The naginata (, ) is a polearm and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (nihontō). Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks). The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-musha, a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility. A common misconception is that the Naginata is a type of sword, rather than a polearm.
Description
A naginata consists of a wooden or metal pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end; it is similar to the Chinese guan dao or the European glaive. Similar to the katana, naginata often have a round handguard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft, when mounted in a koshirae (furniture). The 30 cm to 60 cm (11.8 inches to 23.6 inches) naginata blade is forged in the same manner as traditional Japanese swords. The blade has a long tang (nakago) which is inserted in the shaft.
The blade is removable and is secured by means of a wooden peg called mekugi (目釘) that passes through a hole (mekugi-ana) in both the tang and the shaft. The shaft ranges from 120 cm to 240 cm (47.2 inches to 94.5 inches) in length and is oval shaped. The area of the shaft where the tang sits is the tachiuchi or tachiuke. The tachiuchi/tachiuke would be reinforced with metal rings (naginata dogane or semegane), and/or metal sleeves (sakawa) and wrapped with cord (san-dan maki). The end of the shaft has a heavy metal end cap (ishizuki or hirumaki). When not in use the blade would be covered with a wooden sheath.
History
It is assumed that the naginata was developed from an earlier weapon type of the later 1st millennium AD, the hoko yari. Another assumption is that the naginata was developed by lengthening the hilt of the tachi at the end of the Heian period, and it is not certain which theory is correct.
It is generally believed that naginata first appeared in the Heian period (794–1185). The term naginata first appeared in historical documents in the Heian period. The earliest clear references to naginata date from 1146. In Honchō Seiki compiled from 1150 to 1159 in the late Heian period, it is recorded that Minamoto no Tsunemitsu mentioned that his weapon was a naginata.
In the early Heian period, battles were mainly fought using yumi (longbow) on horseback, but in the late Heian period, battles on foot began to increase and naginata also came to be used on the battlefield. The naginata was appreciated because it was a weapon that could maintain an optimum distance from the enemy in close combat. During the Genpei War (1180–1185), in which the Taira clan was pitted against the Minamoto clan, the naginata rose to a position of particularly high esteem, being regarded as an extremely effective weapon by warriors. The Tale of the Heike, which records the Genpei War, there are descriptions such as ō naginata (lit. big naginata) and ko naginata (lit. little naginata), which show that naginata of various lengths were used. The naginata proved excellent at dismounting cavalry and disabling riders. The widespread adoption of the naginata as a battlefield weapon forced the introduction of greaves as a part of Japanese armor. Ōyamazumi Shrine houses two naginata that are said to have been dedicated by Tomoe Gozen and Benkei at the end of the Heian period and they are designated as Important Cultural Property.
However, according to Karl Friday, there were various notations for naginata in the Heian period and the earliest physical evidence for naginata was in the middle of the Kamakura period, so there is a theory that says when they first appeared is unclear. Earlier 10th through 12th century sources refer to "long swords" that while a common medieval term or orthography for naginata, could also simply be referring to conventional swords; one source describes a naginata being drawn with the verb nuku (抜く), commonly associated with swords, rather than hazusu (外す), the verb otherwise used in medieval texts for unsheathing naginata. Some 11th and 12th century mentions of hoko may actually have been referring to naginata. The commonly assumed association of the naginata and the sōhei is also unclear. Artwork from the late-13th and 14th centuries depict the sōhei with naginata but do not appear to place any special significance to it: the weapons appear as just one of a number of others carried by the monks, and are used by samurai and commoners as well. Depictions of naginata-armed sōhei in earlier periods were created centuries after the fact, and are likely using the naginata as a symbol to distinguish the sōhei from other warriors, rather than giving an accurate portrayal of the events.