Sai
Literally: hairpin
Blunt metal weapon with a long central prong and two shorter side prongs, usually carried in pairs; on Okinawa it was also used by the local police.
Quick Facts
JapanAbout the weapon
The sai is a metal weapon of Okinawan kobudō with a long central prong and two shorter side prongs. The Japanese name literally means hairpin. The use of the sai in Okinawan kobudō was approved in 1668 by the Okinawan prince Moto Chōhei. Similar weapons had already been used earlier in India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Some sources suggest the concept derives from the Indian trishula, an old Hindu-Buddhist symbol. The main prong (monouchi), round or faceted, ends in a blunt tip (saki). The two shorter side prongs (yoku) have blunt ends (tsume), and the point between them is called moto. This is followed by a one-handed grip (tsuka) ending in a blunt metal pommel (tsukagashira). The sai is not sharpened and has no sharp point anywhere. The sai is usually held in pairs, one in each hand. On Okinawa it was used by the local police (ufuchiku) for arrests and crowd control. In today's Okinawan kobudō, five kata are commonly taught; the designation nichō sai means a kata with two sai, sanchō sai one with three. Matayoshi kobudō practises the kata Matayoshi no Sai Dai Ichi (nichō sai), Matayoshi no Sai Dai Ni (sanchō sai) and Shinbaru no Sai. Taira Shinken developed the manji sai variant, in which one side prong points in the opposite direction. The pair of sai is the signature weapon of Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the comic-book heroine Elektra.
Parts of the weapon
- Point — saki
- Grip — tsuka
- Pommel — tsukagashira
Related weapons
- Equivalent in another culture: Tekpi