A number of war fans were used in Japanese feudal warfare, of varying size and material, for different purposes. One of the most significant, and perhaps most interesting, uses was as a signalling device. Signalling fans came in three varieties: a tasseled pom-pom, a solid iron fan, or a wood and paper one, very similar to the fans used today by sumo referees. The commander would raise or lower his fan and point in different ways to issue commands to the soldiers, which would then be passed on by other forms of visible and audible signalling. The art of fighting with war fans is tessenjutsu.

Types of war fan

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• were large iron fans, sometimes built on a wooden core, which were carried by high-ranking officers. They were used to ward off arrows, as a sunshade, and to signal to troops.

• were folding fans used by the average warriors to cool themselves off. They were made of bronze, brass or a similar metal for the inner spokes, and often used iron for the outer spokes, making them lightweight but strong. Warriors would hang their fans from a variety of places, most typically from the belt or the breastplate, though the later often impeded the use of sword and bow.

• were tasseled signalling fans which would be used by a commander to signal troop movements.

• were folding fans with outer spokes made of iron which were designed to look like regular, harmless folding fans or solid clubs shaped to look like a closed fan. Samurai could take these to places where swords or other overt weapons were not allowed, and some swordsmanship schools included training in the use of the tessen as a weapon. The tessen was also used for fending off arrows and darts, as a throwing weapon, and as an aid in swimming, like hand-flippers.

War fans in history and folklore

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Fans are also used for offensive and defensive purposes in the Chinese and Korean martial arts. They are called tieshan in Chinese, and "Buchae" in Korean.

One particularly famous legend involving war fans concerns a direct confrontation between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin at the fourth battle of Kawanakajima in 1561. Kenshin burst into Shingen's command tent on horseback, having broken through his entire army, and attacked, his sword was deflected by Shingen's war fan. It is not clear whether Shingen parried with a tessen, a dansen uchiwa, or some other form of fan. Nevertheless, it was quite rare for commanders to fight directly, and especially for a general to defend himself so effectively when taken so off-guard.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune is said to have defeated the great warrior monk Benkei with a tessen.

Araki Murashige is said to have used a tessen to save his life when the great warlord Oda Nobunaga sought to assassinate him. Araki was invited before Nobunaga, and was stripped of his swords at the entrance to the mansion, as was customary. When he performed the customary bowing at the threshold, Nobunaga intended to have the room's sliding doors slammed shut onto Araki's neck, killing him. However, Araki supposedly placed his tessen in the grooves in the floor, blocking the doors from closing.

The Yagyū clan, sword instructors to the Tokugawa shoguns, included tessenjutsu in their swordschool, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.

War fans in popular culture

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War fans are frequently featured in Japanese popular culture, especially anime and manga. Oftentimes they are used when one character hits another in frustration, most famously Sanzo in Saiyuki and Kaname in Full Metal Panic!. Additionally, Yumi Ishiyama in the French Anime Code Lyoko uses war fans as her weapons, as do Mai Shiranui of Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, Anji Mito of Guilty Gear X, and Kitana of Mortal Kombat, and Temari from Naruto fights with a giant metal fan. Even Kagura from the anime Inuyasha wields a fan to use her powers. Tasuki from Fushigi Yugi is also known for wielding a flaming war fan.

Harisen

The harisen (literally meaning "paper fan" in Japanese) is a giant paper fan. Usually made in a closed fashion, it is used in Japanese comedy shows as a form of physical comedy. This is what is seen through out most animes in place of smacking someone's head

Reference

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• Ratti, Oscar and Adele Westbrook (1973). Secrets of the Samurai. Edison, NJ: Castle Books.

Military Communication of Feudal Japan | Weapons of Japan

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