Wednesday word: 十手 (jitte or jutte)

[trellia-chan.livejournal.com]

十手: (spelled "jitte" or "jutte" in the English alphabet)  Pronounced "joot" or "joo-te"

Literal Japanese translation: "ten hands."



The jitte was a weapon that was carried by police in Edo Period Japan. It was carried by all ranks of police officers during official business and also served as a substitute for a badge. It is also the subject of Jittejutsu (十手術), a martial art developed by law enforcment officers meant to disarm and apprehend criminals (who were usually carrying a sword.)

In the anime franchise Lupin III, the character Inspector Koichi Zenigata often carries an antique jitte passed down from his ancestor, Heiji Zenigata, a police officer in the Edo period from a completely unrelated series of fictitious stories.

Comments

[trellia-chan.livejournal.com]

I thought the same thing, but I'm going based on how I am repeatedly hearing it pronounced in Japanese media by Japanese people. :-) They sound like they are actually downplaying the "e" in "te" so that it comes out as "joot."

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it does get downplayed.

---L.