Saturday, June 26, 2010

Ninja Hand Claw Climbing Tigers Spikes

Ninja Hand Claw Climbing Tigers Spikes

If you want to buy something that looks cool then get them. They are cheap so don't expect to be climbing 30 feet up a tree or trekking across a mountain. 1st off you don't use stuff like this for those types of actions anyways. If a ninja ever did use these to climb it was only a momentary pull because they help a little but they would have used good technique and not a hand claw to climb a wall or tree.
As for self-defense, the metal going all the way around the hand gives you a good area to fend of any sharp blades and if your good you can uses both hands and catch the blade with the spikes. Also the spikes may not be the sharpest but with a good scrape they will cut skin for sure and I'd wager that, that would be the main use of these devices.
Japanese Weapon

Three Piece Black Ninja Kunai Dagger

This precisely balanced miniature ninja dagger set features three 6 1/2 inch double edged full tang stainless steel daggers. Each aerodynamic dagger additionally features a resilient non-reflective black finish and tightly wrapped black nylon cord handle. Each handle also has an open ringed pommel for attaching a wrist lanyard of tassel.

This miniature ninja dagger set comes complete with a durable black nylon sheath designed to accommodate all three daggers.

Japanese Weapon

GRAPPLING HOOK

GRAPPLING HOOK

Grapple With This Don't leave the bat-cave without your folding steel grappling hook. You never know what evil might lurk on top of the next 33-foot-tall building. Has (4) black steel hooks, 1/2" dia x 8" across, point-to-point, on a 9-1/2" long shaft, and 33-feet of 1/4" dia black nylon cord, which is heavier than it sounds. Folds flat for utility belt storage and is spring-loaded to lock open. Less-than-super heroes can use it to grab canoes and get stuff out of trees. Weighs under 3 lbs.
Japanese Weapon

Kendo Bamboo Shinai Practice Sword

Kendo Bamboo ShinaiImproved your martial arts skills! This professional practice sword is designed for rigorous training. This item features solid bamboo construction with a leather wrapped grip and tip

This is an awesome practice shinai sword.It is very well made and easy to use.When I was looking for a shinai on here I was suprised to find one like this at a very good price.

Most of them I have come across on here are mostly about 20 dollars or more.So this is really an excellant deal and I garentee you will be happy with how well made this shinai

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Hattori Hanzo

Hattori HanzoAlso known as Masashige. The son of a certain Hattori Yasunaga, Hanzo, who would earn the nickname 'Devil Hanzo', served Tokugawa Ieyasu loyally and usefully. His nickname - Devil Hanzo - was not only to pay homage to his skills but also to distinguish him from another Tokugawa 'ninja', Watanabe Hanzo.

Hattori, who fought his first battle at the age of 16, went on to serve at Anegawa (1570) and Mikatagahara (1572), but his most valuable contribution came in 1582, following Oda Nobunaga's death.

At that time Tokugawa and his retainers had been staying near Ôsaka and learned of the assassination only just in time to avoid being detained by Akechi Mitsuhide's troops. But they were by no means out of the woods. Mikawa was still a long way away, and Akechi men would be combing the roads for them.

At this point, Hanzo suggested that they take a route through Iga province, as he had ties with the samurai there. In addition, Ieyasu had sheltered survivors from Nobunaga's bloody invasion of that province in 1580 and those who knew of this would certainly be well disposed to offer assistance. Honda Tadakatsu sent Hanzo on ahead, and, as hoped, the Iga men agreed not only to guide them along back roads, but also to provide them with an escort. At length, Tokugawa and his band returned to Mikawa safely. The same could not be said for Anayama Beisetsu, a recent Tokugawa addition who had insisted on taking a different route.

Hanzo was succeded by his son, Masanari, who would be given the title Iwami-no-Kami and whose men would act as the guards of Edo Castle. Hanzo's reputation as a ninja leader who commanded a 200-man strong unit of Iga men has grown to legendary proportions.

Date Masamune

Date MasamuneDate Masaume was the eldest son of Date Terumune, a lord of the Rikuzen area of Mutsu. His mother was a daughter of Mogami Yoshimori. Masamune was born in September 1566 at Yonezawa and first went by the name Botenmaru. He recieved the name Tojirou Masamune in 1578 and the following year was married to the daughter of Tamura Kiyoaki. He went on his first campaign in 1581, helping his father fight the Souma family.
Masamune assumed control of the Date in 1584 with the retirement of his father. Shortly afterwards, he suffered the defection of a Date retainer named Ouchi Sadatsuna to the Ashina of the Aizu region. Masamune declared war on the Ashina in retaliation. However, Masamune's army was halted at Hibara by the Ashina general, Iwashiro Morikuni, and forced to retreat. Three months later, Masamune besieged the Ouchi's stronghold at Otemori and inflicted a terrible price on the traitors, allegedly putting some 800 people of all ages to the sword. When word of this slaughter reached the Ouchi at Obama Castle, they burned Obama and fled. At the same time, tensions between the Date and their traditional rivals the Hatakeyama began to flare. The lord of the Hatakeyama, Yoshitsugu, evidently attempted to make peace with Masamune on a number of occasions, but the latter, young and hot-blooded, rebuffed each advance. Finally, Yoshitsugu turned to Terumune to mediate. The two former rivals sat down and feasted together in a most cordial manner. The following day, Yoshitsugu ostensibly came to thank Terumune for the enjoyable dinner. He then kidnapped Terumune at sword point, an act both unheard of and shocking. When Masamune returned from a morning of falconry to learn of his father's abduction, he called his men to arms and set off after Hatakeyama's entourage. They caught up with Hatakeyama near the Abukuma River. Terumune cried out for Masamune to open fire on them, regardless of his own safety, but his son hesitated. In the confusion, Terumune was cut down and Yoshitsugu somehow escaped to his castle of Nihonmatsu.

Date MasamuneA general war ensued between the Date and Hatakeyama, the Hatakeyama drawing on support from the Satake, Ashina, Soma, and other local clans. The allies marched to within a half-mile of Masamune's Motomiya-jo, assembling some 30,000 troops for the attack. Masamune, having only 7,000 warriors of his owned, prepared a defensive strategy, relying on the series of forts that guarded the approaches to Motomiya. The fighting began on the 17th of November, and did not progress well for the Date. Three of his valuable forts were taken, and one of his chief retainers, Moniwa Yoshinao, was killed in a duel with an opposing commander. The attackers pressed towards the Seto River, which was the last obstacle between them and Motomiya. Date attempted to turn them back at the Hitadori Bridge, but was driven back. Masamune brought his remaining forces within Motomiya's walls, and prepared for what would surely be a gallant but futile last stand. But the next morning, no doubt to the amazed relief of the Date warriors, the main enemy contingent picked up and marched away. These were Satake Yoshishige's men, their lord having received word that in his absence the Satomi had attacked his lands in Hitachi. Apparently this left the allies with fewer men than they believed possible to bring down Motomiya, for they too had retreated by the end of the day. This brush with utter defeat was likely a factor in turning Masamune into the reknowned general he would one day be known as. In his youth, Masamune had suffered a bout with small pox that caused an infection in his right eye-which he plucked out himself. Combined with his early aggressive and unstable demeanor, Masamune would earn the tag 'One-eyed Dragon'. That nickname would stick, but became one of respect.
In the wake of the battle, peace was struck with the Hatakeyama and Soma, although this was to prove short-lived.
In 1589, Date defeated the Soma, and bribed an important Ashina retainer, Inawashiro Morikuni, over to his side. He then assembled a powerful force and marched straight for the Ashina's headquarters at Kurokawa. The Date and Ashina forces met at Suriagehara on 5 June, and Masamune's forces carried the day, Masamune leading a charge against faltering Ashina ranks, and breaking them. Unfortunately for the Ashina, Date men had destroyed their avenue of escape, a bridge over the Nitsubashi River, and those who did not drown attempting to swim to safety were mercilessly put to the sword. By the battle's end, Masamune could count something like 2,300 enemy heads in one of the more bloody and decisive battles of the Sengoku period to happen in the far north.

This would be Date Masamune's last expansionist adventure, however. With the coming of the next year Hideyoshi besieged the Hojo's Odawara Castle. Hideyoshi ordered Date to participate, which he did, though it is said he put off his arrival so that his spies could report on the likely victor. Since the outcome of the siege was obvious, Date presented himself before Hideyoshi and apologized for his lateness. Following the conclusion of the siege, however, Hideyoshi ordered Date to relinquish his newly won holdings in Aizu (perhaps using Date's tardiness as a pretext) and be content with Yonezawa (200,000 koku), a much-reduced income that doubtlessly did not sit so well with Masamune.

In 1592, Date served in Hideyoshi's headquarters at Nagoya on Kyushu during the Korean invasion. Three years later, he found himself implicated in the suspected treason of Toyotomi Hidetsugu and was ordered to pack up and move his household to Iyo on Shikoku, an unthinkable fate (to Date) averted through the good offices of Tokugawa Ieyasu. All in all, it is not surprising that Date readily joined Tokugawa when war came between the latter and Ishida Mitsunari began in 1600. He had already married a son to one of Ieyasu's daughters (an act which in itself had aggravated tensions between Ieyasu and his fellow san-bugyo members) and was likely contemplating how best his remote forces could aid Tokugawa when war began. In the event, he and Mogami Yoshiakira of Dewa held the forces of Uesugi Kagekatsu at bay, with Masamune's first contribution to the war effort being the Siege of Hataya. The battles in the north culminated with Masamune's attack on Fukushima Castle. Date and Mogami's efforts allowed Tokugawa to move west in confidence, and, of course, the campaign culminated in the total victory at Sekigahara in October 1600. In the aftermath, Date's lands were enlarged to 600,000 koku, and he built a new castle town (Aoba-jo) at Sendai.

Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide

Oda retainer and destroyer of Oda Nobunaga; Hyuga no Kami; also known as Koreta Mitsuhide. The son of Akechi Mitsukuni (who had held Akechi Castle in E. Mino Province), Mitsuhide first served the Saitô of Mino and later a certain Asakura Ujikage of Echizen. In 1566 Mitsuhide is supposed to have acted as a messenger for the 'wandering shôgun' Yoshiaki, and thereafter served Nobunaga. Mitsuhide proved himself a capable general and in 1571 was awarded Sakamoto-jo and two districts in Ômi province. When Nobunaga went to war with the Môri clan, Mitsuhide was assigned to lead the Oda contingent that would be marching along the northern coast of the Chugoku arm. He invaded Tamba, where he subdued the Hatano, and Tango, where he clashed with the Isshiki family.

In 1578 an unfortunate incident is said to have occurred involving the Hatano clan of Tamba. Eager to bring them over without further delay, Mitsuhide managed to convince Hatano Hideharu to submit. Unfortunately, Nobunaga later overturned Mitsuhide's promise of safe treatment and had Hideharu executed in 1579. The Hatano responded, as one might expect, by accusing Mitsuhide of treachery, and, the story goes, somehow got ahold of his mother in Ô,mi and executed her in dreadful manner. Mitsuhide, needless to say, bore Nobunaga some ill will. This was enflamed by a series of public insults Nobunaga directed at Mitsuhide that drew even the attention of Western observers. Nonetheless, Mitsuhide was generally well regarded for his talents both on the battlefield and as an administrator.

Akechi MitsuhideIn 1582, Nobunaga ordered Mitsuhide to assemble his troops and march to the west, where Hashiba (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) was embroiled in a struggle with the Môri. Instead, Mitsuhide marched on Oda, who was occupying the Honno temple at the time. Nobunaga and his heir Nobutada were killed, and Mitsuhide declared himself the new shogun, however improbably. Mistuhuide may have intimated his intentions just days before when he composed a poem for the renga masters Jôha and Shoshitsu that, while ostensibly written to bring good luck to Hideyoshi's seige of Takamatsu, contained a provactive line that could be interpreted to mean that the Toki (whose name he used from time to time) would rule Japan. At any rate, the sudden defection stunned the Capital region. Akechi worked as quickly as he could, and looted Azuchi Castle so as to reward his men and made friendly gestures towards a bewildered Imperial Court. The Akechi could claim descent from the Toki, and in turn the Minamoto, but, unsurprisingly, this would bear little fruit. Mitsuhide had counted on the support of Hosokawa Fujitaka, with whom he was related to through marriage. This alliance did not pan out as Fujitaka wisely cut his ties with the usurper. It is possible that Mitsuhide also hoped for the support of the Tsutsui, whose relation with Nobunaga had been none too good. Tsutsui Junkei, however, wavered, and in the end joined Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Another grave setback came within days. Mitsuhide had counted on Hideyoshi being tied up with the Môri and thus being unable to promptly respond to Nobunaga's death. Unfortunately, Hideyoshi learned of the assassination before the Môri, and signed a peace treaty with that clan. This allowed him to force-march back east at a rapid pace, catching Mitsuhide off guard. Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi clashed at Yamazaki, (See TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI for a more detailed description of Yamazaki) and though the former fought bravely, his troops were defeated. Mitsuhide himself was killed while attempting to make his way to Sakamoto, which was held by his brother, Hidemitsu (1560-1582). Soon afterwards, Sakamoto was reduced by Hori Hidemasa (1553-1590).

While Akechi would become one of the most famous men in Japanese history, if only for his treachery, the exact causes for his dramatic attack on Nobunaga, and what he hoped to accomplish once this was done, will most likely remain a mystery.