Hoko yari in an older form of Japanese spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

 or yari

Yari

is the term for one of the traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear...

based on a Chinese spear. and thought to be from the Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

.

Appearance and use

The hoko yari was thought to be a guard's spear used in the defense palisades and gates. Hoko yari were mounted on a six-foot pole and had an eight inch blade with either a leaf-shape or waved or wavy edge that was shaped like the Malay kris

Kris

The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade , but many have...

. Hoko yari had a sickle-shaped horn projected on one or both sides of the blade.
The hoko yari had a hollow socket like the later period fukuro yari for the pole to fit into rather than a long tang.The sickle-shaped horn projecting on one side or both sides of the hoko yari blade, showed that the prime object of this weapon was to thrust back an enemy.