 | Kubudo 古武道 |
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The use of hand shields dates back to the Yayoi and Kofun eras of Japan (300 BC to 538 AD). Many examples are excavated whole or in part along with their accompanying Bronze Age swords, bows, spears and armor. Along with that the clay figurines, Haniwa, exhibit shields exclusively among the “warriors” of the era. It can be assumed that from those examples that shields played a very important part in the early military of Japan. This kept up a steady pace until the warring states era in Muromachi (14th-16th century; early Sengoku era.)
At this point, there were still a variety of shield sizes to be had, largely depending on what your job on the theater of battle was. The majority were longer, covering the body, hand held with a simple handle on the back. These were made a variety of ways and came in different sizes, long and short, small and large. Small shields could be easily carried on horseback and were popular for cavalry. Longer shields were for the front lines could have a propping leg to stand them up, and move them forward in advance when necessary. As war changed, popularity waned and they became “obsolete” (later examples of them still do exist as part of armor, however, just not the same.)
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