Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and each had a different look and purpose.
[1] One particularly famous legend involving war fans concerns a direct confrontation between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin at the fourth battle of Kawanakajima.
[1] Minamoto no Yoshitsune is said to have defeated the great warrior monk Saitō Musashibō Benkei with a tessen.
Araki Murashige is said to have used a tessen to save his life when the great warlord Oda Nobunaga sought to assassinate him.
When he performed the customary bowing at the threshold, Nobunaga intended to have the room's sliding doors slammed shut onto Araki's neck, killing him.