Torimono_sandogu_(tools_for_capturing_criminals)

The is a

pole weapon A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly ...

used by the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

class and their retainers in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...

Description and use

Although some sources place the origin of the sasumata in the

Muromachi The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

period, most sources discuss its use in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. In Edo period Japan the samurai were in charge of police operations. The ''sasumata'' (spear fork) together with the '' tsukubō'' (push pole) and the '' sodegarami'' (sleeve entangler) comprised the '' torimono sandōgu'' (three tools/implements of arresting) used by samurai police and security forces. Samurai police in the Edo period used the sasumata along with the sodegarami and tsukubō to restrain and arrest suspected criminals uninjured. The head of the sasumata would be used to catch around the neck, arms, legs, or joints of a suspect and detain them until officers could close in and apprehend them (using '' hojōjutsu''). The sasumata had a long hardwood pole usually around two meters in length with sharp barbs or spines attached to metal strips on one end of the pole to keep the person being captured from grabbing the pole. The opposite end of the sasumata pole would often have a metal cap, or ''ishizuki'' like those found on

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades ('' nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ...

and other pole weapons.

Firefighting

There were also firefighting versions of the instrument known as a ''chokyakusan'', ''rinkaku'', ''tetsubashira'', or ''tokikama''. A similar weapon in China was known as a ''chang jiao qian'', and sometimes called a ''cha gan'' or ''huo cha'' (fire fork), which had a similar firefighting role. The sasumata type implements were used by firefighters to help dismantle burning buildings, raise ladders, and otherwise assist with their duties.

Modern use

Today, a modern version of the sasumata is still occasionally used by the police and as a self-defense tool. These modern sasumata are often made of aluminum, without the sharpened blades and spikes found on their medieval counterparts. They have been marketed to schools due to a growing fear of classroom invasions, which has prompted many schools in Japan to keep sasumata available for teachers to protect themselves and students and to detain a potential threat until the authorities can arrive. The introduction of sasumata to schools came to be popular after the

Osaka school massacre The Osaka school massacre was a mass murder that occurred at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan on 8 June 2001, in which Mamoru Takuma, a 37-year-old ex-convict with a history of mentally disturbed and anti-social behavio ...

in 2001.

Gallery

File:Sasumata.JPG, Edo period sasumata, used to capture criminal suspects and for crowd control. File:Sasumata1.JPG, Edo period sasumata, used to capture criminal suspects and for crowd control. File:Japanese_non-lethal_police_weapon.jpg, A modern sasumata

Citations

Sources

*Cunningham, Don. ''Taiho-jutsu:Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai''. Boston; Rutland, Vermont; Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2004. *神之田常盛. ''剣術神道霞流''. 萩原印刷株式会社, 2003. *Mol, Serge. ''Classic Weaponry of Japan: Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts''. Tokyo; New York; London: Kodansha International, 2003.

External links

* {{Pole weapons Police weapons Polearms of Japan Samurai police weapons Samurai polearms Ritual weapons Honorary weapons Ceremonial weapons