Hojōjutsu
or or just , is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope (called in Japanese), as a precursor to modern-day handcuffs. Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different schools, Hojōjutsu is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of Japanese history and culture. As a martial arts practice, Hojōjutsu is seldom if ever taught on its own but as part of a curriculum under the aegis of the body of study encompassed by a larger school of bugei or budō, often as an advanced study in jujutsu. Regardless of the source, Hojōjutsu techniques and methods are seldom demonstrated outside Japan. Techniques and methods Generally speaking, Hojōjutsu can be divided into two broad categories. The first is the capture and restraint of a prisoner that was effected with strong, thin cord (usually 3–4 millimeters in diameter) called a , and sometimes the sageo carried by samurai on the sword-sheaths was used. In law-enforcement, this cord was carried by constables who secreted the rope in a small bundle that fed cord from one end. This torinawa ("capture-rope") was coiled so that the cord would pay out from one end as the