A Japanese answer to school invasions: the sasumata

[DdlR]

With the private ownership of handguns almost impossible in Japan, whackjobs who want to go down and take a bunch of innocent people with them usually resort to swords and knives. In the wake of the tragic Osaka School Massacre of 2001, Japanese school teachers consulted with the police to answer the question: if a knife-wielding maniac gets past the school gates, how can we hope to control them?

The police answer was to revive an Edo-era defensive/restraint weapon called a sasumata.



The original sasumata was designed to restrain drunken samurai warriors and was equipped with spikes to stop the samurai grabbing the shaft of the weapon:



The modern version is typically made out of aluminum, lacks spikes, and comes in a variety of kid-friendly colors:



These are installed in many Japanese school classrooms and corridors, and once a year the teachers do a "Frightening Man Drill" in which they practice both emergency evacuation and practical techniques with the sasumata:









Some sasumata come with special features such as recurved hooks to aid in tripping the maniac, or spring-powered prongs for a more secure grip:



Comments?

[Vince Tortelli]

Looks like it might be a neat thing for LEO or bouncers to use...not sure how practical it would be for average joe to walk around with one of those all day though.

[mike321]

It comes from Japan and is weapon like. It's probably already illegal in California.

[nightowl]

It comes from Japan and is weapon like. It's probably already illegal in California.

Can you blame them? Japan is notorious for violence and crime.


I'm glad to see that they are taking a proactive approach....I've never seen these before but then again I'm not in Japanese grade school.

[MrGalt]

I like the hell out of that. Built for a carefully circumscribed task, historically proven capable...I'm for it.

Oh wait a minute, this is for ADULTS who come into a school to STAB CHILDREN? Fuck that. Tiger Fork all the way.

[Wounded Ronin]

Well, don't they use something like that to control dogs, as well? I guess it's a proven design. Is it really better than pepper spray, though?

[Mas]

Pepper spray will not stop a strong-willed attacker, physical control will.

That is not to say these work well, because I have no idea.

[Steve]

Yes, it's better than pepper spray. The point is to isolate one person via multiple people pinning them (without accidental gassing of others) . Seems pretty cool to me, for a place that doesn't have the 2nd amendment.

Not bagging on it at all, but it is spawned out of the fact that a crazy person is very unlikely to have a gun.

EDIT: And even if they had a gun, I'd rather have something solid with reach if I was fighting someone armed. Pepper spray doesn't stop people from pulling a trigger.

[nightowl]

Right, it would be fairly moot in a country with gun attacks. However for japan it is pretty nifty, and at least it is a proactive policy for when school attacks happen as opposed to the American one of 'Hide under your desk until the police get here'

[ChristopherHein]

They are going to wish they left those spikes on when a strong attacker just grabs the shaft and pulls the fork off his neck.

[Jadonblade]

I think if it was able to administer some deabilitating eletric shocks then we would be on to a real winner.

[Kambei Shimada]

Can you blame them? Japan is notorious for violence and crime.


I'm glad to see that they are taking a proactive approach....I've never seen these before but then again I'm not in Japanese grade school.

What are you talking about? The US has MUCH higher crime rate than Japan.
If anything Japan is notorious for being relatively safe.

[Lily]

Actually, the answer to school invasions is not primarily the sasumata. It is the strict gun control first and foremost that allows them to even consider such a defense.

Did you'll read about the stabbing 'rampage' that happened yesterday in Tokyo? Seven dead and 'a dozen' wounded. This happened in a commercial area on the street.

I wonder who is trained to use the sasumata (students, teachers?) and how they'd stand up against the chaos and panic that would ensue in such a situation. Better something than nothing I guess.

[nightowl]

What are you talking about? The US has MUCH higher crime rate than Japan.
If anything Japan is notorious for being relatively safe.

Haven't you seen Akira?

[socratic]

Actually, the answer to school invasions is not primarily the sasumata. It is the strict gun control first and foremost that allows them to even consider such a defense.

Did you'll read about the stabbing 'rampage' that happened yesterday in Tokyo? Seven dead and 'a dozen' wounded. This happened in a commercial area on the street.

I wonder who is trained to use the sasumata (students, teachers?) and how they'd stand up against the chaos and panic that would ensue in such a situation. Better something than nothing I guess.

Haven't you seen Akira?

KANEEEDAAAA!

There's rough parts of the Japan, but by and large it's basically the safest country I could think of. The crime there is very low, the prosecution rate is incredibly high (lol confessions through torture), etc etc.

It's just that when someone does commit a crime, they really fucking snap. Examples I've heard of are a kid dismembering his sister and carrying her head in a plastic bag when he turned himself in, a very young girl throat-slitting another, people committing Seppuku, etc. It's one of those places where the crime's low, but when they do it, they really fucking do it.