[VedalkenBear]

zzcat: As I said, the Amida cult was the first really populist Buddhist sect in Japan. I contrast this to the earlier esoteric sects, of which the Onmyoji in Jomon is the best representative. As such, a 'flavoring' of the Celebrant event could be used to show this representation.

And the yumi was not a 'weak bow', at least the ones that the samurai used from horseback. After all, the samurai began as exactly the kind of mounted archer that dominated the medieval period in Asia. I am not sure exactly your source for your information, but it runs counter to everything I know about Japanese warfare.

I will point out as well that early Japanese warriors, proto-samurai if you will, did indeed use shields.

In the popular(ist?) version of samurai that has filtered to the west, samurai are foot soldiers, master of the katana, that disdained ranged combat. This does not exist until the middle Warring States period (1530 or so), and coincides with the rise of gunpowder technology in Japan. At this point, you might be correct, but everything said about arrows goes equally for guns: it is much easier to deflect than absorb, at least at the velocities and accuracy that early guns could achieve.

Before this time, though, the information is simply incorrect.