Closely intertwined information about ancient Japan with the origins of martial arts. In addition to common martial arts such as kendo or karate, quite exotic ones were born here. One of the dominant places is the art of owning a combat fan, or tessen-jutsu, which includes complex elements of defense and attack with the help of such specific weapons.
Fans of Japan
In Japan, the fan remained an equally beloved accessory for women and men. Warriors could not part with him even during the war, so the elegant object underwent many transformations. The fan turns from a harmless colorful trinket into a formidable weapon, smashing the enemy like a samurai sword.
Over time, fans are overgrown with specific functions, depending on the purpose. Therefore, combat, signal and combined structures arose that could not only fight, but also to fan. And for a man in military uniforms, the presence of a fan turned into not a whim, but a necessity, especially during long trips under the sultry sun.
The fan was available from the commanders of the detachments, and according to the drawing on this subject they judged that the unit belonged to a particular clan. A fan during the battle gave signals, thanks to which you can control the actions of soldiers without words. And for the Japanese aristocracy, an expensive accessory was evidence of the owner's rank, it displayed certain patterns and colors.
Varieties of dangerous accessory
- Gunsen is a folding fan. It was used for its intended purpose, to fan in the heat. The inner knitting needles were made of bronze, wood, brass or other metal. The coating and outer knitting needles were made of iron. This design was lightweight, but also extremely strong. Warriors preferred to hide a gunsun fan in the belt or chest, but with the second option you can not use a bow or sword.
- Tessen is a folding type of fan whose outer spokes are made of iron plates. It looks like a regular fan, but when folded it is used instead of a baton. Samurai could enter with such weapons at the edge where it was forbidden to wield a sword. Fencing schools taught fights with tessen. Flying darts and arrows were taken to the side of the tessen with a combat fan, threw it towards the enemy or used when crossing the river.
- Gunbai, gunpai or dansen utiva - a solid open fan of significant dimensions, made entirely of iron or wood with the inclusion of metal components. Famous military leaders walked with such a fan, they used it to repel darts and arrows, and also signaled the method of fighting units.
Convert fans to weapons
Wooden fans were very fragile, often breaking, so they began to craft from metal knitting needles. Such "iron fans" began to be called "tessen." There is no documented evidence of who first came up with the use of tessen as a weapon.
Japanese martial art with the use of such an accessory was called "tessen-jutsu." The technique of fighting and holding a fan in tessen-jutsu is reminiscent of kendo, that is, the tactics of fighting with swords. But the specifics of using a fan is distinguished by many special techniques peculiar only to this type of martial arts.
When folded, the iron fan is used for attack, and when unfolded, it is used as a defense. According to an old legend, such a weapon was created by the warrior Minamoto-no-Yotschinsune, who defeated the tengu mythical monster in battle, holding the tip of his spear between the plates of the fan.
Since then, many martial arts schools have mandatory taught fighters the skills of tessen-jutsu. This martial art was especially developed in the famous Shinkage-ryu school. In some provinces, masters who owned fans remained, by analogy with ancient Japanese martial arts like sumo, aikido, kyu-do, yabusame (shooting while riding a horse at a running dog from a Japanese bow).
The popularity of tessen-jutsu
Tessen-jutsu has spread among the lower classes of society who do not have the right to use a sword. Experienced fighters reached such a high point of mastery of their weapons that they could deal with several opponents armed with samurai swords.
One ancient chronicle tells of an incident in the life of a martial artist named Gann-ryu, who, thanks to his skillful possession of a fighting fan, was able to emerge victorious from a confrontation with 10 opponents. At the same time, there was not a single scratch on it.
The history of the war fan
Two types of fans developed and modified in Japan. One of them, familiar to everyone, was folded from plates and covered with thick paper. If it is expanded, then the design takes the form of a semicircle. In its homeland it gets the name "ogi" or "sensu" (sen). In this form, it becomes known in Europe, where it became known as the Japanese fan, although it is considered peasant in the homeland and is used to sift rice from the husk.
The second variety has its own specifics and is called "dansen" or "utiva". This is a round fan with a rigid handle. In ancient pictures you can often see such a Japanese fan, most often it is depicted in the hands of the nobility. The origin is due to the modernization of the wide stick for correct posture - saku, which was held by the chin and chest during ceremonies. Later, the stick turned into a fan, began to symbolize the status of the owner.
Samurai Fan: Description
Each samurai had a personal ogie. Fans were made of various modifications and called gunsen or tessen. For its manufacture, thin strips of iron were used, or they were inserted only along the edges of the fan. Such a design weighed from 200 to 500 grams.
A metal fan consists of 8-10 metal plates with sharpened ribs and edges. The only form of manufacture did not exist: small, large, with narrow or wide plates. It was worn as needed. If invited to an official reception, tessen was kept folded behind a belt, but also hidden in a sleeve or under the bootleg.
Fans were richly decorated, applied inlays, depicted the sun and moon, animals, nature, fairy-tale creatures, a little later they put the family coat of arms or a special insignia on them. Top coated with waterproof varnish or gilding. The fan has become a symbol of owner status. The degree of nobility was judged by the way the brush attached to the handle was framed.
Method of use
They use combat tessen both in folded and in open form. When folded, it is used like a baton, and an unfolded fan protects from a sword or throwing weapon. The plates will not hold the arrow, but any flying object will be redirected to the side. Chopping and cutting blows were inflicted by the edges of sharp blades on unprotected parts of the enemy’s body: neck, face, hands, in order to knock out weapons or loosen their grip. If the accessory was folded, it was beaten lower and higher than the knee so that the enemy lost balance, and open visibility blocked melee combat.
High-ranking samurai often used tessen for self-defense from an opponent below rank, because you could use a sword against a worthy opponent. There was a restriction on carrying a sword with you in the house, and it was often forbidden to carry various weapons, so tessen was widely used as an excellent means of protection.
Use of weapons in close combat
By means of a combat fan when fighting at close range, the enemy could close the review. Therefore, in addition to tessen, they used another type of weapon, often took with them a short tanto sword (which is sometimes called a knife, but this is contrary to the truth, because tanto refers to short swords). To disperse the enemy’s attention, closing and opening the fans alternated, which became an additional obstacle for the opponent and dispersed his actions.
Tessen in action: stories from time immemorial
Funny cases from the history of a fighting fan are known. Samurai Matsumura Sokon was considered an excellent master of hand-to-hand combat. The shogun reached the news of the skill and exploits of the samurai. The shogun wanted to arrange a performance in front of his subjects and see the master in battle, so he called him to his place and offered to take part in a military festival in 10 days, where Matsumura will fight a bull in the arena. The warrior decided to go for a certain trick, because he did not feel confident in the outcome of the fight with an angry animal. He bribed the guards, where the bull was standing in the stall, and all the 10 days he made his way to the animal in order to beat him in the muzzle with a fighting fan in the face behind the partition. The procedure continued until the bull fell exhausted. After a couple of days, the animal from one species of samurai knelt so as not to get beaten again.
The celebration has come. A huge number of people gathered in the stands, gathered to see the battle of the great master, even from neighboring provinces. The stands roared in anticipation of the spectacle, and the bull had already been released into the arena. Matsamura slowly walked out onto the sand-covered area, and in his hands was only the most ordinary fan. At the sight of a samurai, the bull howled and collapsed in front of him. The audience received real delight from the sight seen, and the shogun - satisfaction from confirming the mastery of his subject.
Self Defense and Tessen
They used the fighting fan in real fights, especially when the rules forbade the drawing of samurai swords, for example, in the master’s house. According to the rules, when you have to visit a senior’s house or room, the samurai kneels and puts a fan in front of him. He touches the tatami with his palms and then makes a traditional bow.
One samurai was to appear before the eyes of his master in order to answer for a rather serious sin. The subordinate suspected that he could be killed at any moment, and in every possible way considered the further actions. Mr.’s assistants intended to break his neck with the heavy weights of the sliding door when he stopped for a minute for a ritual bow. Samurai survived due to his resourcefulness. To prevent the door from moving, he slipped a battle fan into the doorway. When moving, the doors bounced off him, and the samurai himself remained unharmed. The master was delighted with the resourcefulness of his subordinate, therefore graciously granted forgiveness.
Combat accessories are a thing of the past
After the appearance of firearms, they began to forget about the military fan and sword for participating in armed conflicts. It has turned exclusively into a female accessory. The art of tessen-jutsu combat has almost become a thing of the past, and if in modern Japan you can still find combat enthusiasts with the help of a military fan for aikido, kyu-do, and other arts, then these are units. You can’t talk about the mass enthusiasm for this type of martial arts. After all, such training using a fan with sharpened metal edges is extremely dangerous, after which deep cuts and scars remain.