Editing Naginata (section)

==History==
[[File:Naginata2.JPG|thumb|upright=0.5|Mounting for ''naginata'', [[Edo period]]]]
[[File:Yōshū_Chikanobu_Tomoe_Gozen.jpg|thumb|[[Tomoe Gozen]], an "[[onna-musha]]", wields a naginata on horseback.]]
[[File:A Fighting Monk, Military Costumes in Old Japan..jpg|thumb|A Meiji-era depiction of a sōhei (warrior monk) with a naginata]]

It is assumed that the ''naginata'' was developed from an earlier weapon type of the later 1st millennium AD, the ''[[hoko yari]]''.<ref name="Draeger">{{cite book|last=Draeger|first=David E.|title=Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts|publisher= Kodansha International|year=1981|page=208|isbn=978-0-87011-436-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ratti|first=Oscar|author2=Adele Westbrook|title=Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan|publisher=Castle Books|year=1999|isbn=978-0-7858-1073-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/secretsofsamurai00osca_0/page/241 241]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/secretsofsamurai00osca_0/page/241}}</ref> 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.<ref name = "toukennagi">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014052/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/25694/ Basic knowledge of naginata and nagamaki.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref>

It is generally believed that ''naginata'' first appeared in the [[Heian period]] (794–1185).<ref name ="en20p35"/> The term ''naginata'' first appeared in historical documents in the Heian period. The earliest clear references to ''naginata'' date from 1146.<ref name = "karl F">{{cite book|author1-link=Karl Friday|last=Friday|first=Karl F.|title= Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan|url=https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarfarest00frid_779|url-access=limited|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-39216-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/samuraiwarfarest00frid_779/page/n100 86]}}</ref> 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''.<ref name ="en20p35">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p.35. {{ISBN|978-4651200408}}</ref>

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.<ref name = "toukennagi"/> 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.<ref name="WBAR">{{cite book|last=Ratti|first=Oscar|author2=Adele Westbrook|title=Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan|publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing]]|year=1991|page=484|isbn=978-0-8048-1684-7}}</ref> ''[[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.<ref name ="en20p35"/> The ''naginata'' proved excellent at dismounting cavalry and disabling riders. The widespread adoption of the ''naginata'' as a battlefield weapon forced the introduction of [[greave]]s 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 (Japan)|Important Cultural Property]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210724065108/https://www.touken-world.jp/religious-building/6526/ "Ōyamazumi Shrine"]. Nagoya Token Museum Nagoya Token World.</ref>

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.<ref name = "karl F"/> 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 {{Nihongo|2=抜く|3=nuku}}, commonly associated with swords, rather than {{Nihongo|2=外す|3=hazusu}}, the verb otherwise used in medieval texts for unsheathing ''naginata''.<ref name = "karl F"/> Some 11th and 12th century mentions of ''hoko'' may actually have been referring to ''naginata''.<ref>Friday (2004), page 87</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last= Adolphson|first=Mikael S.|title=The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sōhei in Japanese History|url= https://archive.org/details/teethclawsbuddha00adol|url-access= limited|year=2007| publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|isbn=978-0-8248-3123-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/teethclawsbuddha00adol/page/n147 130]–133}}</ref> 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.<ref>Adolphson (2007), pp. 137, 140</ref>

After the [[Ōnin War]] (1467–1477) in the [[Muromachi period]], large-scale group battles started in which mobilized {{transliteration|ja|[[ashigaru]]}} (foot soldiers) fought on foot and in close quarters, and {{transliteration|ja|[[yari]]}} (spear), {{transliteration|ja|[[yumi]]}} (longbow), and {{transliteration|ja|[[Tanegashima (gun)|tanegashima]]}} (Japanese matchlock) became the main weapons. This made {{transliteration|ja|naginata}} and {{transliteration|ja|[[tachi]]}} obsolete on the battlefield, and they were often replaced with the {{transliteration|ja|[[nagamaki]]}} and short, lightweight {{transliteration|ja|[[katana]]}}.<ref name = "toukennagi"/><ref name = "toukenssw">[https://web.archive.org/web/20201226054428/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/45927/ Arms for battle - spears, swords, bows.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum, Touken World</ref><ref name ="en20p42">Kazuhiko Inada (2020), ''Encyclopedia of the Japanese Swords''. p42. {{ISBN|978-4651200408}}</ref><ref name="rekishi200940">''歴史人'' September 2020. pp.40-41. {{ASIN|B08DGRWN98}}</ref>

In the [[Edo period]] (1603–1867), the hilts of {{transliteration|ja|naginata}} were often cut off and made into {{transliteration|ja|katana}} or {{nihongo3|short sword||[[wakizashi]]}}. This practice of cutting off the hilt of an {{transliteration|ja|ōdachi}}, {{transliteration|ja|tachi}}, {{transliteration|ja|naginata}}, or {{transliteration|ja|nagamaki}} and remaking it into a shorter {{transliteration|ja|katana}} or {{transliteration|ja|wakizashi}} due to changes in tactics is called {{nihongo3||磨上げ|suriage}} and was common in Japan at the time.<ref name = "toukennagi"/><ref name="nagoyanaga">{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/55511/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118160507/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/55511/|script-title=ja:長巻とは|language=ja|publisher=The Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|archive-date=18 January 2022|access-date=10 June 2023}}</ref> In Japan there is a saying about swords: "No sword made by modifying a {{transliteration|ja|naginata}} or a {{transliteration|ja|nagamaki}} is dull in cutting" (薙刀（長巻）直しに鈍刀なし). The meaning of this saying is that {{transliteration|ja|naginata}} and {{transliteration|ja|nagamaki}} are equipment for actual combat, not works of art or offerings to the {{transliteration|ja|[[kami]]}}, and that the sharpness and durability of swords made from their modifications have been proven on the battlefield.<ref name="nagoyanaga"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://katana-kaitori.com/6789|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327204541/https://katana-kaitori.com/6789|script-title=ja:薙刀の魅力とは？現代にも受け継がれる長柄武器について解説します|language=ja|publisher=The Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=22 July 2022|archive-date=27 March 2023|access-date=10 June 2023}}</ref>

In the peaceful Edo period, weapons' value as battlefield weapons became diminished and their value for martial arts and self-defense rose. The ''naginata'' was accepted as a status symbol and self-defense weapon for women of nobility, resulting in the image that "the Naginata is the main weapon used by women".<ref name = "toukennagi"/>

In the [[Meiji (era)|Meiji era]], it gained popularity along sword martial arts. From the [[Taishō|Taisho era]] to the post-War era, the ''naginata'' became popular as a martial art for women, mainly due to the influence of government policies.<ref name = "toukennagi"/>

Although associated with considerably smaller numbers of practitioners, a number of "koryu bujutsu" systems (traditional martial arts) which include older and more combative forms of ''[[naginatajutsu]]'' remain existent, including Suio Ryu, Araki Ryu, Tendo Ryu, Jikishinkage ryu, Higo Koryu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, Toda-ha Buko Ryu, and Yoshin ryu, some of which have authorized representatives outside Japan.