Samurai Restraint
The body of rope techniques developed within samurai traditions for the capture and transport of prisoners.
Definition
Samurai Restraint denotes the practical arts of binding prisoners as practised by samurai and their subordinates. It emphasised speed, control and the communication of status through the form of the tie.
Historical background
These techniques were part of a broader martial education and were taught within the koryū (old school) traditions.
Discussion
The term is a Western descriptor; Japanese sources speak of specific schools and named techniques rather than a single 'samurai rope' tradition.