die Geschichte von Kunai

Zeraato's Mood : Mind on Holiday

Featured Song : "La La Maladie du Sommeil" by Houko Kuwashima

hello mina-san~!

so, i figured for today's post, i'd like to touch on a subject that everyone knows of, but not into extreme detail^^....the Kunai !!!

before we start...here is a picture of my Kunai...wahahaha its plastic though -.-"...and in the background is my trusty laptop~~! :



....i bet anyone out there who knows about the existence of the anime Naruto would surely know what is a Kunai right?! of course you all do^^ but do you really REALLY understand the Kunai in all its forms and even its history?

...no right? haha...thats why i wanna talk a bit about it here today ^^....


Explanation of Kunai :

The Kunai or くない , is a sort of hand made tool that was believed to be crafted during the Tensho era of ancient Japan. Basically, to save time and cost, Kunai were made of iron instead of steel, hence their rugged and cheap unpolished physical look and their size would averagely reach around 40 cm, or even 60cm at times depending on the forger.

Contrary to popular belief, the Kunai was originally not invented to be used as a weapon! (although when thrown can cause damage)... Back then, people would use Kunai as a sort of gardening tool or work on stone and masonry. Hence, i say again, the Kunai was not intended to be used as a knife at all. The blade of the Kunai was made of soft iron and unsharpened because the edges were used to smash plaster and wood, to dig holes and to pry with. Even so, only one tip would be sharpened if needed to. Considering the uses to which Kunai was used, many other tools would have long been broken, which is why the design of the Kunai is as one can see, simple, crude yet solid.

As for the shape and form of the Kunai, its design is basically a leaf-shaped blade and has a handle with a ring shapped cavity on its end, to support human fingers hence enhancing grip. The ring handle can also be used as a method of attaching ropes...This would allow the kunai's handle to be wrapped to act as a grip, or when used as a weapon to be strapped to a pole as a spear, to be tied to the body for concealment, or to use as an anchor.

Having said that, the Kunai has of course been made popular by the secret assasins of feudal Japan, or also known as the Ninja group.

Therefore, it is safe to say (in a way) that the Ninja actually developed their "advanced" weaponry out of common farm tools! The theory behind this is fairly simple : Since Kunai were cheaply produced farming tools of a decent size and weight, and could be easily sharpened, they were readily available to be converted into simple weapons of warfare or assasination.

According to Ninja mythology, and of course according to popular modern ninja anime, the Kunai is visualized or portrayed as a sort of throwing knife that is used as a throwing weapon (duh!) as opposed to stabbing. Physically speaking, the Kunai is of course heavier and larger in terms of size and weight compared to the Shuriken, and is naturally the weapon of choice for said Ninjas as the Kunai has a grip ( a shuriken doesn't) which comes in handy during close quarter combat situations.

Not only that, the Kunai is excellent for climbing purposes as it can serve as a piton or grappling hook. The ring shaped end of the Kunai not only served as a means of tying ropes, but also is a useful design in combat situations, where 2 or more kunai can be linked together and used together as a whole.

And that is about as much i have regarding the Kunai and it's history^^ i hope it wasnt too much or too little^^

oh and since im touching on this subject, i might as well bring up some other information on Ninja or Shinobi weaponry :

Forms of trickery used by the Shinobi / Ninja include gunpowder devices, cannons, firecrackers, metsubushi ("eye closers", or small bombs, filled with sand and metal dust that blind the targets), land mines, Ashiaro (animal tracks made of wood that are attached to the Ninja's sandals), Shobo (metal ring which can be used in close quarter combat to hit pressure points and cause extreme pain or cause paralysis), Suntetsu (also similiar to a shobo, but controled using the middle finger), Shinobikatana ( similiar in length to a wakizashi) and Shikoro-ken (used to slash wood chunks as a method of entering buildings).

hope you all liked today's post^^ and thanks for dropping by~ ja matta~