Tessen – Japanese battle fan. | Photo: en.wikipedia.org.
Folding fan arrived in Europe from Japan in the XVI century. He became the indispensable accessory of the aristocracy. In Asia, the same fan used all segments of the population, but the soldiers it was used not only as fans but also as a formidable weapon.
Tessen combat fan. | Photo: en.wikipedia.org.
It is believed that the first combat folding fans or tesseny (translated from the Japanese “iron fans”) appeared in Japan. According to legend, in the hands of the master, Tenji got a bat. He carefully studied the structure of its wings and the likeness of created a fan that you can hide in a boot or sleeve of the garment.
Tessen is a fan of 8-10 sharpened metal plates, tied with thick paper in several layers. It weighs no more than 500 grams, but there are “lightweight” versions of 200 grams. Fans were decorated with significant symbols: emblems, hieroglyphs from a philosophical expressions, images of the sun and the moon. Tesseny usually wore in his belt, sometimes in my boot.
The battle of the samurai using tessina. | Photo: toshidama.files.wordpress.com.
Often a samurai of the highest rank used tesseny for self-defense. The sword went from its sheath just in case the enemy was the same level as the samurai. The warriors fought Tassinari and folded, and a folding position. Folded fan acted batons, because its base was metal, the opponent could get a serious injury or death. The samurai held the fan in a folding state when protected from the Darts or even a sword. The arrow, of course, Tessen did not stop, but he could redirect its trajectory.
Tassen in the folded position. | Photo: antikvariat-japan.ru.
During the battle strikes to a certain point. Master knew where to strike to a person has been paralysis, loss of consciousness or death. The samurai struck with the edge of the fan above or below the knee to the opponent to lose balance. Getting an open fan in the neck have also taken a human life, because the plates on the ends of tessena was confined and sometimes treated with poison.
Fighting technique fighting fan. | Photo: OK.media.
The samurai tessina. | Photo: OK.media.
When the fan was arrived in Europe from Japan, it has become a attribute of female seduction.
