[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Two things about the Japanese longbow and Armor threads:

1. The armor was much better than many are giving it credit for. It was mostly composite laminate--very lightweight and very very strong. This stuff was easily the equal of heavy chainmail--with less encumbrance. Definitely not the equal of plate or full plate though.

2. The world's longest bows also had the world's longest arrows. This means that a 42KG draw (~100 lbs) would propel the arrow for longer than an equivalent English Longbow--so it actually had higher velocities, could travel longer distances, and hit harder.

I'd also like to clear up the ideas people have as to the awkwardness of the bow--nope, not awkward. The asymmetrical location of the grip makes it easy to use, even when mounted. Additionally, the reason the bow rotates around the wrist is because the bow is slightly off kilter to counter bow-arrow torque and provide higher accuracy. A good release will rotate the bow around the wrist.