The naginata - a hero’s weapon

Samurai with naginata

Today I am starting work on a new story about an encounter I had with a very special, spear wielding woman in Kyoto some time ago. The weapon she used has a history going back to ancient Japan, and indeed to some of the most famous heroes and heroines in the history of the country.

My postings in this thread are going to culminate in an audio programme. While I prepare for that, let’s talk a little about her “spear”, which was not really a spear at all, but a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end, similar to the Chinese Guan Dao or European glaive.

The naginata (なぎなた, 薙刀) is a pole weapon that was in common use by the samurai in ancient times. It is mentioned in literature as far back as 712 AD. By the time of the Gempei War (1180 - 1185) it had gained popularity because of its effectiveness for dismounting cavalry and disabling riders.

Today, matches are being held in Japan between combatants using the naginata and the katana sword (both people-friendly wooden versions, thanks God). The other day I spoke to a practitioner of Kendo (Japanese sword fighting), who complained that: “those guys with naginata keep on cutting off my feet”. The length of the naginata is of course a huge advantage, and swordsmen have trouble staying out of range very long in a fight like this. How this worked in reality we don’t know. I imagine many a fighter just turned around and ran while their feet were still on

Naginata has come to be connected to women, since the weapon became a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class. A functional naginata was often a traditional part of a samurai daughter’s dowry.

The martial art of the naginata is still popular among women in Japan, and it was a formidal woman indeed that inspired my story about the “Spear Wielding Woman in Kyoto”.