Gunbai
The gunbai is a type of signal baton and Japanese war fan. Once held by military leaders and priests in the past, it is used in the modern day by umpires in sumo wrestling.
Description
, from the Sino-Japanese roots meaning "military-apportioned ", were a specialized form of fan used by samurai officers in Japan to communicate commands to their troops. Unlike regular fans, were solid, not folding, and usually made of wood, wood covered with metal, or solid metal.It is also a key accessory of a in professional sumo. The main use is at the end of a bout, when the decides the victor and points the to either the east or west position. Reflecting this, the 's decision itself is often informally referred to as a "". If this is called into question and the judges hold a consultation, a decision to uphold the 's judgement is announced as, while a decision to overturn it is. In modern times, all will take either the family name Kimura or Shikimori as their professional name, depending on the tradition of the stable that they join. There are exceptions to this naming convention, but they are rare. Additionally, there are different styles to how a will hold his depending on which family he is in. The Kimura family hold their with their palm and fingers faced up, while the Shikimori will hold theirs with their palm and fingers faced down.