makibishi
A makibishi (撒き菱 or 撒菱) is the Japanese version of the caltrop. The tool (igadama) is a sharp spiked object that was used in feudal Japan to slow down pursuers and also was used in the defense of samurai fortifications. • Illustration — Japanese "makibishi" iron spikes, a type of caltrop
makibishi
Samuraiantiqueworld · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Field
- caltrop · ninja tool
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for makibishi. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1886378 · wikipedia · Makibishi
In this article
Description
Makibishi was one of the items supposedly used by the ninja. It had six or eight pointed spikes. Iron makibishi were called tetsubishi while the makibishi made from the dried seed pod of the water caltrop formed a natural type of makibishi called tennenbishi. The term makibishi literally means "scattered water chestnut" in Japanese. Both types of makibishi could penetrate the thin soles of the shoes such as the waraji sandals that were commonly worn in feudal Japan when the makibishi was dropped on the ground or planted in advance. Makibishi could be carried in a bag attached to a belt along with other commonly carried weapons and/or tools such as shuriken and kaginawa. Makibishi could be thrown like a shuriken and could also be used against an enemy on horseback. Modifications made by the ninja included serrated tips, which were also said to be occasionally coated with poison.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Makibishi”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1886378: makibishi
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Makibishi, revision 1326162353 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Japanese Castles AD 250–1540, Stephen Turnbull, Peter Dennis, Osprey Publishing, 2008 p. 32
- 2.Samurai, warfare and the state in early medieval Japan, Karl Friday, Psychology Press, 2004 p. 119
- 3.Pretzer, Xavid. O-umajirushi: A 17th-Century Compendium of Samurai Heraldry. The Academy of the Four Directions. ccxxx. 2015. 978-0-692-37740-6.
- 4.Pauley's Guide – A Dictionary of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture, Daniel C. Pauley, Samantha Pauley, 2009 p. 176
- 5.Comprehensive Asian fighting arts, Donn F. Draeger, Robert W. Smith, Kodansha International, 1980 p. 127
- 6.Warriors of Medieval Japan, Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing, 2007 p. 162
- 7.Exotic weapons of the Ninja, Sid Campbell, Citadel Press, 1999 p. 100
- 8.Yoda, Hiroko. Ninja Attack!: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws. Tuttle Publishing. 181. 2013. 978-4-8053-1218-6.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- MaitriTerminology
- Makarov PMTerminology
- MakarychTerminology
- makhairaTerminology
- makilaTerminology
- Mako Multi-Mission Hypersonic MissileTerminology
- MalafonTerminology
- Malinnov pistolTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with makibishi?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.