Real Shinobi Weapons: Short Swords, Hidden Tools, and Distraction Devices in Feudal Japan
The 1676 manual Bansenshukai reveals that the weapons of feudal Japanese shinobi were far more functional than often portrayed in popular culture. For tight quarters, operatives favored shorter blades such as the wakizashi, measuring between 30 and 60 cm, rather than the longer katana, which is at least 60 cm. Scabbards occasionally contained concealed sections for documents or metsubushi, agents used for blinding. Instead of traditional square handguards (tsuba), they utilized climbing equipment. During the Sengoku period, shuriken, or 'blade hidden in hand,' were employed to hinder pursuers, with two varieties: bo-shuriken and hira-shuriken. Uchizute stones and tetsubishi caltrops, discovered at the 1590 Siege of Odawara, preceded shuriken. The kunai (20–30 cm) had various uses, while the kusarigama featured a sickle attached to a chain. Iga and Koga shinobi created incendiary devices prior to the introduction of firearms in 1543.
Key facts
- The 1676 ninja manual Bansenshukai and Edo period chronicles indicate shinobi favored shorter blades over the standard uchigatana.
- Wakizashi blades measured 30–60 cm (12–24 inches), compared to the katana's 60 cm minimum.
- Scabbards (saya) sometimes had hidden cavities for documents or metsubushi—sand, ash, or metal dust thrown to blind enemies—created by extending wood past the blade tip at the kojiri.
- Shuriken, meaning 'blade hidden in hand,' were used mainly to slow pursuers or gain time to flee, with two types: bo-shuriken (cylindrical spikes) and hira-shuriken (flat disks).
- Throwing stones (uchizute) and iron caltrops (tetsubishi) found at sites associated with the 1590 Siege of Odawara, led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, are viewed as predecessors to formal shuriken.
- The kunai, a 20–30 cm soft-iron tool with an unsharpened leaf-shaped blade, derived from gardening and masonry tools and was used for digging, leverage, prying locks, and punching through shoji panels.
- The kusarigama combined a sickle with a 2–4 meter chain and heavy metal weight; its techniques were codified in 17th-century martial arts schools.
- Shinobi of Iga and Koga used gunpowder for incendiaries and explosives before firearms reached Tanegashima in 1543, including smoke mixtures and bow-shot incendiary arrows called hiya.
Entities
Artists
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Institutions
- Iga-ryū Ninja Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura
Locations
- Japan
- Odawara
- Tanegashima
- Iga
- Koga
- Iwakuni Castle
- Nikko
- Edo