Feenberg’s Critique

by Charles Daniel Anyone who is not familiar with the wide variety of Japanese martial arts cannot help but to be surprised by the number of weapons and fighting systems that have been developed by that island nation. In addition to the more recognised arts of the sword, spear and bow, the Japanese have a bewildering collection of 'minor' martial arts that evolved to fill limited but very important needs. Such arts as shuriken jutsu (throwing blades), kusari gama (chain weapons) and fukabari ( needles and darts blown either from the mouth or through a tube) were developed and deeply studied. Later, some of these arts became highly evolved and achieved the staus of being independent arts in their own right. One such art is that of tessen jutsu or the art of the iron fan.

Attacked with a downward cut, the defender sidesteps and jams the end of the tessen into the attackers hands

He then pushes the attacker around...

for a takedown kick to the leg....

so as to finish with a blow to the head

The history of the iron fan is uncertain, but it is fairly safe to say that the fan as a weapon received more study in Japan than in any other country. (The only other country that could even come into consideration would be China, but information on Chinese fan technique is very limited and has no real historical basis that can be verified). Regardless of the weapons exact origins, it is certain that by the warring states period, the tessan was a part of many warriors equipment. In pictures of the battle of Ichino-Tani, Kumagai no Jiro Naozane is shown using a war fan. Later illustrations , such as that of the fourteenth century warrior Masashige Kusunoki, also show the use of the tessen in battle.

In the beginning the tessen was the property of the upper class and members of the court - this was also the case in China. It is interesting that the first fans were very large and were often carried by attendants. A distant cousin of the fan was also seen in the giant fan-like banners that were carried into battle to help mark off which sides were fighting for which leader. In this respect, these banners (in Japanese uma-shirushi) were used much like flags. Another relative of the war fan was the saihai which may have had it's origins in the Buddhist fly whisk. These whisks were used to shoo away insects so that a monk or priest would not have to break the Buddhisy law by taking a living things life ( a law that would be broken even by swotting a fly). The saihai were usually wooden handles with paper or cloth attached at one end so as to make a small and lightweight whip. Later, someone must have realised that the very same instrument would be a very effective club if a little weight was added to the handle. Such weight could be added by simply using iron instead of wood for

constructing the handle portion of the whisk. These, once made, were used as symbols of office and, because of their weight, could be used to make orders clear to some of the more slow witted men under a warlords command. They were also unquestionably used to settle some of those minor disagreements that commanding officers sometimes have. Even a stubborn samurai could often understand a point when it was emphasized with a pat on the head from an iron club.

The tessen can be used against armed or unarmed opponents. Against a straight punch, the defender sidesteps and catches the incoming arm between his thumb and the tessen

The advent of the folding tessen marked the rise of tessen jutsu. Although fairly small and thus limited in reach, the folding tessen (and the iron fans that were actually solid but looked just like the folding variety) had the advantage that it could be carried in many places where even a short sword could not. It should be

remembered that it was not uncommon for samurai to be "permitted" (that's Japanese for "you have to") to leave their long swords at the door when visiting. Sometimes this custom was extended to include the short sword as well. If there is one condition that a rational man wants to avoid when in a dangerous situation it is that of being unarmed (especially when everyone else is probably armed). In such a situation, the tessen could be a real life saver. Although fairly short, these fans could be used to parry sword cuts and thrusts and to make discouraging counter - attacks. This was particularly the case in very close quarters because the fan's light weight (compared to swords) made it an extremely fast weapon. It should be noted that a number of Japan's famous swordsmen often used fans when challenged because it gave them the option of sparing their

opponent's life while at the same time showing the challenger that he would be better off arranging flowers or involving himself in some other harmless pastime. To gain some perspective on this, one only has to visualize themselves confronted with a trained samurai armed with a sword and then complete the picture by arming themselves with only an iron fan that is maybe eighteen inches long. The famous Ittosai once fought a Chinese martial artist who was armed with a halberd (battle ax) using only a fan. Ittosai defeated the Chinese without even injuring him.

Today, the art of tessen is rarely practiced. It is studied in some of the ko?ryu (old sword schools) and in some ninjutsu?ryu. It should be noted however that the Japanese sport of taihojutsu does make use of a short stick weapon that is identical in length and similar in application to the tessen

which is followed by a combination elbow and knee...

to drop the opponent.

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