Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 2.djvu/156

JAPAN In estimating the credibility of this feat, it must be remembered that the bow of Japan was from six to eight feet long, and that the arrow measured from eleven to seventeen "fists," that is to say, from three to four feet. Some of the bows must have been very powerful. Their strength was measured by the number of ordinary men required to string them, as a "one-man-power bow," a "three-man-power bow," and even a "ten-man-power bow." Originally the weapon was of unvarnished box-wood or selkowa, but subsequently bamboo alone came to be employed, being covered with lacquer as a preservative. Binding with cord or rattan served to strengthen the bow, and for precision of flight the arrow had three feathers, an eagle's wing—the "true bird's pinion" (matori-ba)—being most esteemed for that purpose, and after it in order the wing of the copper pheasant, of the crane, of the adjutant, or of the snipe. The feathers were sometimes dyed, and skilled archers carved their names on a shaft to enlighten their foes. The iron arrow-head took various shapes: simply pointed for penetration; or barbed; or razor-forked, for striking the foe in the neck and cutting off his head, a feat said to have been actually accomplished.

These details make it easier to credit the recorded achievements of the Japanese bowman. When the first iron shield was brought from Korea in the reign of the Emperor Nintoku 130