Folks, lets get back to the main topic eh?
Thanks.
Er, Bob? Not that I'm questioning things at all, your word being the last and final tome that all shall hear and adhere to, but, uh, if the original topic is a fantasy weapon, isn't fantasy movie choreography still fairly on topic? We were trying...
Okay, back to the fun stuff.
I don't know if this is off topic, but is naginata only for women? There is a female instructor of naginata here and she teaches men, but I believe she said that it is a weapon mainly for females.
There is one form of Naginata currently practiced which has mostly women practitioners,that being atarashi Naginata, which is similar to kendo.
This trend, and the idea of it being a women's weapon, I believe comes from the later periods of feudal Japan, as it is typically easier to use against a swordsman for defending homes and such IIRC (though that may be completely wrong).
But it was by no means always a women's weapon, and saw prominent battlefield use for a time, before the spear became popular.
Many Koryu systems still teach Naginata-jutsu today, which are practiced by both men and women. Just ask Diane and Meik Skoss
Sanke on the move.
Hmm. A bit more info, perhaps.
Took the words right out of my keyboard!
I'll add a few, then.
Right.
Naginata was the most prominent battlefield polearm for the Kamakura period through most of the Ashikaga period (basically from the late 12th Century through to the mid 15th). Many Ryu-ha which date from this period, or even a bit later deal with battlefield usage, which was not, obviously, a "women's only" weapon. Schools that have Naginata from battlefield ideas include Tenshinsho Den Katori Shinto Ryu, Kukishin Ryu (actually, Naginata was the original primary weapon of the Kukishin Ryu), Higo Ko-Ryu, Chokugen Ryu (which, like Katori Shinto Ryu, uses a very large, or O Naginata), Jikishinkage Ryu, Tendo Ryu, Toda-ha Budo Ryu, Takenouchi Ryu, Yoshin Ryu, and more.
The idea of Naginata being "woman's weapon" isn't necessarily supported by history. Although it was relatively common for women of samurai families (mostly Daimyo families, as during the Edo period there was an edict which forced Daimyo's to maintain two households, one in their domain, and another in Edo, and they would alternate which they lived in, with the rest of their families in the other. This left the women of the household to assist with it's defence) to keep Naginata around, as it provided a substantial reach advantage over a sword, as well as being capable of very powerful actions and cuts, without requiring a lot of muscle. However, it still remained, as much as ever, a weapon that men studied and trained with as well.
Where it really gets confusing is when arts changed their approach as time went on. Tendo Ryu, Jikishinkage Ryu, Toda-ha Buko Ryu, and Yoshin Ryu have all had female headmasters during the last few generations (except Toda-ha Budo Ryu, who have recently moved into their 20th Generation with a male headmaster, Nakamura Yoiichi, who took over from Nitta Suzuo [in accordance with Toda-ha Buko Ryu tradition, Nitta Sensei "masculinised" her surname]). Schools such as Yoshin Ryu have even changed their approach to the point of formulating their methods to be performed wearing a particular form of (female) Kimono. So, while a system such as Yoshin Ryu traces itself back to Akiyama Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu, a particularly striking heavy art, the focus of the Naginata section has become female-centric (the rest of the Ryu aren't extant anymore, with Yoshin Ryu Naginatajutsu splitting from the main Yoshin line quite a while back.
Having a female head, though, didn't make a Naginata system female-centric, with Toda-ha Buko Ryu being a major example. This Ryu uses a large, heavy Naginata, and is very much a battle-use system. Tenshinsho Den Katori Shinto Ryu also uses a very large Naginata (known as an O Naginata), and in the last generation, one of the best known practitioners and teachers of Katori Shinto Ryu Naginata was Kikue Ito, a female instructor who was instrumental in helping in the origin of Atarashii Naginata. Additionally, a number of folk heroes of female warriors were associated with Naginata (most likely with stories originating in the Edo period), such as Tomoe, and Itagaki. It may also be noted that it was not necessarily uncommon for samurai women to be right alongside the men on the battlefield, so a distinction between "male weapons" and "female weapons" from a battlefield perspective can be a rather artificial one.
Finally, after World War II, when trying to rebuild the culture of Japan after the American constitution initially outlawed all martial arts, there was a national push to put martial arts in the schools, including Judo and Kendo (with many Universities featuring Karate and/or Aikido as well). Kikue Ito, along with representatives of Tendo Ryu, Jikishinkage Ryu, Yoshin Ryu etc, created the new, modern form of Atarashii (pretty literally "new") Naginata Do, based on similar sporting rules to modern Kendo, and featuring similar armour, with the addition of shin guards (sune), and the legs now being viable targets (sune ate), as well as a range of simplified kata performed with wooden naginata. Atarashii Naginata Do was put forth as a sporting curriculum for the female student body, where the men would train in Kendo. This lead to the event of Naginata versus Kendo tournaments, which are most dominantly won by the girls with the Naginata.
So, all in all, the history of the Naginata has be rather varied, with many different Ryu having different focus'. The idea of Naginata being a "women's weapon" is really a more modern one, starting in the Edo period, and having a larger push post WWII. Which means, really, that the answer is "yes and no". Simple, yeah?
