Japanese war fan

A war fan is a fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.

Contents

Description

War fans varied in size, materials, shape and use. One of the most significant uses was as a signalling device.[1] Signalling fans came in two varieties:

The commander would raise or lower his fan and point in different ways to issue commands to the soldiers, which would then be passed on by other forms of visible and audible signalling.[3]

War fans could also used as weapons, The art of fighting with war fans is tessenjutsu.[1]

Types of Japanese war fans

War fans in history and folklore

One particularly famous legend involving war fans concerns a direct confrontation between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin at the fourth battle of Kawanakajima. Kenshin burst into Shingen's command tent on horseback, having broken through his entire army, and attacked; his sword was deflected by Shingen's war fan. It is not clear whether Shingen parried with a tessen, a dansen uchiwa, or some other form of fan. Nevertheless, it was quite rare for commanders to fight directly, and especially for a general to defend himself so effectively when taken so off-guard.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune is said to have defeated the great warrior monk Saitō Musashibō Benkei with a tessen.

Araki Murashige is said to have used a tessen to save his life when the great warlord Oda Nobunaga sought to assassinate him. Araki was invited before Nobunaga, and was stripped of his swords at the entrance to the mansion, as was customary. When he performed the customary bowing at the threshold, Nobunaga intended to have the room's sliding doors slammed shut onto Araki's neck, killing him. However, Araki supposedly placed his tessen in the grooves in the floor, blocking the doors from closing.[3]

The Yagyū clan, sword instructors to the Tokugawa shoguns, included tessenjutsu in their martial arts school, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.

War fans outside Japan

Fans are also used for offensive and defensive purposes in the Chinese and Korean martial arts. They are called "铁扇" (tiě shàn, literally "steel fan") in Chinese, and "부채" (buchae) in Korean – see Korean fighting fan.

In popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c William E. Deal, Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan, p.167
  2. ^ Louis Frédéric, Japan Encyclopedia, p.267
  3. ^ a b c Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook, Secrets of the Samurai: A Survey of the Martial Arts of Feudal Japan, p.296-304
  4. ^ Jōchi Daigaku, JSTOR (Organization), Monumenta Nipponica, Volume 16, p.71-p.73
  5. ^ Karl M. Schwarz, Netsuke Subjects: A Study on the NetsukeThemes With Reference to Their Interpretation and Symbolism, p.116
  6. ^ A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times, George Cameron Stone, Courier Dover Publications, 1999 P.256
  7. ^ Shingen Takeda - The Koei Wiki
  8. ^ Mitsunari Ishida - The Koei Wiki
  9. ^ Mai Shiranui - SNK Wiki
  10. ^ Kitana - The Mortal Kombat Wiki
  11. ^ Kagura - InuYasha Wiki
  12. ^ Temari - Narutopedia
  13. ^ Madara Uchiha - Narutopedia
  14. ^ Kyoshi Warriors - Avatar Wiki
  15. ^ Yumi Ishiyama - Code Lyoko Wiki