A rare samurai weapon.

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Originally Posted by VANDOO

I HAVE SEEN A MODERN VERSION OF THIS WEAPON SO SOME SCHOOLS MAY STILL TEACH FORMS AND TECHNIQUE. ITS GOOD TO GET SOME HISTORY AND GOOD PICTURES OF THIS UNUSUAL WEAPON. I DID NOT FIND THE PICTURE OF THE NEW ONE, BUT FOUND A PICTURE OF SOMETHING SIMILAR IN A SMALLER SIZE AROUND 10 INCHES LONG. PICTURED WITH A JITTE, BOTH APPEAR TO BE ALL STEEL.

Both of the weapons you show would be called jutte, the one without a hook is a naeshi jutte, the one you show appears to be copying the knobs of a kanabo.


There is a very small weapon that is quite similar in looks to the kanabo. The ararebo has a wood shaft with metal covering both ends, the head has metal knobs. Ararebo are quite rare, there are currently only two known examples, this one is 283.04 grams/14 inches.

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Here are a couple more kanabo from Ian Bottomleys book "Arms and Armour of the Samurai. These were in a Japanese museum which is now closed down, so no chance of additional images or learning more about them.

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I mentioned that there are only two known authentic kanabo with detailed images, here is the second, the owner gave me permission to post it, recently found in Japan, it is 3ft/7.17lbs, with a thick band of iron around the top and a heavy iron handle, the rough lacquered wood shaft has iron knobs hammered into it.