policeman; official who captures offenders
Archaic term for a law enforcement officer in historical contexts, especially in the Edo period. Not used in modern Japanese.
art of bare-handed capture
Martial arts term for techniques of subduing and capturing an opponent without weapons. Historical usage; modern martial arts may use other terms.
In period dramas, scenes of a policeman chasing a criminal often appear.
Torite is one of the martial arts for capturing an opponent without using weapons.
Standard kanji spelling; the okurigana り makes the reading とりて clear.
Abbreviated spelling; can be confused with 捕手 (ほしゅ, 'catcher' in baseball).
Compound of 捕り (tori, 'capturing', from 捕る) and 手 (te, 'hand' or 'person'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used since the Edo period for law enforcement officers and later for a martial arts technique.