Sōjutsu

, meaning "art of the spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a .

==Origins== Although the spear had a profound role in early Japanese mythology, where the islands of Japan themselves were said to be created by salt water dripping from the tip of the spear Ame-no-Nuhoko (Heavenly jeweled spear), as a weapon the first spear prototypes were brought from mainland Asia. These early versions were not seen as suitable by the Japanese, who later redesigned them once technology permitted.