or ''gantsubushi''''Secrets of the samurai: a survey of the martial arts of feudal Japan'', Oscar Ratti, Adele Westbrook, Tuttle Publishing, 1991 P.323
/ref> are a variety of implements and techniques that were used in feudal Japan by

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

police and other individuals to temporarily or permanently blind or disorient an opponent.

Description

One type of ''metsubushi'' was used by police for blowing powdered pepper or dust into the eyes of a suspect. It is described as being a lacquer or brass box with a wide mouthpiece for blowing on, and a hole or pipe on the other end for directing the powder into the eyes of the person being captured. One type of ''metsubushi'' powder was made up of ashes, ground-up pepper,

mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

, and

dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

. For severe damage, it could also include fine-ground

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

. It was kept in hollowed-out eggs (happō),

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

tubes or other small containers. When confronted by an attacker, a person would blow the ''metsubushi'' in the attacker's eyes, blinding them.

References

External links

* Japanese martial arts terminology Ninjutsu artefacts Samurai police weapons {{martialarts-stub

Description

See also

References

External links