Taiho-Jutsu

Don Cunningham’s previous book, Secret Weapons of Jujutsu, focused on the small, specialized hand weapons used in Edo Japan. Taiho-Jutsu examines the variety of weapons available to law enforcement and their uses. This volume includes a history of the criminal organizations, hooligans, feuds, and vendettas that developed in feudal Japan and the civil government, police system, and criminal investigations that arose to counteract them. There are discussions of such law enforcement weapons as torimono sandogu ("the three tools of arresting"), sodegarami ("the sleeve entangler"), and the hachiwara ("helmet breaker"). Cunningham discusses the weapons and demonstrates their use in a series of clear, easy-to-follow illustrations. Also included are historical photographs, reproductions of paintings, and line drawings of these weapons and their bearers.