Japanese Weapon “tekkan – Kabutowari” From The Late Edo Period

Japanese weapon "Tekkan – Kabutowari" from the Late Edo Period (19th century)

This weapon is the ideal complement to a collection of traditional Japanese weapons.

· Blade (curved) : Length 32.8 cm - With a small shaped throat wave on both sides
· Handle : Length = 10 cm - Small silver decoration on each side, representing 1 swan on one side and horses on the other
· In bronze cast in one piece
· Weight : 456.8 grs
· Small silk Himo (Golden yellow cord)
· Condition : In excellent condition
· Flaws : Overall there are some scratches etc. due to age.

What the Tekkan - Kabutowari?:

The Tekkan, would be the evolution of a strange weapon used on the battlefields and allegedly manufactured by the famous "Goro Nyudo Masamune". a rope, on a wooden handle. The warriors rotated the weapon and struck, with a violent blow, the iron helmets of the adversaries.

Kabutowari literally means "breaking the Kabuto", the emblematic Samurai helmet, but this is more myth than reality. On the battlefields, warriors wore Kabuto and armor, however this equipment was certainly too strong to be cracked or split with weapons as light as the Kabutowari.

This weapon was also widely used by merchants and farmers, who were prohibited by law from carrying or even possessing most edged weapons, particularly sabers. These weapons (resembling a Jitte), often called Hachiwari or Kabutowari, had thick, curved metal blades with unsharpened edges and a hook near the base of the handle. Kabutowari generally measured between 35 to 45cm long.

In combat, the hilt, rod and hook were used either to parry an opponent's saber, to grab the ropes, to separate armor plates or to tear off a helmet, leaving the vulnerable opponent. The curved, pointed blade also made it possible to access and pierce unprotected or weaker areas of Japanese armor, such as the opening located just in the armpit area.