Talk:Jitte

Bandit ronin hunting

As I understand, this weapon played a key role in the hunting down of bandit ronin. If anyone knows more about this storyline and the role this weapon played, I'd appreciate learning. -- Sy / ^(talk)

Well, if it was a common law enforcement weapon, and law enforcement officers frequently hunted bandits, then naturally it would frequently end up being employed against bandit ronin. -Toptomcat 22:42, 22 November 2006 (UTC) (Also- 'storyline?')

Etymology

The article puts the meaning of the name as "十手; the power of ten hands weapon". Is there a source on that? It seems like an over interpretation of the kanji. I was under the impression that it had more to do with the shape of the jitte.

I can't find anything to suggest that this is a correct etymology. Also, it has the name 実手 according to the Japanese article. --DannyWilde 07:35, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

"Ju" means ten, "Te" means hand or hands. A1ecks

---

As far as I know, the jutte originally had a cross shape, so "jutte" would mean "ten (in the) hand". I have no valid sources for this. It might give a hinch though

Kennin 17:11, 22 May 2008 (CET)

---

Why is it sometimes referred to as "jitte", when it is a composition of "jū" and "te"? Jutte I understand, due to the old age of the word. Jitte on the other hand does not make sense.

Kennin 17:15, 22 May 2008 (CET)

---

The article also later states "it resembled its name of "ten hands", having that many prongs," so the article itself is internally inconsistent on what the etymology is.

As I'm sure many of you know, Japanese the character for ten (十 juu) is a plus-sign shape, and it refers to many shapes of two lines meeting at perpendicular angles. Take the Japanese word for "cross," "十文字 juumonji," which literally means "the character juu (ten)" but often refers to the shape. This seems like the mostly likely etymology to me. Either way, there really needs to be a source.

As for "jitte", the character for ten (juu) is (according to what is taught in elementary schools) actually supposed to be read "ji" in many kanji combinations, but modern usage now allows "juu" as well. Take for example "jitten" for "ten points," even though "juuten" is equally intelligible and in use. Many older people will still use the "ji" reading in kanji combinations.

Also, I'm not sure if we should make a huge effort to try and literally translate the "ten" and the "hand" from the name. A mention of how it references the shape is probably enough.

-Karl —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.23.60.64 (talk) 00:54, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Sword-breaker?

In the Robert Jordan "wheel of time" series, there's a weapon carried by a law enforcement official called a "sword-breaker". Is this (which I haven't encountered elsewhere in fiction) perhaps modeled upon the jitte? --Alvestrand 00:41, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

See also Katar, also a sword-breaker.--Ketin Porta 13:10, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

I later found Sword breaker too. Seems Jordan's version is European, after all.... --Alvestrand 14:07, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

jutte not neccessarily a sword breaker

as taught in the bujinkan system, specifically takagi yoshin ryu, the jutte was used to arrest the blade and control its motion, possibly twist it out of the hands of the weilder.

while is is concievable two weapons could break a sword, one alon would yeild a situation that would probly be safest to catch the blade, run the jutte to the tsuba (hilt) and control the attackers arms to disarm them and control thier body movement.

- At my dojo (also bujinkan), we were told that the jitte's tyne is *not* there to break or catch swords specifically -- although it could be used for that purpose -- it's there just as much (or perhaps more) to trap the fingers, to press into pressure points like the clavicle, sternum or wrist, and to hook into clothing. Harry Metcalfe 18:34, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

The tine serves a number of purposes in Juttejutsu. While it can be used to catch swords, the proximity of the hand makes it quite unsafe to catch on the blade side as the sword strikes in. Rather, it was more often the case that one would evade the sword and trap the back of the blade, thereby retaining a stronger position. Other uses would include trapping the wrist at a draw, or trapping extremities, pressing into joints, pressure points, or hooking openings (mouth, nose, etc.). For information regarding Jutte use, I'd suggest looking for information on Edo Machikata-ryu Juttejutsu.Stslavik 18:11, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

I've updated this section based on the comments here. Harry Metcalfe (talk) 22:18, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

I think it needs to be reworded to be closer to Stslavik's original phrasing. As it is now, it essentially says that "it's false the it was used to catch a blade, but was instead used to catch a blade." It's all in the details; Stslavik meant that it wasn't used to catch the edge of the blade, but rather the unsharpened back and thereby control the blade or the blade-wielder's arm or arms. 71.200.140.35 (talk) 11:11, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Pronunciation

How do you pronounce it, anyone?

Ji (Jea as in blue JEAns) tte (te as in TEchnology) Japanese pronunciation of vowels is largely (a)ah, (e)eh, (i)ee, (o)oh, (u)oo

Also, Japanese syllables should be pronounced for an equal length of time per syllable. In the case of a double-t like in Jitte, the doubling indicates a space of a syllable inbetween the two. じって　the character in the middle indicates this space of silence. 24.48.159.136 23:26, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Stub

I removed the stub tag. I think the article contains too much information to qualify as such. Sven Lotz 09:04, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Blunt or edged?

I'm 95% sure that jitte are typically blunt, but the article is somewhat vague on that point. Do edged examples exist? -Toptomcat 22:42, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, they do, either having the hooks or the main bar being sharpened. --Hatsukanezumini 21:21, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

There are some versions that have a blunt end, but if it is ever grabbed or trapped in some way, all the user has to do is twist and the hollow blunt end screws off to reveal a dagger. --Ghostexorcist 17:45, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Trivia

Moved trivia section here per WP:TRIV and WP:WPMA#Trivia and fiction sections. Bradford44 17:27, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

thumb|Inspector Ishida, kneeling, is holding a jutte.

• Zenigata Heiji, a fictional okappiki who carries a jutte.
• Sodom a character from the Street Fighter Alpha and Final Fight game series who uses a pair of jutte as weapons.
• Smoker in One Piece has a large jutte he carries on his back.
• In Gundam 0083 episode 09, the RX-78GP01Fb Gundam Full Vernian "Zephyranthes" uses a small beam jutte that flames out of the top wrist to parry an incoming beam saber from a Zeon mobile suit.
• Sakami "The Saw" Manzou, a detective in the anime series Samurai Champloo, carries a jutte and puts it to some novel uses.
• Manji the main character of Blade of the Immortal has two short-swords shaped like Jutte, as well as two smaller weapons which he notes to be able catch/break a sword in the same style as a Jutte. Additional the secondary character Doa later steals a Jutte from a policemen and sharpens it to use it as offensive weapon.
• The title character from the Hanzo the Razor series of films is a constable in the Edo period of Japan. He carries 2 jittes(these having lengths of chain concealed in the handles) and routinely uses them as one of his primary weapons.
• In the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, thief-catchers like Juilin Sandar use a weapon called a sword breaker, which performs a similar function to a jitte.
• In the Magic: The Gathering card game, a card called Umezawa’s Jitte is a much played card that is widely considered to be very powerful.
• In the Usagi Yojimbo comic book, the police detective, Inspector Ishida, is a formidable master with the weapon.
• Inspector Zenigata, the antagonist from the Lupin III series, uses a jutte when not utilizing his famous handcuff-throwing technique.
• In the MMORPG Guild Wars, the jitte is a sword that deals blunt damage.
• In the film Battle Royale, Keita Iijima obtains a jutte from his day pack.
• In the anime series Ronin Warriors, the character Lady Kayura uses twin jutte.
• In the Nintendo DS game Contact, the Jutte is a fairly strong Club-type weapon that improves defense.
• In the anime series Cyber City Oedo 808, officers of the Cyber Police Squad use the jutte as a weapon and as a method of identification.
• In the Soul Calibur video game series, the female ninja Taki has a pair of Jutte amongst her extra weapons.
• In the MMORPG Asheron's Call, Jitte are weapons of the mace family. They do slightly less damage than the heaviest mace-type weapons but have a higher defensive bonus.
• In the MMORPG Ragnarok Online, the Ninja use the Jutte as a ninja-only dagger family weapon that does not deal too much damage, but can in exchange break the opponent's weapon in a relatively high chance per attack.
• The character of the constable in Yojimbo_(film) wields a Jutte, but only as a demonstration of his status as a (corrupt) officer, insisting that the character of Sanjuro seek employment as a warrior for one of the gambling gangs, though Sanjuro enforces the law in the movie more effectively than the constable himself!

Removed photo request

I added a photo of a Jutte and removed the previous photo, as this is more appropriate. --Torsodog^Talk 05:09, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Mediation

This article is being mediated here. Due to a lack of responses from other parties, I have advised Samuraiantiqueworld to keep working on the article as seems necessary. If parties object to this, please voice that objection here and do not resort to edit warring or anything like that. Thank you. -- Scjessey (talk) 19:44, 1 December 2010 (UTC)