Winner - Gunbai

Japanese: 軍配 - ぐんばい

It can also be read as "gunpai." In a broad sense, it means a commander or commanding an army, but generally it refers to a battle equipment that directs the placement and advancement of troops on the battlefield. It is also called a gunbai fan or a dansen fan. It is believed to have originated in the late Muromachi period based on the depictions in the "Ogasawara Chokyo Eizai" (Eisho era) and "Ouchi Yoshioki Eizai" (Eisho 8th year), which show a gunbai worn on the waist of a man in armor, as well as descriptions in the "Hojo Godaiki," "Uesugi Norizane Ki," and "Koyo Gunkan." The wings are made of iron, leather, wood, and mesh, and are often round or gourd-shaped, but occasionally angular. They are painted with black or vermilion lacquer, or stamped with gold and silver leaf, and in addition to plain designs, they are often painted with the Eight Trigrams, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the sun and moon, swastikas, Sanskrit characters, etc., to pray for victory in battle or to tell the fortune of dates and directions. They have a long handle, a groove for the finger pads, and small holes for the straps of arm guards. In the Edo period, they became formalized as the manufacturing methods, shapes, and handling methods prescribed by various schools of military science were preached, but at the same time, artistic works were also made with gorgeous metal ornaments with carved patterns and inlaid designs.

[Motoo Yamagishi]

Sumo Wrestling Winner

Gunbai were first introduced to sumo referees when samurai used them to judge the outcome of matches in their free time during the battlefields when competing in sumo, a martial art. They later came to be used in kanjin sumo during the Edo period. At first, gunfans, tang fans, and ikkanbari were also used, but from the Genroku period (1688-1704), gunbai came to be used primarily. They are round, oval, or gourd-shaped, and are made of hardwoods such as oak, rosewood, and quince, with metal wrapping around the edges and an iron or wooden handle attached to the center of the feather. They weigh between 750 grams and 1 kilogram. Characters such as "Peace on earth" or "Clear winds with all sides" or a crest are inscribed in gold paint, and there is a hole at the end of the handle for an arm guard to which a long string is attached. The fans used by the tachi-gyoji and san'yaku-gyoji are called "Yusuri Uchiwa" and have been passed down from generation to generation of gyoji since the Edo period. Gunbai are still used today when sumo wrestlers are in match and when they decide the outcome of the match.

[Masao Ikeda]

[Reference] | Uchiwa

Takeda Shingen's Military Fan
Utagawa Kuniyoshi's "The Battle of Kawanakajima by Takeda and Uesugi" (detail) owned by the National Diet Library

Takeda Shingen's Military Fan

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

「ぐんぱい」とも読む。広義では軍隊の指揮者または指揮することであるが、一般には、戦場において軍の配置や進退を指図する陣具をさす。軍配団扇(うちわ)、団扇(だんせん)ともいう。甲冑(かっちゅう)の腰に軍配を差した『小笠原(おがさわら)朝経画像』（永正(えいしょう)年間）と『大内義興(よしおき)画像』（永正8年賛）の描写、および『北条五代記』『上杉憲実(のりざね)記』『甲陽軍鑑』などの記述から室町後期に始まるものと推測される。羽は鉄、革、木、網代(あじろ)などでつくり、形は円形とひょうたん形が多く、まれに角形がある。黒漆・朱漆塗り、あるいは金銀箔(はく)押しなどとし、無地のほか、戦勝祈願や日取り・方位の吉凶を占うための、八卦(はっけ)、二十八宿あるいは日月、卍(まんじ)、梵字(ぼんじ)などを描くことが多い。長い柄(え)をつけ、その手元に指溜(ゆびだまり)の窪(くぼ)みをつくり、さらに小孔をうがち腕貫(うでぬき)の緒を設けた。江戸時代には、軍学の諸流派により規定された製法、形状、取り扱い方などが唱えられたため形式化したが、その一方、文様の彫刻や象眼(ぞうがん)を施した華麗な飾り金物を打った工芸的なものもつくられた。

［山岸素夫］

相撲の軍配

軍配が相撲(すもう)行司に伝わったのは、武士が戦陣の余暇に武術の一芸である相撲技を競うとき、軍配をもって勝負の判定をしたことから始まり、のちに江戸時代の勧進(かんじん)相撲に用いられるようになった。初め軍扇、唐団扇、一閑張(いっかんばり)なども使われたが、元禄(げんろく)年間（1688～1704）のころから軍配を主として用いるようになった。形は円形、小判形、ひょうたん形などで、資材はカシ、シタン、カリンなどの堅木を用い、縁を金属で巻き、羽の中央に鉄や木の柄をつけた。重量は750グラムから1キログラム前後である。「天下泰平」「一味晴風」などの文字や紋章を金泥(きんでい)で記し、柄の端に腕貫の穴があって長打ち紐(ひも)をつける。立行司、三役行司などの用いるものは「譲り団扇」といって、古くは江戸時代から代々の行司が譲り受け続けたものである。現在でも軍配は力士の立合いと勝敗の判定に用いられる。

［池田雅雄］

[参照項目] | 団扇

武田信玄の軍配団扇
歌川国芳画『武田上杉川中嶋大合戦の図』（部分）国立国会図書館所蔵">

武田信玄の軍配団扇

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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