A tube turned a fire arrow into a naval weapon
A bohiya was more than an ordinary arrow carrying a flame. It was an incendiary projectile—a missile designed to start fires—launched from a tube of bamboo or iron using black powder. The powder’s expanding gases drove the arrow out of the tube; the tube supplied the initial force, while the burning material on the arrow supplied the danger after impact.
That distinction matters: the launcher did not need to burn through the air like a modern rocket. Its job was to send a fire-starting projectile toward a target beyond the reach of a hand-thrown weapon.
Why ships made valuable targets
At sea, a bohiya could threaten more than the hull. A burning arrow striking a sail, rope, or other exposed material could create a fire that demanded immediate attention from a crew already balancing on a moving deck. Even if it did not sink a ship, setting part of it alight could disrupt fighting and force sailors to shift from combat to firefighting.
The weapon therefore joined two effects: gunpowder gave the arrow reach, and fire made a hit consequential. Its purpose was not simply to pierce a ship, but to make the ship itself vulnerable to flames.
