Jō

A jō (杖:じょう) is an approximately 1.27-metre (4.2 ft) wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts.

The techniques for jō were reportedly invented by Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想 權之助 勝吉, fl.

The record mentioning this duel, the Nitenki (二天記), recounts: When Musashi was in Edo, he met an adept named Musō Gonnosuke, who asked to fight him.

The fight occurs in Akashi, not Edo, and Gonnosuke wields a staff four shaku in length and reinforced with steel rings.

The school he founded to transmit his techniques has some old records which claims that Gonnosuke, struck by his defeat, went into solitary meditation until he received divine inspiration in a dream; he then invented techniques to fight against Musashi's two swords using only a stick, and defeated Musashi on their next encounter.

Japanese jō , 127.6 cm (50.2 in) tall and 15 cm (5.9 in) in circumference, made in the form of a large walking stick
Two jō