armor with a 13-pound sword with a 20-pound shield.
2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
This is incredibly innaccurate.
As for the weight of the sword : http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm#.XBl0sFxKiUk
The average european sword weighed only 2.5-3 pounds, and was made of much higher quality steel than a japanese katana.
As far as protection goes: https://knightsandarmor.com/medieval-armor/
The plate was only the top layer. Underneath there was often chainmail and underneath that was often a padded jacket. Knight armor was therefore also cushioned against blunt force. Average weight of a full suit of plate armor was not even close to 200lbs. In fact, it tended to weigh less than 60 lbs. It also did not restrict movement, as the way the armor was designed allowed a full range of movement, even to the point of wearers being able to jump. " On the contrary, historical sources tell us of the famous French knight Jean de Maingre (ca. 1366–1421), known as Maréchal Boucicault, who, in full armor, was able to climb up the underside of a ladder using only his hands. Furthermore, there are several illustrations from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance depicting men-at-arms, squires, or knights, all in full armor, mounting horses without help or instruments such as ladders or cranes. Modern experiments with genuine fifteenth- and sixteenth-century armor as well as with accurate copies have shown that even an untrained man in a properly fitted armor can mount and dismount a horse, sit or lie on the ground, get up again, run, and generally move his limbs freely and without discomfort." https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aams/hd_aams.htm

The shield is also lighter than you've quoted. 20 pound shield would be more similar to a roman scutum, not a knightly heater shield, which tended to weigh only around 3kg.
As far as training? Prospective knights could start training when they were only ten years old, become a squire at 14, and that training continued for the rest of their life. Squires were generally knighted only AFTER proving themselves in battle. Therefore, anyone calling themselves a knight had almost certainly faced battle in the past. They were VERY well versed in use of their weapons and armor.

Knights often also rode into battle on a horse - they were not carrying the full weight of their equipment all the time.

In addition, rather than just being trained with a single weapons, knights cross-trained and were capable of using several different weapons. Their armor itself could be used as a weapon, as could their shield.
1 up, 6y,
2 replies
You do know squires and the training did not use equipment the same especially the armor and I was not talking of a broadsword or a short sword I was mainly thinking of a bastard sword. Yeah, and I did overreact with the weight of the armor but it's still heavy to limit your speed. Sure there were some knights that wore chainmail to lower the weight and yes they did had padded leather armor that was put on first before putting the rest of the armor but was mainly on the front and back meaning your sides will get hurt from the blunt force. Shields were decreased in weight due to a mix of using wood and adding metal sheeting in the front. Japanese metal is weaker than European metal and despite that obvious difference, the Japanese made an even sharper sword known as the katana. Yes, I understand that the European sword was heavier to cause more damage due to gravity. But the Katana was known to go through its own metal with a well put stab. Also the fact that a broadsword can damage the armor severely especially in the belly just like the samurai. This is partly to help move around more and also it has been noted that arrows can go through the knight's armor easily unlike samurai armor that can handle a beating. Here's every win between samurai and knights:
Samurai wins in speed, archery defense, sharper blade, and more padded leather
Knight wins in durability, blade durability, much more strength on the knight, and the helmet is more protected
2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
forgot to add this
1 up, 6y
forgot to add upvotes - fixed lol
0 ups, 6y,
2 replies
You are still wrong when talking about sword weights, even large two handed swords like zweihanders or claymores rarely weighed more than 10 lbs. The idea that european swords were heavy is NOT ACCURATE.

Knight has equally padded armor due to his aketon underneath either the plate or mail. As far as the swords cutting through armor, that isn't the way knights fought. Against opponents wearing heavy armor, the point of the sword was the main weapon, as it could be thrust into weak points in the armor's joints. Slashing attacks vs. plate were worthless and a fantastic way to dull your blade.

You're right on samurai winning in speed.. MAYBE in a sharper blade, though I seriously doubt that and I've never read ANY historical evidence to support it. What it does have is a curved blade, so cutting is more efficient and uses less effort on the part of the wielder. The curved blade is however a weakness when it comes to piercing attacks, especially when doubled with the inferior steel.

I'm not familiar enough with samurai fighting styles to know - did they use the hilt of their sword as a weapon? The crossguard of european swords was a very useful tool in combat, and the pommel could be used as an effective bashing weapon.

You are right on the agreement about the blunt force bit - not a whole lot will stop a heavy mace.

Though to be honest, there is no way we could ever know which would have won a fight. They never faced each other, and a lot of knowledge from that time period has been lost so there's no way to be sure about the accuracy of "recreations" so to speak. Kind of a fun mental exercise, though.
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
claymores? cool.
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
nobody has insulted anyone so far as I've seen, not much of an argument. Just two people debating armor :P
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
1 up, 6y
To be fair, a meme started the debate :P
1 up, 6y,
2 replies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hasi-giZck
This is to see the sharpness of Katanas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--qfjf8SSuU
This is what I found that I was proven wrong about the weight which is one of the only things I overreacted but yeah I know that both armors are extremely good.
Time to end the debate wins in specific ways:
Knight vs Samurai
Knight kills by stabbing Samurai on unguarded parts
Samurai can go through the helmet and chainmail
Both lose from fighting by the side tho it will hurt none will feel the pain that's worse than the other. Katana's are heavier due to having more steel in its pummel and the long blade is large for the main weapon.
Yes this was pretty fun to debate on this makes it feel like you remove 40 pounds off your back
1 up, 6y
I forgot to add the guard too
And also samurais fought with their sheaths & pummel since they were heavily decorated with steel and the sheaths were mainly made with wood for the outside just for the single reason to bash someone.
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
That bullet splitting video was pretty sweet, I had heard rumors they could do it, never seen it. Learned quite a bit from the second video too, thnx for the link.

And yeah I think the safest conclusion to come to would be that they were both incredibly dangerous warriors not to be underestimated :)
1 up, 6y
1 up, 6y
Hm?
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3 ups, 6y,
1 reply
0 ups, 6y,
1 reply
just johkin
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1 up, 6y,
1 reply
Only koreans and ching chong chinese people eat dogs
0 ups, 6y
hahahaha that made me laugh so much I cried :-D
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3 ups, 6y,
1 reply
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3 ups, 6y,
1 reply
0 ups, 6y
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2 ups, 6y
:p
2 ups, 6y
2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
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1 up, 6y
LOL, Whitney Houston approves of your approval.
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2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
(I dont know how to show gifs, but I'm gonna send the link to the gif.)
https://imgflip.com/gif/2p8izj
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1 up, 6y,
1 reply
On the image page, click on "share" (just under the image)
Click into "BBCode (forums)"
Copy the text
Go to the comment you want to reply to
Paste in the text you just copied

https://i.imgflip.com/2p8izj.gif
[deleted]
2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
I know how to do it now, and thanks for using my upvote meme.
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2 ups, 6y,
1 reply
I'll leave that up in case anyone else needs it
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0 ups, 6y
Okay.
1 up, 6y
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1 up, 6y
https://imgflip.com/gif/2pb6mm
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
Yes! And it can also be explained in an ancient form of art called "anime". But you must understand the manga first!
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
1 up, 6y
True afffffff
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
0 ups, 6y
He was a Jedi Knight before he turned. Emphasis on knight. :)
1 up, 6y,
1 reply
[deleted]
1 up, 6y
Let me "samurais" Japanese history for you, basically they had territories called daimyos and they were run by feudal leaders. They all killed each other.
0 ups, 1y
mmmmmmmmmmmm wuba wuba wuba schlabloob big gay f**ktard bitch
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YOU CANNOT EXPLAIN JAPANESE HISTORY IN A MEME; YOU CAN SAMURAIS IT