Kakute
角手 · kakute
Also known as: kakushi, manriki, kakushu
A Japanese concealed weapon: an iron or steel ring with one to six spikes turned into the palm, used to grip and immobilise an opponent.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
Kakute (角手), also kakushi (角指), is a Japanese concealed weapon: a ring with spikes protruding from it. It is also called manriki, because a light grip on an opponent's arm was said to give the strength of ten thousand men; the Seigō-ryū school calls it kakushu. Both English and Japanese sources link it to ninja, but we found no independent historical evidence. The ring is made of iron or steel, fixed or adjustable, and carries one to six spikes. The Tenka Musō-ryū school called the single-spike form senriki and the two-spike form senninriki. Some kakute had an eyelet with a hole for a cord. Kakute was usually worn on the middle finger, spikes turned into the palm. Gripping the face, neck, wrist, arm or ankle drove the spikes into the flesh and immobilised the opponent. The spikes also served to slash across the face, to strangle, and sometimes to climb. It was also used in arrests: the arrester gripped both wrists and used the opponent's pain-induced hesitation to bind them. A cord tied to the eyelet could not easily be pulled from the hand during hojōjutsu techniques. According to Japanese sources, women favoured it for self-defence because of its small size. The claim that it was mainly worn by kunoichi and that the spikes were dipped in poison comes from popular ninja literature, and we have not been able to establish it.
Parts of the weapon
- Spike — 角