I Had to DEBUNK This...

Link to the video I'm responding to
   • Why Japanese Soldiers NEVER Used Shields  
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Link to my video about the Jingasa used as a shield
   • Using a Jingasa Helmet as a SHIELD!?  

On this video we are watching and reacting to a video about whether or not the Japanese used shields in warfare. As always please be respectful towards the creator I'm responding to. The idea that Japanese warriors never used shields is of course wrong. It is however a quite nuanced discussion and without a deep understanding of how Japanese warfare works, it could be very easy to be wrong even if the overall idea of Japanese actually using shields is presented correctly. Think for example of the fact that it's imperative to make a distinction between a Japanese warrior, not necessarily samurai, and actual samurai. Samurai appear at a specific time in Japanese history, so anything that precedes this time frame is not to be considered Samurai or related to the Samurai.

I've already responded to very popular articles and guides that did not make this distinction and ended up mudding the waters.

For instance I once debunked the statement that Japanese warriors never used wooden armour., That's incorrect. Samurai never did as far as we know, but Japanese warriors absolutely did in the earliest periods of recorded Japanese history. As you see, what may seem a small difference is actually big.

So I decided to check this video out to make sure the information given is presented in a correct manner. Moreover, if they end up making comparisons with the West, which these channels often do, I'll have to make sure the information about Medieval Europe is correct, since that's one of the most misrepresented aspects of historical warfare in the media and as a result, on Youtube too.
Thanks!

Credits for the two katana pictures used
By Kakidai - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011), CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...