May 02nd, 2024

Thanks to my friend Joe Swift for providing a copy of the original text written by By Masakazu & Hokama and loosely translated as: Okinawa’s Old-Style Budo (Weapons)
While the original source has some sections in English they are poorly translated. Below I have tried to use the original Japanese wile also updating the language to better reflect the original text. Any and all mistakes are mine.

Regarding the origins and construction of the nunchaku:
The armaments of Okinawa, as alluded to before, are frequently cited as adaptations from mundane implements. The nunchaku, also referred to as "sōsetsukon" or "nunchagu," is compact and convenient for carriage. It enjoys popularity and is favoured amongst practitioners of traditional martial arts. This weapon is distinguished by its employment of centrifugal force for attack and defence. Typical materials encompass oak, chinquapin, bean tree, and kuba, to name a few. The term "setsu" in "sōsetsukon" inherently means "bamboo," indicating that nunchaku may have originally been fashioned from bamboo prior to the contemporary wooden models. It is believed that the nunchaku began as bamboo articles and subsequently developed into the wooden iterations observed presently.

There are numerous prevalent conjectures regarding the provenance of the nunchaku:
Trisect Theory (Sansetsukon): One segment was detached to yield a nunchaku with enhanced swiftness.

Horse Mask (Mūgē) Theory: Stimulated by the horse mūgē, as portrayed in the "Okinawa Customs Illustrated" published in 1896. The illustrated mūgē is composed of string rather than wood, contributing a noteworthy aspect to the foundational theory. Nonetheless, in the Yaeyama district, wooden mūgē are utilised as well.

The implement identified as 'Yebi' (Kula, Guji) — the precise translation or pronunciation may be uncertain — employed for isolating banana fibre, bears resemblance to a conduit utilised for threshing rice in farming apparatus. In certain locales, this conduit is likewise named 'Yebi.' A hypothesis posits that nunchaku were conceived from this instrument.

It is also postulated that nunchaku stemmed from a conduit used for threshing rice. The Yebi for extracting banana fibres entails cleaving bamboo, whereas the threshing conduit itself is a dead ringer for the form of nunchaku. There is speculation that this was modified to generate the nunchaku as we acknowledge them today.

Materials Employed in Crafting the Nunchaku:
It appears that the doyens of archaic martial arts devoted significant ingenuity to the lashing cords of antiquated martial arts gear. The cords must be resilient to centrifugal forces, failing which they are deemed unfit as lashings for archaic martial arts gear. Moreover, alterations tailored to the stature of the individual wielding them are imperative. That is to indicate, human statures have markedly altered pre- and post-conflict. Correspondingly, weaponry has been modified. As a consequence of these transformations, the cords for lashing have been progressively perfected, and presently, implements such as chains are also in use.

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