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WABUKAN Arsenal · Flexible weapons · Japan

Kusarigama

A sickle joined to a chain with a weight. The chain entangles the enemy's weapon or legs, and the sickle finishes the fight.

Kusarigama
Kusarigama WABUKAN illustration

Also known as

鎖鎌 · kusari-gama

Origin and history

The kusarigama, a sickle with a weighted chain, developed during the Muromachi period and was taught in schools such as Isshin-ryū and Araki-ryū. The chain could entangle a sword or limb before the blade was used.

Martial arts that use it

Ninjutsu

Construction

A wooden handle of about 50–60 cm with a short sickle blade at a right angle; a chain of 2–4 m with an iron weight (fundō) is attached to the butt or the head of the handle, depending on the school.

Basic techniques

Training

Flexible weapons are learned slowly with foam, rope or rubber versions: first the swings and wraps around the body, then changes of hand and stops, and only later strikes at a target. They punish mistakes on the user first, so speed comes last.

Safety

Start with soft versions, wear eye protection and keep a wide empty circle around you. Check chains, cords and joints before each session: a part that breaks mid-swing becomes a projectile.

Legality (general information)

Sticks, staffs and other impact or flexible weapons are ordinary objects in some countries and restricted weapons in others (several European countries, for example, regulate nunchaku, batons or weighted chains). Carrying one in public without a good reason can be an offence even where owning it is legal. Transport it in a bag and use it in the training hall. This is general information, not legal advice: check local law.

Did you know?

A famous story in Yoshikawa Eiji’s novel Musashi has Miyamoto Musashi face the kusarigama expert Shishido Baiken; the episode is literary and its details are not historically documented.

More weapons

Nunchaku Manrikigusari Meteor hammer Rope dart Nine-section chain whip Three-section staff

Sources

Original WABUKAN text, written from these cross-checked sources (facts, not sentences).

  1. Wikipedia — Kusarigama