IRON FANThe Samurai’sSelf-DefenseWeapon

by Don Cunningham

PHOTO BY RICK HUSTEAD

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tucked in the obi (belt), it played a signifi -cant role in Japanese etiquette, especially on formal occasions, and was rarely out of a samurai’s possession. Perhaps because it was considered such an ordinary item, it was easily employed as a side arm with only minor modifi cations.

Styles of the WeaponTessen were one shaku long—slightly more

than 12 inches by modern standards. They came in three shapes or styles:

• sensu-gata: the basic folding fan• maiohgi-gata: the style of fan used for tradi-

tional Japanese dancing and in kabuki plays• gunsen-gata: the style used to control troops

during war.The basic design consisted of eight to 10 metal ribs

covered with silk or sometimes a strong paper. The pa-per was often lacquered, reinforced with gold or silver foil,

or treated with oil to make it more decorative and less sus-ceptible to weathering.

In some cases, only the outside ribs were metal, while the inside ones were lightweight bamboo strips. That made them

easier to carry, but they were effective as self-defense implements only when closed.

Because folding tessen were expensive to make and diffi cult to maintain, look-alikes were crafted from iron cast in the shape of a closed fan. Often called tenarashi-gata, they were quite heavy. Some models had straight edges and only faintly resembled a hand fan, while others were more convincing. Most samurai con-sidered them more effective than the folding style.

Solid tessen were also carved from hardwood such as oak. Called motsu-shaku, they were used for practice as well as self-defense.

DecorationsBoth styles of the tessen frequently incorporated engravings

of poems, rank titles, animal images and kanji characters. Some-times a fancy silk-cord wrapping was used as a handle, rendering it similar to a bladed weapon. Of course, many tessen were purely practical and functional, with little or no decoration.

Honing SkillsAlthough tessen-jutsu was considered part of the classical

Japanese weapon arts, it was primarily intended for self-protec-tion. Tessen techniques are more defensive than aggressive. Most are designed to incapacitate or restrain an opponent instead of in-fl icting permanent injury or death. That, coupled with the ease with which the moves can be done with a variety of substitute weapons, makes them all the more valuable in the 21st century.

About the author:Don Cunningham holds advanced ranks in judo, jujutsu and

kendo. He’s written numerous articles about the history of the traditional Japanese martial arts. His book, Secret Weapons of

Jujutsu, describes the development of exotic defensive weapons like the tessen and jutte. For more information about him, visit

www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/who/.

According to Japanese folklore,

a warrior monk named Benkei pledged to rebuild

his monastery by collecting and selling 1,000 swords. Armed with

a naginata (halberd), he challenged samurai to duels on the Gojo Bridge each

night in Kyoto. After defeating them, Benkei took their blades.

He’d allegedly collected 999 swords when a samurai named Minamoto Yoshitsune approached. Challenged by Benkei, Yoshitsune didn’t bother to draw his sword. Deftly avoiding the monk’s naginata, Yoshitsune disarmed him by striking his wrist with a tessen, an iron fan. Amazed by his skill and self-confi dence, Benkei became his devoted disciple and served him during nu-merous military campaigns.

While that story may be nothing more than legend, there are many records of duels that were won when iron fans clashed with naked swords. Some accounts even tell of deaths caused by blows from the tessen. The skill set for wielding the fan, called tessen-jutsu, was viewed as a sophisticated art, especially among senior samurai.

Backup PlanThe samurai were renowned for their skill with the sword, but

when they were stripped of their blades or when it was preferable not to kill or seriously injure an attacker, they had to turn to other weapons. The various ryuha, or martial arts schools, that existed during the Tokugawa era (1603-1868) taught a range of tech-niques involving short arms that were designed for self-defense and could be hidden within the folds of everyday clothing.

Samurai and commoners alike considered the folding hand fan, or sensu, an important accessory. Carried in the hand or

BB OnlineTraditional Japanese Weaponry

To read Don Cunningham’s “Jutte: Born in Feudal Japan, This Traditional Weapon Helped Keep the Peace Until the 20th Century,” visit

www.blackbeltmag.com/jutte.

APRIL 2009 / www.blackbeltmag.com BLACK BELT 105

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