Gunsen
A light folding fan with inner ribs of wood or brass and a thin iron cover, used by ordinary Japanese warriors to cool themselves; worn tucked into the belt.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
The gunsen is a folding fan used by ordinary Japanese warriors to cool themselves. This distinguishes it from the combat iron fan tessen and from the large solid gunbai fan, with which high-ranking commanders gave signals. The inner ribs were made of wood, bronze, brass or a similar metal, the outer ribs or cover often of thin iron or other metal, so the fan was light but sturdy. Warriors hung it in various places, most often at the belt or on the breastplate of their armour; there, however, it often got in the way when handling a sword or bow. In a historical depiction, the samurai Minamoto no Tametomo holds a gunsen. The art of fighting with a fan, tessenjutsu, is however linked to the iron tessen, not to the gunsen.