Why Yaris?

[eternity575]

why did toyota call the yaris yaris?

i mean.. whats the origin of the word yaris?

anyone?

[Chyownster]

why is the sky blue?

in fact y are we here?

[Demonic Angel]

Well, as it was predominently for the European market they wanted a name that would reflect European culture.... I cant remember exactly, but basically they chose Paris and stuck a Y on the front.... hence Yaris. Probably because some Yaris models was going to be built in France....

[CAMSHAFT]

bet by EM^^^^^^^^

i read somewhere ifs it true or not i dont know that its called after Paris but they put a Y in front, so people my think its vast like the city and tall like the Eiffil tower. Chyownster to quote a great man, who am i, who are your, where am i and are those my feet.

[DaveSR]

Bah you people ........ I know the answer but I can't remember it

Something to do with the translation !

I'll ask my contact's when I see them ;) !

[Demonic Angel]

Bah you people ........ I know the answer but I can't remember it

Something to do with the translation !

I'll ask my contact's when I see them ;) !

Thats convenient Dave!

I found my answer ages ago - it came from the people who marketed the Yaris on behalf of Toyota at launch... ;) Well, so they said anyway!

[Red Yaris 54]

How about this then:

Yari (槍) is the Japanese term for spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. The martial art of wielding the yari is called sōjutsu or (somewhat incorrectly) yarijutsu. Yari measured anywhere from one meter to upwards of six meters (3.3 to 20 feet). The longer versions were called omi no yari while shorter ones were known as mochi- or tae yari. The longest versions were carried by foot troops (ashigaru), while the samurai usually carried the shorter versions.

Yari were characterized by a straight blade that could be anywhere from several centimeters long, to 0.9 meters (3 feet) or more. The blades were made of the same high-quality steel that the swords and arrow-heads of samurai weapons were forged with, and yari blades were very durable. Over history many variations of the straight yari blade were produced, often with protrusion on a central blade. Yari blades (points) had extremely long tangs which were usually longer than the sharpened portion of the blade. The tang protruded into a hollow portion of the handle. This resulted in a very stiff shaft and made it nearly impossible for the blade to fall or break off.

The shaft came in many different lengths, widths and shapes; made of hardwood (nakae) and covered in lacquered bamboo strips, these came in oval, round, or polygonal cross section. These in turn were often wrapped in metal rings or wire, and affixed with a metal pommel (ishizuki) on the butt end. The yari could be considered a much higher quality weapon than the average spear due to these unique attributes. Yari handles were often decorated with inlays of metal or semiprecious materials such as brass pins, lacquer, or flakes of mother-of-pearl.

A sheath for the blade called saya was also part of a complete yari.

Various types of Yari points or blades existed. The most common blade was a straight, flat, design that resembles a straight-bladed double edged dagger. This type of blade could cut as well as stab and was sharpened like a razor edge. Though yari is a catchall for spear it is usually distinguished between kama yari which have additional horizontal blades and simple su yari(choku-so). Also yari can be distinguished by the types of blade cross section: the triangular sections were called sankaku-yari and the diamond sections were called ryo-shinogi-yari.

Su Yari (素槍, simple spear)

The sankaku yari (三角槍, triangle spear) had a point that resembled a narrow spike with a triangular cross-section. A sankaku yari therefore had no cutting edge, only a sharp point at the end. The sankaku yari was therefore best suited for penetrating armor, even armor made of metal, which a standard yari was not as suited to.

The Furo yari (袋槍, bag spear or socket spear) sported a more European style fitting of the straight head. Instead of the yari's traditional very long embedded tang, an entirely metal socket which slipped over the narrowed end of the pole. The unit was forged as a single piece of both socket and blade. This design was rare next to the traditional 'long-tang' configuration.

A kuda yari (管槍, tube spear) was not very different in construction than another simple choku yari. However for this spear, the upper hand gripped a hollow metal tube that allowed the yari to 'screw' while being thrust. This style of sojutsu is typified in the school Owari Kan Ryu.

Kikuchi yari (菊地槍, spear of Kikuchi) were one of the rarest designs, possessing only a single edge. This created a weapon that could be used for hacking and almost resembled a straight edged naginata.

Yajiri nari yari (鏃形槍, spade-shaped spear) had a very broad 'spade' shaped head. It often had a pair of holes centering the two ovoid halves.

Kama Yari (鎌槍, sickled spear)

These spears were very effective weapons though their more complex blade shapes were extremely difficult to properly forge and sharpen; therefore these were far less common than the above types and were often used for ornamental purposes.

Jumonji yari (十文字槍, cross-shaped spear) looked something similar to a trident or partisan and brandished a pair of curved blades around its central lance.

The kama yari (鎌槍, sickle spear) was the reverse of the jumonji yari. While it also had two protrusions shooting off of the base of a main spear tip, in yari the offshoots were hooked back downward.

The katakama (片鎌槍, single-sided sickle spear) had a radical weapon design sporting a blade that was two pronged. Instead of being constructed like a military fork ,a straight blade (as in a su yari) was intersected just below its midsection by a perpendicular blade. This blade was slightly shorter than the primary, had curved tips making a parallelogram, and was set off center so that only 1/6th of its length extended on the other side. This formed a kind of mess 'L' shape.

The tsuki nari yari (月形槍, moon-shaped spear) barely looked like a 'spear' at all. A polearm that had a crescent blade for a head, this could be used for slashing and hooking.

A kagi yari (鉤槍, hook spear) had a long blade with a side hook much like that found on a fauchard. This could be used to catch another weapon, or even dismount a rider on horseback.

Magari yari (曲槍, curved spear) possessed some of the most ornate designs for any spear. Running parallel to the long central blade were two 'crescent moon' shaped blades facing outwards. They were attached in two locations by short cross bars. History Yari are believed to have been derived from Chinese spears, and while they were present in early Japan's history they did not become popular until the 13th century. The original warfare of the Bushi was not a thing for 'commoners'; it was a ritualized combat usually between two warriors who would challenge each other via horseback archery and sword duels. However the invasions of Mongols in 1274 and 1281 changed Japanese warfare and weaponry. The conscripted Chinese and Korean footman employed by the Mongols sported long lances that stayed close together and moved in large units to stave off cavalry. Yari overtook the popularity of the daikyu for the samurai, and foot troops (ashigaru) used them extensively as well. While it has not received the same recognition as has the katana, the spear was an invaluable weapon of war.

Over the next 200+ years the Japanese armies would mirror their European and Asian counterparts by training spearmen to support their mounted samurai, and ward off approaching horses. During the peace time of the Edo, yari were still produced, sometimes in large numbers, by great swordsmiths. They maintained a primarily ceremonial weapon for years, until the post Meji-reformation re-interest in the martial arts. Japanese (Japanese: 日本語, Nihongo ()) is a language spoken by over 127 million people, mainly in Japan, but also by Japanese emigrant communities around the world. It is considered an agglutinative language and spear is an ancient weapon used for hunting and war, consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft. The most common design is of a metal spearhead, shaped somewhat like a dagger. Sōjutsu (槍術, sometimes incorrectly read as yarijutsu) is the art of fighting with the Japanese spear, yari (槍).

Now you know ;)

[earpl]

steve....... LMAO go and do something constructive :P

[Red Yaris 54]

steve....... you are clever, what a good answer

Well the question was asked..............and I like a challenge ;)

[earpl]

LMAO steve............you legend!

[minidoughty]

Hate to say this, but isn't it the Yaris called Vitz in Japan? therefore putting a big hole in the above theory?

[earpl]

LMAO

heres my bit...........

who cares :P

[Red Yaris 54]

Hate to say this, but isn't it the Yaris called Vitz in Japan? therefore putting a big hole in the above theory?

Yes but it is called the Yaris in Europe that is why the Japanese Company of Toyota gave it a name with Japanese historical connections.

[Blaze]

ummm i have to agree with earpl for once, who really cares? Its called a yaris because it is imo!

[seveer unaek]

LMAO

heres my bit...........

who cares :P

Yep!

First time i saw the yaris name, it sounded too much like ubik! Ya ubik!!

[cfc1]

in fact y are we here?

If we are here to help others... what are others doing?

[eternity575]

emm..really... vitz&yaris..no connection whatsoever..

so is it paris? or is it spearhead? ill just ask toyota then..

ill get an answer in about1-2 years ..

found this:

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38850

[Bee]

How about this then:

Yari (槍) is the Japanese term for spear....

<snip>

Now you know ;)

Your knowledge knows no bound, Red Yaris 54. Thank you very much for this hard to find piece of info. I enjoyed reading it. :)

--

Bee.

[Al J]

Bah you people ........ I know the answer but I can't remember it

Something to do with the translation !

I'll ask my contact's when I see them ;) !

Thats convenient Dave!

I found my answer ages ago - it came from the people who marketed the Yaris on behalf of Toyota at launch... ;) Well, so they said anyway!

Yes, there was a page on the Net about it then it disappeared. It is a made-up name by a team of consultants. It was intended to give a hint of European elegance, hence the link with 'Paris'. It means nothing other than the name of a car made by Toyota.

How about this then:

Yari (槍) is the Japanese term for spear....

<snip>

Now you know ;)

Your knowledge knows no bound, Red Yaris 54. Thank you very much for this hard to find piece of info. I enjoyed reading it. :)

--

Bee.

Yes, indeed...

but as far as naming the car, it's wrong.

[dicey2k]

Steve you are indeed a learned man! Well i thought that was quite interesting even if other's didn't!

[Bibbs]

And I know it's the "echo" in Oz ..

[Blue84]

Good one Steve, interesting read

[echo_rs]

Well here's the BS that we got to explain the name in Canada...

"The Yaris name sounds weird until it's explained. It's Toyota's variation of Charis, which is a Greek word for grace, and was the name, in Greek mythology, of a goddess of fertility, art and beauty. Charis became charisma."

"And Toyota’s newbie, the Yaris? Is that even a word? It is now, said Denise Morrissey, a Toyota spokeswoman. It’s a cross between Charis, the Greek goddess of grace; "ya," a German expression of agreement; and another European city--Paris.

“One of the challenges in naming a car,” Morrissey said, “is trying to find the right connotation. How does it make people feel? And does the name give the car personality?”

There are other challenges, too, like finding a word that hasn’t been copyrighted. “If you imagine all the consumer products in the world, it seems that every name has been taken,” Wilkinson said. “We’ll come up with a list of 100 names, and we’ll only be able to use five of them.”

Cheers

[Bibbs]

"The Yaris name sounds weird until it's explained. It's Toyota's variation of Charis, which is a Greek word for grace, and was the name, in Greek mythology, of a goddess of fertility, art and beauty. Charis became charisma."

Well there you go Caz .. Fertility and grace ;)

[earpl]

lol :P