{{Italic title}} thumb|Illustration from 1935 of three ''taketaba'' supported by a ''taketaba-ushi''. A {{Nihongo|'''''taketaba'''''|竹束}} was a Japanese type of bulletproof shield made from bundled bamboo.<ref name=kinetsushu>{{cite book |last1=赤羽根 Akabane |first1=大介 Daisuke |title=Kamiizumi Nobutsuna den Shinkage-ryū gungaku "Kin'etsushū" 上泉信綱伝新陰流軍学「訓閲集」 |date=July 1, 2008 |publisher=スキージャーナル SKI Journal |location=Japan |isbn=4789900711}}</ref><ref name=kojien>{{cite book |last1=新村 Shinmura |first1=出 Izuru |title=広辞苑 第六版 |date=2008 |publisher=岩波書店 Iwanami Shoten |location=Japan |isbn=9784000801218}}</ref>
==Summary== During the 16th century {{Nihongo|traditional pavises made of wooden planks|盾|tate}}, long used as a defense against arrows, were found unable to stop the bullets used by the recently introduced arquebus.
The bullets used at the time were of very large caliber and thus had great destructive power, but their round shape and the lack of rifled barrels resulted in poor target penetration. Combined with the flexible strength of bamboo, this allowed ''taketaba'' to absorb and dissipate the energy of an arquebus shot. Because bamboo was in plentiful supply, ''taketaba'' were mass-produced and used throughout Japan. According to one version, ''taketaba'' were invented by Takenaka Shigeharu.
''Taketaba'' could be set up at an obtuse angle on a rack called a {{Nihongo|''taketaba-ushi''|竹束牛}} so as to increase the geometrical thickness of the shield.<ref name=kojien/>
Kuki Yoshitaka's fleet, the {{illm|Kuki suigun|ja|九鬼水軍}}, fastened large ''taketaba'' to the freeboard of their ships as a defense against cannon shot.<ref name=kojien/> Later, the Tokugawa clan developed a type of floating battery with a deck entirely enclosed by a shell of ''taketaba'' called a {{Nihongo|''mekura-bune''| 盲船}}.
Taketaba could also be laid on the ground in a row to create a duckboard over muddy or otherwise difficult terrain.<ref name=kojien/>
==See also== *Palisade *Abatis
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:Bulletproofing Category:Medieval defences Category:Engineering barrages Category:Japanese inventions Category:Japanese bamboowork