Torihimo - Special restraining rope of the feudal Japanese police

As a result, they developed highly sophisticated methods of tying their adversaries to prevent escape. This art was often referred to as hojo-jutsu. Certain patterns of binding were applied, based on the social class and even the sex of the accused. Specific binding patterns were developed for nobles, samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants, monks, priests, and beggars.

Frequently, the binding had to be done quickly, often while the victim was still struggling to escape. Thus, the correct application of hojo-jutsu required a great deal of skill and practice. Special ropes were used in hojo-jutsu, sometimes with hooks or loops tied on one end. These were of various lengths, based on the particular ryu or style. The ropes were usually made of hemp, although silk ropes were often used in practice. Special short ropes were also used to tie together the fingers and sometimes even the toes of suspects.

For the most part, samurai regarded the application of restraints as beneath them. The doshin, therefore, would usually leave this task to his non-samurai assistants. Although the citizens of Edo had few human rights, restraining a person was still considered a very grave manner. Tying someone up was never undertaken lightly since placing a rope around a person's neck or knots around their body was considered disgraceful. The shame and humiliation was often considered worse than death itself, so if the proper forms of restraining suspects were not followed, the person responsible could be called to account.

As the suspect was not a convicted criminal until brought to trial, the doshin's assistants would often use a system of tying without employing knots, thus avoiding the disgrace of bondage. In this case, euphemisms such as "wrapping" were often employed. Their special ropes would use either barbed hooks to catch in the victim's clothing, or loops or metal rings for passing ropes through where they could then be held firmly by one or more of the captors.

One of the special ropes used for quickly binding a subject’s limbs was called a torihimo, which translates as "arresting rope." A typical torihimo consists of a six- to nine-foot cord tied or sewn roughly into a figure eight, thus forming two connected loops.

A torihimo consists of a six- to nine-foot cord tied or sewn roughly into a figure eight, thus forming two connected loops.

The torihimo loops can be of equal size or with one large and one smaller loop, depending on personal preference. However, both loops should be large enough to easily pass a hand through without restriction. In some cases, the torihimo may also include a metal hook attached to one of the loops. The hook was used to fasten the restraining loop to a bound subject’s clothing.

Arai Hakuseki (1657-1725), chief counselor for the sixth shogun, Tokugawa Ienobu, was a very learned man with a wide range of interests. An author of many books, his autobiographical Oritaku Shiba no Ki (Breaking and Burning Firewood) is best known for his portrait of his father, Masanari. In the opening sections, he describes a childhood incident involving a torihimo, which accidentally drops from his kimono.

It is particularly interesting for the disdain his father reveals for the physical act of arresting and restraining criminals. Like many of his contemporaries, he felt this was beneath the dignity of a samurai. Arai Hakuseki recalls his father’s advice as follows:

When I was seventeen or eighteen, I happened to drop in front of my father what was called an "arresting cord," which was used to tie up a man and was made of slender blue strings braided together, with a hook attached at its end, and which I then had in my breast.

"What is this?" my father said and picked it up. After a while he said, "When I still held my former post, I used to carry one like this in my flint bag. That’s because when there was someone who’d committed a crime, I would have my subordinates arrest him. I carried one in case they happened not to have one with them."

"After I was freed from my post, it became useless, so I used it to tie a cat. As you know. I don’t have to tell you that you must learn all the warrior’s skills. But there are skills that you must practice according to your station, and there are skills that you must not. This is not the kind of implement you should carry with you. You are not so young as not to realize something as simple as this."

The torihimo can be used in many different ways. The cord can be looped around both wrists and stretched from one hand to the other. In this way, the cord may be used to wrap around an opponent’s limbs or neck. 

Wrap the loops around each wrist and stretch the cord between both hands.

The second method is firmly grasp one loop of the torihimo in the hand, then placing the other cord loop back over the same hand. The torihimo may then be used like a snare by first capturing an opponent’s limb in the hanging cord, then slipping the wrist back through the loop. 

To form a simple snare, grasp one loop of the torihimo in the hand, then place the other cord loop back over the same hand.

The third method is similar, in that two loops are formed by grasping the torihimo in the middle and placing both end loops back over the same hand. This forms two snare loops, which can be used to tie up an opponent’s hands or feet.

To form two snares, grasp the torihimo in the middle and place both loops back over the same hand to form two smaller snares.

Furthermore, the torihimo can also be combined with the yawara-bo, either by tying one loop to the middle of the yawara-bo or by drilling a hole in the yawara-bo and threading the torihimo cord through it. Looping one end of the torihimo around the wrist and tying the other to the yawara-bo, the cord allows the yawara-bo to be thrown and distract an opponent. With the cord attached to the wrist, the yawara-bo is then easily retrieved. The cord loop can also be used to ensnare a person’s limb or weapon as well as to restrain an attacker after they had been subdued. In this case, the yawara-bo is used as both an impact weapon and to add leverage when ensnaring the attacker with the torihimo loops.

A yawara-bo can be combined with a torihimo by threading the cord through a drilled hole or by tying it to one end, thus making a very effective weapon and restraining combination.