Jitte
The Jutte or Jitte (Japanese: 十手 literally "ten-hand", i.e. the weapon with the power of ten hands), is a specialized weapon which was used by law enforcement officers (called okappiki or doshin) during Edo period Japan. Nowadays, the jutte is the subject of the Japanese martial art of Juttejutsu.
Design & technique
The modern jutte is about 45cm (18 inches) long with no cutting edge and a one-pronged hilt, designed to catch and snap off an opponent's sword blade. Although two weapons could conceivably be used for the same purpose, a single fused implement provides a safer means of catching a moving sword or knife. After the blade has been caught, the jutte is pushed up to the hilt of the sword, allowing the officer to control the attacker's arms and thereby disarm him.
History
The original form of the jutte is traditionally believed to have been created by the legendary swordmaker Masamune (although some claim his father, Munsinai had done so, instead); it resembled its name of "ten hands", having that many prongs, and resembling a rake. It was carried in one hand, and used on the battlefield either to trap an enemy's sword and then slay them, or trap it and bind the enemy with a lasso or grapple with them, capturing them. The design is said to have been derived from the Okinawan sai, although some assert that the jutte existed first, and influenced the design of the sai.
Variants
A variant on this design is the marohoshi, also known as the marohoshi jutte, which is generally shorter and incorporates a blade.
Usage in popular culture
- 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.
- 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 notched sword-breaker, which is possibly a jutte, but is more likely to be a European sword-breaker or left-hand dagger.
- 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.