Kanabo- Japanese ArtifactArtifact · Weapon
Also known as: 金棒 and Kanabō
Description
The heavy iron club wielded by oni in Japanese folklore, studded with spikes and built to crush. The proverb "oni ni kanabō" captures its meaning: to give an iron club to an oni is to make something already terrifying unstoppable.
Mythology & Lore
The Oni's Weapon
The kanabō is a heavy club of iron or iron-studded hardwood, tapered and spiked along its striking surface. As a real weapon it saw limited use among warriors, overshadowed by the sword and spear. But in the hell scrolls of the Kamakura period, oni wardens stalk the courts of Buddhist hell brandishing studded clubs as they herd the damned through fire and ice. The weapon and the demon became inseparable.
During Setsubun, the spring festival marking the turn of the year, figures dressed as oni raise kanabō overhead while households shout "Oni wa soto!" and hurl roasted soybeans to drive them out. The club goes up. The beans fly. The demons retreat.
Oni ni Kanabō
The proverb "oni ni kanabō" means to give an iron club to an oni: to make something already dangerous unstoppable. The oni is terrifying enough bare-handed. Armed with the kanabō, it cannot be matched. The phrase survives in everyday Japanese speech.
Relationships
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