Book Miscellany 13: Motosuke Ishikawa - The Culture of Poisoned Arrows

This is a rough project where I use a random number generator to pick one book from the approximately 4,000 I have on hand to read, and while I'm at it, think about whether it could be used for a novel.

This time, it is "The Culture of Poisoned Arrows" by Motosuke Ishikawa.
Kinokuniya Shinsho 978-4314006491.
In the NDC classification, it is categorized under Social Sciences > Clothing Ethnology. Cultural Anthropology.

1. Pre-reading Impressions
When it comes to poisoned arrows, they are romanticized weapons. I'm curious about what materials are used for poison in each cultural sphere and what they are used against. My image of poisoned arrows is Polynesia, but ninjas also use poisoned arrows, or rather, blowguns. Come to think of it, my image of poisoned arrows was blowguns or throwing weapons, but now that I think about it, the bow and arrow form should also be common (what is 'common' anyway...).
My strongest impression associated with poisoned arrows is combat between people, followed by hunting or pest control. For birds and beasts, i.e., food, they cannot be used depending on the nature of the poison. Regarding the raw materials for the poison, there are plant toxins and animal toxins, and regarding how they work, there are neurotoxins, hemorrhagic toxins, and muscle toxins, and they should differ depending on the purpose.
I love poison, or rather, cowardly warfare. The protagonist who has been poisoned often says, "Ugh, how cowardly," but I always think, "Your cheat abilities are far more cowardly." I like the dirty attempts that always try to hinder heroic tales because they feel like a battle where the weak use wisdom against an absolute powerhouse. In reality, the ones who appear are usually just pathetic thugs, though.
Well then, let's open it up with enthusiasm!

2. Table of Contents and Preface Check
I like the straightforward expression in the introduction: "Humanity has injected toxins existing in the natural world into the bodies of animals and slaughtered all living things."
The table of contents continues with poisoned arrows of Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Certainly, the toxins that can exist differ depending on the location and climate. It seems likely that the tools used, the formation of cities due to vigilance, and the investment of human resources would also differ depending on the poison.
Among these, I will read "The Poisoned Arrow Culture of Asia," "Characteristics of the Poisoned Arrow Culture of Northeast Asia," and for Africa, "Hottentot Poisoned Arrows Challenging Giant Elephants." Northeast Asia is an area I'm interested in, but elephant hunting—piercing that elephant hide with an arrow seems difficult. I hadn't thought about it much, but I suppose trap-style snares are effective... right?

3. Content
Regarding "The Poisoned Arrow Culture of Asia" and "Characteristics of the Poisoned Arrow Culture of Northeast Asia."
Asian poisoned arrows are divided by the 20th parallel north, with monkshood in the north and antiaris in the south. Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to know. Then, it continues with the spread due to vegetation and ethnic migration, and the usage methods according to culture, before diving into the war records (quite specific ones) between the Ainu and the Matsumae Domain in the 9th year of Kan'ei. What is this exciting structure?
The focus of the story returns to the Ainu poisoned arrows used in that battle, and the discussion while stating various grounds is highly persuasive. The era is different, but I would like to write about a battle between the Artei or anti-mainstream forces in Japan.
After that, the story moves to the poisoned arrows of ancient Siberia and ancient northern Chinese peoples, and while each is interesting, the main point of this chapter was the sense of Ainu poisoned arrows.
Regarding "Hottentot Poisoned Arrows Challenging Giant Elephants."
It seems that poisoned arrows were mainly used for elephants and not for small animals. The Hottentots seem to use a mixture of venomous snake poison and Haemanthus bulbs, or crushed Euphorbia milkweed and caterpillars as arrow poison. They use bird bones as arrowheads and apply the poison inside them. This is the idea of leaving the poison inside the body, isn't it?
I remember that the mamba (venomous snake) found around Africa had neurotoxins, but I wonder how much capacity and time were needed to slow down the movements of an elephant's giant body. For humans, it paralyzes the diaphragm and causes death by suffocation, but I'm curious about the effect of the poison on elephants. Caterpillar poison is an unknown territory. I want to know the details.
When using it in a novel, in a normal fantasy, you probably wouldn't think about poison characteristics, but I feel like it could be used to build a worldview. To use it in a mystery, I think it would require the addition of a bit more scientific knowledge, such as management methods and appropriate storage temperatures.

4. Conclusion
Poison! I love it! This is an interesting book for me even if I read it lazily, but I don't know if it's interesting if you don't like poison.
Next time is "Japanese History 04: The Heijo-kyo and the Century of Wooden Tablets" by Korehiro Watanabe, published by Kodansha.
I am currently writing a story with a heavy psychological weight, and a phenomenon has arisen where it is difficult to write about books or other things. The deadline for that is May 27th, so it might be delayed until around then.
See you tomorrow! Probably!

#Reading #BookReview #Review #Impressions #BookCritique