Why Japanese weapons failed to develop

Filmed in the vaults of the great Japanese castle in Osaka, Alan Macfarlane discusses with the curator the reasons why Japanese weapons remained roughly the same for over six hundred years from about 1200 onwards. While European weaponry was transformed by gunpowder, the Japanese rejected gunpowder weapons and their swords and bows and armour was little improved over this period.

movie file size: 4.2 MB