War fan

In Japan, War fans were fans made partially or wholly from metal and which could be used as a shield or even an offensive weapon. They also served as a signalling device and a way to indicate status, as well as their primary function of keeping cool.

Varieties included the "gunsen" (軍扇、army fan), "tessen" (鉄扇, iron fan) and the "gunbai uchiwa (軍配団扇)", also used by sumo referees to signal victory.