Kusari-fundo
鎖分銅 · kusari fundō
Literally: chain with weight
Also known as: manrikigusari, manriki
A Japanese hand chain with a weight at each end; samurai police officers of the Edo period used it to arrest where they could not carry a sword.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
Kusari-fundō (鎖分銅) is a hand weapon of feudal Japan: a forged chain (kusari) with a weight (fundō) at each end. It is also called manrikigusari (萬力鏈), "chain of ten-thousand-man strength," or manriki for short. A related weighted chain called konpi is mentioned in manuscripts as early as the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392). Masaki Tarōdayū Dannoshin Toshiyoshi (1689–1776), founder of the Masaki-ryū school, is said to have developed his own version in the service of Lord Toda as a bloodless weapon to defend the grounds of Edo Castle. There was no fixed rule for its construction. The chain was usually about 30 to 120 cm long, with round, oval or egg-shaped links; the first link by the weight was usually round, larger and stronger than the rest. The weights mostly matched each other exactly, tended to be round, hexagonal or rectangular in shape, and usually weighed 56 to 112 g. Kusari-fundō was taught in several schools as both a concealed and a self-defence weapon. It was useful where carrying a sword was not permitted or practical, and samurai police officers of the Edo period often used it as one of the arresting weapons not meant to kill. In the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Karai and the Foot Clan fight with it; in the series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles it is Michelangelo's main weapon.
Parts of the weapon
- Chain or rope — kusari
- Weight — fundō