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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galloglaich" data-source="post: 5095960" data-attributes="member: 77019">So here is the rest of the story:I have to interject here, those familiar with Japanese fencing systems or the martial art Iaido, or who are familiar with the Codex system, know that one of the most effective and popular attacks in Japanese fencing is the Nukutsuke, cutting from a sheathed sword...  anyway, Giles Milton continues the story:Milton does not specify what language they were using the communicate.An interesting, and in a gallows humor sense, quite amusing story.  Tells us a lot and makes for an interesting scene particularly if you read between the lines a little.  There is no doubt at least some of these Japanese 'pirates' were Ronin Samurai.  The English vessel probably had both sailors and at least some professional soldiers on board.  The Japanese were probably armed with katana or tachi and tanto knives.  The English would have been armed with bills, (or boarding pikes), axes, sabers, cutlasses, rapiers, cut-thrust swords, hangers, possibly even a longsword or two, as well as wheellock or flintlock muskets, musketoons and pistols, maybe longbows or arbalests (crossbows), and quite possibly grenades.   Just maybe even a 17th Century grenade launcher  (probably not though because these don't show up in records much until the 18th Century)It is likely that some of the English soldiers from the original English boarding party were wearing armor.  Cuirass, half armor and three quarters harness were mentioned in many period documents, as well as (surprisingly) mail quite often.  Probably some of the Ronin as well had armor, though the Japanese boarding party may not have had any on (it would have made the English suspicious) which may have been a factor in how the battle went.This was by no means the only such encounter nor did it always go this way.  Ronin Samurai were hired in the thousands or tens of thousands by the Dutch, who used them to help conquer Malaysia, Indonesia and the 'Spiceries', along with mercenaries from Europe (reportedly German 'landsknechts' though it is unclear what that really meant in the 17th Century). Samurai were involved in fighting between the Dutch, the English, the Portuguese, the Spanish, as well as the ferocious Moro of the Philippines, Chinese Waco pirates and various local tribes such as the headhunting Dayak.  Then later the French showed up....The East indies in the 17th Century was an interesting place.G.</blockquote>

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