Kusarigama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The kusarigama (鎖鎌? lit. chain scythe; alternatively spelled kasurigama or nagegama) is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of kama (the Japanese equivalent of a scythe) on a metal chain with a heavy iron weight at the end. Though the kusarigama is derived from a farmer's scythe, and though the scythe was often carried as a weapon by farmers during the feudal era of Japan, it is important to note that these farmers did not carry kusarigama. Its purpose as a weapon was very obvious, so unlike a scythe, it could not be carried openly. The art of handling the kusarigama is called Kusarigamajutsu.
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[edit] Method of use
Attacking with the weapon usually entailed swinging the weighted chain in a large circle over one's head, and then whipping it forward to entangle an opponent's spear, sword, or other weapon, or immobilizing his arms or legs. This allows the kusarigama user to easily rush forward and strike with the scythe.
A kusarigama wielder might also strike with the spinning weighted end of the chain directly, causing serious or deadly injury to his opponent while still outside the range of the opponent's sword or spear.
Kusarigama have also been employed as anti-siege weapons, with the chain allowing the weapon to be retrieved after it was thrown downwards at an attacking force.
Many fictional accounts of kusarigama sometimes show fighters swinging the scythe with the chain, rather than the weighted end. Though entertaining, this is usually not a proper use of the weapon, as the scythe is likely to bounce off a target without causing much injury. One of the few exceptions to this is the Houten Ryu discipline of the kusarigama.
[edit] Historical accounts of kusarigama
According to some accounts, the kusarigama is a weapon that is well-suited against swords and spears. Records show that the kusarigama was extremely popular in feudal Japan, with many schools teaching it, from about the 12th to 17th Century. Usage of the kusarigama is taught in Kohga Ha Kurokawa-Ryu.
A notable example of the use and misuse of the weapon is the story of the great 17th Century kusarigama teacher Yamada Shinryukan. Shinryukan was known to have killed many swordsmen with his weapon, until he was lured into a bamboo grove by Araki Mataemon. There, because of the terrain he was unable to swing the chain and trap Mataemon's sword, and was thus killed.
Perhaps one of the most famous historical users of the kusarigama is Shishido Baiken. A swordsman of great skill, he was proficient with the kusarigama, but was killed by the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi when he used a throwing knife to cause a non-fatal injury from outside the radius of the chain, and then moved in for the killing blow with his sword.
[edit] In Pop Culture
- In InuYasha, Sango's brother, Kohaku, uses the kusarigama as his weapon.
- Axl Low from the Guilty Gear series uses a kusarigama, though his has two sickles on the chain.
- Hattori Hanzo from the Samurai Warriors series is portrayed as a ninja who uses a kusarigama. He also appears with this weapon in Warriors Orochi.
- Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach uses a kusarigama he pulls from his ear.
- Kusari from Sluggy Freelance is a female ninja/assassin named after the weapon, and wields either a kama or a kusarigama as her weapon of choice.
- In the manga Soul Eater, a kusarigama is the primary weapon form of Black Star's weapon Tsubaki — though she often takes the forms of other ninja weapons and tools.
- Leinheart from Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom can wield a kusarigama as one of his main weapons.
- Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden 2 can wield a kusarigama as one of his weapons.
- Anubis from Ronin Warriors uses a kusarigama with a bladed weight as his weapon of choice.
- In Curse of the Golden Flower, the emperors assassins wielded a Chinese version of these
- Kusari-Gama is an Equipment card in the trading card game Magic: the Gathering.
[edit] See also
- War scythe, an improvised weapon made with a scythe blade and a pole.
- Isshin-ryu kusarigamajutsu, School of Kusarigamajutsu found in Shinto Muso-ryu
[edit] References
- Ellis Amdur, Old School: Essays of Japanese Martial Traditions (2002)
- Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook, Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan (1973)
