Kusarigama

Kusarigama at Iwakuni Castle

The kusarigama (鎖鎌^?, "chain-sickle") is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a kama (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle) on a metal chain (kusari) with a heavy iron weight (fundo) at the end. The kusarigama is said to have developed during the Muromachi period. ^[1] The art of handling the kusarigama is called kusarigamajutsu.

Methods 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 sickle.^[2]

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.

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, including by Kōga-ryū.

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 the latter 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.

In popular culture

Kusarigama are depicted in many types of popular media. In video games the kusarigama is used by Hattori Hanzō in the video game series Samurai Warriors and by Ryu Hayabusa in the Ninja Gaiden series. In manga/anime Soul Eater, character Black Star's partner Tsubaki can shapeshift into various weapons, although her default form is a kusarigama that uses an extra sickle instead of a weighted bludgeon and the character Kohaku from the manga and anime Inuyasha is a demon slayer who makes use of the kusarigama, In the webcomics Sluggy FreelanceThe character Kusari is even named after her favorite weapon.

Gallery

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  Antique Japanese kusari gama.

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  Japanese sickle weapon with a chain and iron weight attached "kusari gama"

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  Antique sickle weapon with a chain and iron weight attached "kusari gama"

References

1. ^ Legacies of the sword: the Kashima-Shinryū and samurai martial culture Karl F. Friday, Fumitake Seki, University of Hawaii Press, 1997 P.122
2. ^ Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan, Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook, Tuttle Publishing, 1991 P.317

See also

• Kusarigamajutsu, the art of handling the kusarigama
• Okinawan kusarigama, Okinawan chain and sickle weapon
• War scythe, an improvised weapon made with a scythe blade and a pole
• Chain weapon

Sources

• Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook, Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan (1973)
• Ellis Amdur, Old School: Essays of Japanese Martial Traditions (2002)