I thought that all that pride in their Katanas was invented and revisionistic after gunpowder came to Japan and they actually took way more pride in their skills with a bow.
If you bragged about your skills with a Katana in feudal Japan, you kind of admitted that your archery skills are shit.
Katzelle3@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Pretty sure the samurai were so much into the idea of beating their neighbors that they immediately jumped onto guns almost immediately after the first few got shipped from Europe.
rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
They did, people who opposed firearms were usually of the “nutcase extremist” kind. Nothing like “the mainstream of the traditional society” or something.
Also the funny part about Japanese traditions is that they don’t see Christianity as alien. It was quite popular, albeit prosecuted, in the “authentic” past.
njm1314@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Also Firearms were around in Japan since the 1500s.