| 25 January 2010
Staff weapons according to Dwight Jon Zimmerman's The Book of Weapons, were among the "earliest weapons in history." We might probably take this for granted as well as the fact that blades would eventually be attached to make other weapons such as spears. It is interesting to note that quite commonly the staff or bo was very long, often in excess of 6 feet in length. Spears may have originated as early as 400,000 B.C.E.
In Japan, weapons have always been revered along with the symbols of the sacred mirror, sacred jewel and sacred sword symbolizing the creation myth of Japan. Zimmerman mentions the story of the "3 Great Spears" known as Otegine, Nihongo, and Tombogiri created by the legendary swordsmith Masozane and used by Honda Tadakatsu, a famous general and hero. It is interesting to note that "tombogiri" means to cut a dragonfly. Legend had it that the blade was so sharp that when a dragonfly landed on the blade the dragonfly was severed in half.