Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 1.djvu/68

 been, not a race distinct from their predecessors, but a second outgrowth of colonists from the same parent stem. Where that stem had its roots there is no clear indication, but it is evident that, during the interval between the first and the second migrations, the mother country had far excelled its colony in material civilisation, so that, with the advent of the second band of wanderers, the condition of the Japanese underwent marked change. They laid aside their bronze weapons and began to use iron swords and spears, and iron-tipped arrows. A warrior carried one sword and, perhaps, a dagger. The sword had a blade which varied from two and a half feet to over three feet in length. These were not the curved weapons with curiously modelled faces and wonderful trenchancy which became so celebrated in later times. Straight, one-edged swords, formidable enough, but considerably inferior to the admirable katana of mediæval and modern eras, they were sheathed in wooden scabbards, having bands and hoops of copper, silver, or iron, by means of which the weapon was suspended from the girdle. The guards were of iron, copper, or bronze, often coated with gold, and always having holes cut in them to render them lighter. Wood was the material used for hilt as well as for scabbard, but generally in the former case and sometimes in the latter a thin sheet of copper with gold plating enveloped the wood. Double barbs characterised the arrow-head, and as these projected about four