WTB: Warfan of the Repelling Wind

[Boon]

Jalah:

If anyone should find this remarkable treasure, please seek me out.

[whiteguyinblues]

Lee: What the heck is a war fan?

[Boon]

Jalah:

*bows, keeping her eyes up*

By the untrained eye, it appears to be nothing but a normal paper fan. In the right hands, it can be used for defense, by deflecting your opponenets attacks.

//All hail Google

Tessen

The fan was an accessory customarily carried in the hands or tucked in the obi (belt), especially in ceremonial dress. The folding fan also played a significant role in Japanese etiquette, especially on formal occasions, and was rarely ever out of a samurai's possession. The tessen, literally "iron fan," was either a folding fan with metal ribs or a non-folding solid bar shaped like a folded fan.

The forerunner of the tessen, the gunbei-uchiwa was a solid, roundish fan used by officers to signal their troops on the battlefield. Later, the gunsen, or folding war fan, was frequently carried by bushi in armor and used as a weapon of both attack and defense. Later generations were more likely to carry a tessen, which like the folding fan, usually had eight to ten metal ribs and could be worn with everyday attire. The solid tessen, forged to look like a closed fan, was more durable and became the more popular type among the samurai.

The samurai was often disarmed, such as when performing domestic chores, at leisure, or meeting with superiors. If visiting another's home, for example, a warrior was generally required to leave one or both swords with an attendant. Armed with a tessen in his obi, though, the samurai was never completely unarmed. He could easily defend himself in an emergency with what appeared to be a common,everyday object.

There are many legends regarding combat involving the use of an iron fan. The hero of many Japanese sagas, Yoshitsune allegedly learned swordsmanship and tessen-jutsu secrets from the tengu, mythical beings who were supposed to be expert martial artists.

As kendo instructors to the Tokugawa shoguns, the Yagyu ryu were also famous for their iron fan defensive techniques. There are many recorded examples of duels won using iron fans against naked swords and even deaths caused by blows from a tessen. A famous 16th century swordsman, Ganryu, armed only with his tessen, defeated several armed opponents in one incident.

It was considered unseemly to use a sword against a lower ranking rival. On the other hand, tessen-jutsu was considered sophisticated, especially among the higher ranking samurai, and many actually preferred to defend themselves with a tessen.

When entering a house or room of a senior ranking person, Japanese convention was to kneel and place the folding fan a short distance in front of and horizontal to the knees. Then placing both hands flat on the tatami, with the fingertips just short of the fan, a bow was performed, the depth relative to the rank of the visitor and the host. This common practice is the source for one infamous account of tessen-jutsu.

Summoned to appear before his lord for some fault, an official 5 knew his life was on the line. In fact, the lord's retainers planned to crush his neck between the heavy wooden sliding doors when he performed the ritual bow of greeting. By chance or by instinct, though, the official placed his tessen in the sliding door's groove. When the retainers slammed the doors together, they bounced harmlessly off the metal ribs caught in the groove, saving the official's neck. When he acted as if nothing had happened, the lord became bewildered and spared the official from further penalty.//

[Holly]

Very cool.

[Boon]

*Jalah checks her now tattered note upon the Gnomish. Finding no response that warfan has been found, she makes her way to Druid's Hill. Once there, she seats herself near the cliff edge, closes her eyes, and meditates. Still keeping her senses keen to her surroundings.*

//Anyone?