Sickle spear - Kamayari

A type of spear, a general term for spears with a sickle branch on the body (head). A spear with a branch on only one side, or a spear with branches on both sides but one longer and the other shorter, is also called a katakamayari. The katakamayari, said to have been favored by Kato Kiyomasa, is a masterpiece from the mid-Muromachi period, known for the curved sickle tip and the well-balanced beauty of its shape. On the other hand, a spear with sickle branches on both sides is called a ryo kamayari, and various ingenious designs are used in the position and direction (up and down) of the branches, with the Hozoin school's jumonji yari being the most famous of these.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

槍の一種で、槍の身(み)（穂(ほ)）に鎌枝のある槍の総称。枝が片方のみにあるもの、また枝が左右両方にあっても一方が長く他方が短いものも片(かた)鎌槍といい、加藤清正(きよまさ)が愛用したと伝える片鎌槍は、鎌の先端の反りとバランスの整った造形美をもって知られる室町中期の代表作である。一方、左右両方に鎌枝のあるものを両(りょう)鎌槍といい、枝の位置、方向（上下）などにさまざまのくふうが凝らされ、なかでも宝蔵院流の十文字槍が有名である。

［渡邉一郎］

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