5 ms·
It's not wholly unique to Japan. In retellings of the Trojan War, Ajax's bow is used to make him look less honorable than the swordsmen he kills. It's basicall
by brownbat 9y ago
It's not wholly unique to Japan. In retellings of the Trojan War, Ajax's bow is used to make him look less honorable than the swordsmen he kills.
It's basically technophobia. Usually a dangerous bias, but if we can harness it to prevent people from shooting each other, maybe that's the upside.
- ethbro 9y agoI'd say the dishonorable bow is less technophobia and more class-phobia. The idea that a peasant could murder an armored nobleman with a lucky shot? Inconceivable!
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- jcranmer 9y agoBows were invented millennia before swords were. The earliest bows we have dated go back 10kya, and we suspect they date even earlier. Advancements like recurve and composite bows date to at least 4kya. By contrast, the earliest swords date back to around 3-4kya, late Bronze Age, and the important advances (most notably, capable steel production) that make swords effective weapons really date to only around late Antiquity and Early Medieval.
- ColanR 9y agoThat's quite a leap - dishonor of an easy shot equated with fear of new weapons? I think a source is needed.