Translated by Andreas Quast
Metsubushi
is a tool to temporarily blind the enemy’s eyes. Often metsubushi is used by
ninja in historical drama. In addition, metsubushi is also practiced in
present-day ninjutsu.
Incidentally,
metsubushi was also used in Okinawa in the past. The following description is
from “Bu no Mai” (Martial Dance) (1992) by Uehara Seikichi.
・Metsubushi
(blinding agent)
When
I went out as an attendant with my teacher (i.e., Motobu Chōyū), I was told to
always keep it concealed in my left and right kimono sleeves and in my lapel
fold. The
metsubushi (blinding agent) is made by mixing ash and pebbles with powdered
Capsicum annuum* and wrapping it in paper. When attacked by a
hoodlum, crush the metsubushi (blinding agent) with your hand and spatter it in
your opponent’s face. (page 64).
The
reason for crushing it with your hand before throwing it at the enemy is to
make sure that the contents of the metsubushi (blinding agent) cover the
enemy’s face. Otherwise, you would just throw a paper ball at the enemy with no
effect.
Ninja
As
described above, when Motobu Chōyū (1857–1928) went out, his disciple Uehara
Sensei was carrying a metsubushi (blinding agent). The story that metsubushi
(blinding agent) was also used in Okinawa, hasn’t it been forgotten in today’s
Okinawa? Uehara Sensei’s testimony is precious.
· Capsicum annuum includes a number of plant varieties
such as chili, paprika, chili pepper, bell pepper, including jalapeño and
others. It is unknown which variety exactly Uehara Seikichi referred to here.
The original Japanese
article and English translation were written on February 20, 2020 on Ameblo.
Personal comment from Victor
– Today it often seems that this is a reasonable idea for these times.
1 comment:
As described above, when Chōyū Motobu (1865–1928) left accompanied by his disciple, Seikichi Uehara, the latter carried a hidden Metsubushi (blinding agent) with him. The fact that Metsubushi was also adopted in Okinawa seems to have been widely forgotten today. For this reason, this testimony of Seikichi Uehara is very precious.
Capsicum annuum includes a number of plant varieties such as pepper, chili, paprika, peppers, as well as jalapenho and others. It is not known exactly which variety Seikichi Uehara was referring to here.
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