The Kabutowari (Japanese: 兜割, lit. "helmet breaker" or "skull breaker"[1]), also known as hachiwari, was a type of knife-shaped weapon, resembling a jitte in many respects. This weapon was carried as a side-arm by the samurai class of feudal Japan.

Antique Japanese hachiwari with a nihonto style of handle.

Types

Kabutowari were usually around 35 cm (14 in) long; some larger versions are around 45 cm (18 in) long.[2] There were two types of kabutowari: a dirk-type and a truncheon-type.

The dirk-type was forged with a sharp dirk-like point,[3] which could be used to parry an opponent's sword, to hook the cords of armor or a helmet, or like a can opener to separate armor plates. The sharp point could pierce unprotected or weak areas of an opponent's armor like the armpit area.[3] The blade of this type of kabutowari was a curved tapered square[4] iron or steel bar with a hook on its back edge.[5] In combat, one could parry and catch a blade with that hook, as with a jitte. Some kabutowari of this type were mounted in the style of a tantō with a koshirae.[3]

The truncheon-type was blunt, cast iron or forged truncheon-like weapon resembling a tekkan or a jitte. This type of kabutowari had the same basic shape as the dirk-type, including the hook, but it was usually blunt and not meant for stabbing.

Use

It would appear, according to Serge Mol, that tales of samurai breaking open a kabuto (helmet) are more folklore than anything else.[6] The hachi (helmet bowl) is the central component of a kabuto; it is made of triangular plates of steel or iron riveted together at the sides and at the top to a large, thick grommet of sorts (called a tehen-no-kanamono), and at the bottom to a metal strip that encircles the hachi.[7][8] This would require enormous pressure to split open. This idea that the kabutowari was somehow able to smash or damage a helmet kabuto is most probably a misinterpretation of the name which could have several meanings, as hachi could mean skull or helmet bowl and wari could mean, split, rip, crack or smash.[6]

In modern times there is no ryū (school or style) known to train with kabutowari, although certain dojos within Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu still train with them, as an extension of jittejutsu.[9] A number of weapons retailers in Japan still sell usable kabutowari.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Pauley's Guide - A Dictionary of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture, Daniel C. Pauley, Samantha Pauley, 2009 P.66
  2. ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273, fig. 340.
  3. 1 2 3 Cunningham, Don. Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai. p. 75.
  4. ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273.
  5. ↑ Bennett, Matthew. The Hutchinson dictionary of ancient & medieval warfare. Taylor & Francis. 1998. pp. 136.
  6. 1 2 Mol, Serge. Classical weaponry of Japan: special weapons and tactics of the martial arts. Kodansha International. 2003. pp. 71.
  7. ↑ Anthony J. Bryant. "Kabuto page of Nihon Katchû Seisakuben, An Online Japanese Armour Manual". sengokudaimyo.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019.
  8. ↑ Absolon, Trevor. The Watanabe Art Museum Samurai Armour Collection: Volume I ~ Kabuto & Mengu
  9. ↑ Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications. 1999. pp. 273. Mentioned as meant for breaking swords, as other kinds of jitte
  10. ↑ "Kabutowari for sale". Google Shopping for kabutowari. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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