TESSEN

tessen , tokko, te no uchi

Tessen The Samurai's Iron Fan


Daisho Besides, the Japanese samurai often had other specialized weapons. These were used when he was unarmed and did not want to kill or seriously injure the opponent.

Different ryuha martial arts (schools) during the Tokugawa period often taught a wide variety of handguns specially designed for the defense, and also could be hidden in clothing of all días.Tanto samurai and peasants regarded the folding fan, hand or conversely an important accessory. It was traditionally worn on the hand or footwear in the obi, and played an important role in Japanese etiquette, especially on formal occasions in which rarely was not among the possessions of samurai.Quizás as it was considered a common element was readily used as a secondary weapon with only minor modifications.


The weapon, called Tess (literally "iron fan") was built with a folding fan with metal rods or a non-folding solid bar of wood or iron with a folding fan. During the Edo period the tessen was considered a personal defense weapon extraordinarias.En common situations many times, the samurai had no access to a sword. For example, when visiting someone's home (especially the one above), the warrior was forced to leave one or two swords at the door. To prevent violence, the most obvious weapons such as swords, daggers and spears were strictly prohibited in the small confines of the Yoshiwara pleasure district of Edo. A tessen, however, was accepted in any situation, leaving the samurai armed with at least one effective weapon for defense.


The tessen, when they were folded, were also known as menhari-gata. These were made of metal and covered with silk or washi, a very strong role. This role was often lacquered, reinforced with a sheet of silver or gold, or treated with oil to make it more decorative and weather resistant climáticas.En some cases, only the rods were made of metal outside, while inside were made of bamboo. These were lighter and easier to carry, but they could only be used for the defense to be closed. A folding tessen not only used as a defensive weapon, but also as hand fan to be necesario.Sin But a folding tessen was expensive to make and difficult to maintain. Many times, they were of solid iron in the form of a closed tessen. This guy was called tenarashi-gata and were quite heavy. Some were made with straight sides and just remembered a fan, while others were more convincing replicas.


Folding fan as a common, Tess had between eight and ten metal rods or bamboo. A tessen solid wrought iron or carved wood that looked like a closed fan, was more durable and cheaper. Perhaps for these reasons tessen solids were most popular samurais.Hay won several duels remembered using a sword against tessen and even deaths were caused by cuts made with Tess. It was considered improper for a bushi use his sword against an opponent of lesser rank. Moreover, Tessa jutsu was considered something sophisticated, especially among high-ranking samurai.

Tessen Styles

As the hand fans, japanese tessen were made in three basic ways.

Generally, measuring one shaku long (half inch longer than a foot). The three standard forms were:
- Sensu-gata - the folding fan base.
- Maiohgi-gata - style used in traditional Japanese dance.
- Guns-gata - style used to control troops during the battle.

Many considered the tenarashi samurai-gata much more effective in combat than the folding style. Tessen This style became popular among the samurai police officers and their assistants. His arrest and disarming techniques were often a combination of solid tessen Tessar jutte.Los were carved from wood such as oak or Sunuker. Call Motsu-shaku, the range of wood was easy and not expensive to produce. Samurai used this kind of fan not only for defense but also for practice.

Tessen Decoration

Both the folding and the solid were incorporated poems, ranges, images of animals and kanji characters. Sometimes a silk cord was used as a handle. Naturally, many tessen were sober and had a more functional style.

Tessen Practice

While tessen jutsu was considered part of the arts of conventional weapons, was originally targeted for the defense. Tessen techniques were typically based on reactions of defense rather than aggressive attacks. Most techniques were designed to stop and control the opponent rather than to cause permanent injury or death.