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File:Sodegarami.JPG|Edo period Japanese (samurai) Edo period sodegarami, used by samurai police and security forces to capture armed suspects.
File:Sodegarami.JPG|Edo period sodegarami, used by samurai police and security forces to capture armed suspects.
File:Sodegarami sasumata.jpg|Sodegarami and sasumata.
File:Sodegarami sasumata.jpg|Sodegarami and sasumata.
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Revision as of 12:13, 30 September 2012
Weapons for capturing suspected criminals: on the left tsukubō, in the middle sodegarami and on the right sasumata
The sodegarami (袖搦) (sleeve entangler) was a pole weapon used by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan.
History and description
Historically the sodegarami was used as a type of man catcher around 2 meters in length, with multiple barbed heads, facing forwards and backwards. The pole was sturdy hardwood with sharp metal barbs or spines attached to metal strips on one end to keep the person being captured from grabbing the pole. The opposite end of the pole would have a metal cap, or ishizuki like those found on naginata and other pole weapons. The sodegarami together with tsukubō (push pole) and the sasumata (spear fork) comprised the torimono sandōgu (three implements of arresting) used by samurai police to capture suspected criminals uninjured.The sodegarami was used to entangle the sleeves and clothing of an individual who could then be more easily disarmed or dealt with.
Don Cunningham makes a claim for the evolution of the sodegarami from the yagaramogara, "a long pole implement employed by naval forces." He goes on to trace that implement back to the lang xian, dating to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), which he writes was used to defend against Japanese pirates. Cunningham gives the following alternative names for the sodegarami: roga-bō , shishigashira, neji, and tōrigarami.
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Edo period sodegarami, used by samurai police and security forces to capture armed suspects.
Sodegarami and sasumata.
