right|thumb|300px|Antique Japanese kusari fundo/manriki
Kusari-fundo (鎖分銅) is a handheld weapon used in feudal Japan consisting of a length of chain (kusari) with a weight (fundo) attached to each end of the chain. Various sizes and shapes of chain and weight were used as there was no set rule on the construction of these weapons. Other popular names are manrikigusari (萬力鏈) () or just manriki.
Parts
The chain (kusari)
thumb|The chain (kusari) of a kusari fundo.
Typically the length of the forged chain could vary from around 12 inches (30 cm) up to 48 inches (120 cm). The chain links could have many different shapes including round, elliptical, and egg-shaped. The thickness of the chain also varied. Usually the first link of chain attached to the weight was round and often larger and thicker than the rest of the links of the chain.
In Massachusetts in the United States, carrying a manrikigusari in public is considered a felony.
Image gallery
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Image:manriki kusari-fundo.JPG|A replica kusari fundo
Image:Manriki kusari.JPG|An antique kusari-fundo. Close-up of the weight (fundo).
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Popular culture
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features kusari-fundos being used by Karai and the Foot Clan.
- Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features a mystical kusari-fundo as the character Michelangelo's main weapon of choice.
- Sluggy Freelance has a character named Kusari who uses the weapon.
See also
- Kusarigama
- Meteor hammer
- Nunchaku
- Surujin