Gunbai
Encyclopedia
The is a type of Japanese war fan
.
officers in Japan
to communicate commands to their troops, and were solid, not folding, and usually made of wood
, wood covered with metal, or solid metal.
It is also a key accessory of a gyoji
in professional sumo
. One use is at the end of a bout, when the gyoji points the gunbai at the wrestler he judges to be the victor. Reflecting this, the gyoji's decision itself is often informally referred to as a "gunbai". If this is called into question and the shimpan
(umpires) hold a consultation, a decision to uphold the gyoji's judgement is announced as gunbai-dori (軍配通り), literally "according to the gunbai", while a decision to overturn it is gunbai sashichigae (軍配差し違え), literally "gunbai miss-pointed."
Japanese war fan
A war fan is a fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.-Description:War fans varied in size, materials, shape and use. One of the most significant uses was as a signalling device...
.
Description
Gunbai were used by samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
officers in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to communicate commands to their troops, and were solid, not folding, and usually made of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, wood covered with metal, or solid metal.
It is also a key accessory of a gyoji
Gyoji
A Gyōji is a referee in professional sumo wrestling in Japan.Gyōji usually enter the sumo world as teenagers and remain employees of the Sumo Association until they retire aged 65.-Responsibilities:...
in professional sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
. One use is at the end of a bout, when the gyoji points the gunbai at the wrestler he judges to be the victor. Reflecting this, the gyoji's decision itself is often informally referred to as a "gunbai". If this is called into question and the shimpan
Shimpan
are the judges of a professional sumo bout. In a sumo honbasho tournament five shimpan sit around the ring to observe which wrestler wins the matchup. When judging tournament bouts they wear formal Japanese dress of otokomono, haori with mon, and hakama...
(umpires) hold a consultation, a decision to uphold the gyoji's judgement is announced as gunbai-dori (軍配通り), literally "according to the gunbai", while a decision to overturn it is gunbai sashichigae (軍配差し違え), literally "gunbai miss-pointed."
Also see
- Samurai signal devices
- Japanese war fanJapanese war fanA war fan is a fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.-Description:War fans varied in size, materials, shape and use. One of the most significant uses was as a signalling device...