Kabutowari
Template:Short description Template:Italic title The Script error: No such module "Nihongo"., also known as hachiwari, was a type of knife-shaped weapon, resembling a jitte in many respects. This weapon was carried as a side-arm by the samurai class of feudal Japan.
Types
Kabutowari were usually around Script error: No such module "convert". long; some larger versions are around Script error: No such module "convert". long.[1] There were two types of kabutowari: a dirk-type and a truncheon-type.
The dirk-type was forged with a sharp dirk-like point,[2] which could be used to parry an opponent's sword, to hook the cords of armor or a helmet, or like a can opener to separate armor plates. The sharp point could pierce unprotected or weak areas of an opponent's armor like the armpit area.[2] The blade of this type of kabutowari was a curved tapered square[3] iron or steel bar with a hook on its back edge.[4] In combat, one could parry and catch a blade with that hook, as with a jitte. Some kabutowari of this type were mounted in the style of a tantō with a koshirae.[2]
The truncheon-type was blunt, cast iron or forged truncheon-like weapon resembling a tekkan or a jitte. This type of kabutowari had the same basic shape as the dirk-type, including the hook, but it was usually blunt and not meant for stabbing.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Use
It would appear, according to Serge Mol, that tales of samurai breaking open a kabuto (helmet) are more folklore than anything else.[5] The hachi (helmet bowl) is the central component of a kabuto; it is made of triangular plates of steel or iron riveted together at the sides and at the top to a large, thick grommet of sorts (called a tehen-no-kanamono), and at the bottom to a metal strip that encircles the hachi.[6][7] This would require enormous pressure to split open.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". This idea that the kabutowari was somehow able to smash or damage a helmet kabuto is most probably a misinterpretation of the name which could have several meanings, as hachi could mean skull or helmet bowl and wari could mean, split, rip, crack or smash.[5]
In modern times there is no ryū (school or style) known to train with kabutowari, although certain dojos within Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu still train with them, as an extension of jittejutsu.[8] A number of weapons retailers in Japan still sell usable kabutowari.[9]
Gallery
-
Antique Japanese kabutowari
-
Antique Japanese hachi wari (kabutowari) mounted in a shirasaya
-
Antique Japanese kabutowari
-
Antique Japanese kabutowari. Close up of the hand guard and the wrapped handle.
_1.jpg){kind=link}
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273, fig. 340.
- ↑ a b c Cunningham, Don. Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai. p. 75.
- ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273.
- ↑ Bennett, Matthew. The Hutchinson dictionary of ancient & medieval warfare. Taylor & Francis. 1998. pp. 136.
- ↑ a b Mol, Serge. Classical weaponry of Japan: special weapons and tactics of the martial arts. Kodansha International. 2003. pp. 71.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Absolon, Trevor. The Watanabe Art Museum Samurai Armour Collection: Volume I ~ Kabuto & Mengu
- ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273. Mentioned as meant for breaking swords, as other kinds of jitte
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Template:Japanese (samurai) weapons, armour and equipment Template:Knives