Weapons

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu has a very large collection of techniques which covers many weapons. These are some examples of weapons we practice.

Hanbo: Hanbo or literally half staff is a short stick about a metre long.

Bo: Bo or staff is a long stick about 2 metres long.

Jo: Jo or quarter staff is a stick that is around 1.5 metres long.


Tanto: Tanto, literally short sword, is a short fixed blade weapon that can be classified either as a long knife or a short sword. Tanto is a Wakizashi (side arm).

Wakizashi: Can mean either short sword (longer than a tanto) or a classification of swords used as auxiliary weapons.

Kodachi: Kodachi is another short sword, longer than a Wakizashi but shorter than a Katana.

Katana: Katana is a single edged curved long sword. Katana is designed as a side arm to be used as a back up when your main battle weapons (spear, bow) are damaged.

Tachi: Tachi is a single edged long sword with a deeper curve than a Katana. Unlike the Katana the Tachi is carried blade down and lower down on the thigh. The Tachi was designed as a cavalry sword that could be drawn and used with one hand or two.

Daitou: Daitou is a long double handed single edged curved sword.

Yari: Yari is a Japanese spear and the most common battlefield weapon (along with the bow) used Japanese history. Yari comes in many styles but they all work more or less the same way.

Naginata: Naginata is a Japanese glaive. They were also a very common battlefield weapon next to the Yari, but were used primarily by Samurai because they were more difficult to master than the Yari. Naginata were very popular with the Yamabushi or mountain warrior monks.

Nagimaki: Nagimaki is similar to a Naginata, but has a longer blade and a shorter haft. Nagimaki was a very specialised weapon like the Daitou, and used much less often on the battlefield than Yari or Naginata.

Tsuchi and Outsuchi: Tsuchi and Outsuchi are a mallet or maul and great maul respectively. These were also specialised weapons used primarily in sieges to destroy doors or erect defensive structures (for siege defense and offense). Samurai who had the duty to carry an Outsuchi into battle often didn't have the ability to carry a Yari or Naginata, so they had to learn how to fight with the weapon effectively.

Kanabou and Tetsubou: Club and Iron Club respectively. Not a popular weapon and used primarily against heavily armoured Samurai, the Kanabou was difficult to use because you needed to be very big and strong to wield it effectively. Oni (demons) in Japanese folklore are often depicted carrying these weapons.

Shuriken: Literally translated as hidden hand blade, Shuriken were primarily used as a distraction or a hand blade. Shuriken came in many styles that had many different functions.