Armored samurai with a wakizashi; ca. 1860

Apparently, the “Arabian horses” we usually think of didn’t appear until late in Japan, where ponies were the standard. It really kills some of the samurai romance when you realize they were 4’6″ guys riding 4’6″ ponies…

(*Photo by Felice Beato (1832–1909) an Italian–British photographer who was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers.)

August 17, 2014 | Categories: History, Human History, Images of History, Lesser-Known "Mothers of Invention", Military History, Photography, Pursuit of Happiness, Stunt Queens, The Drama Of It All, Weird | Tags: Asian History, black and white photography, body armor, Fight, Historical, History, human history, Japan, Military, Military history, Photo, Photography, Power, samurai, Society, sword, wakizashi, War, Warfare, Weird | Leave a comment