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page was last updated on
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
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What is Naginata?Naginata-do is a form of spear exercise that is still widely practised today. It is one of the most ancient Japanese martial arts, dating back to the earliest beginnings of the warrior classes in the seventh and eighth centuries AD. It is, therefore, fully as old as swordsmanship and the art of archery; it may even be older than the former since Japanese authorities date the oldest regular school of naginata technique back to 1168 whereas the earliest school is thought to have been founded in 1350.
Gradually the character of warfare changed and military fashion favoured the straight bladed yari, or spear, as a lighter and more effective weapon against the sword, both on foot and on horseback. The large scale use of infantry during the Onin War (1467-77) finally established the yari at the expense of the naginata and the use of the latter soon become limited to certain religious sects and to ladies of the bushi class, as a household weapon. It is with the latter group that the modern, post-1600, use of the weapon is chiefly associated and nowadays naginata-do is widely taught on the curriculum of girls' schools and colleges in Japan, especially in the west. A naginata-do federation has recently been formed in the USA and the art is followed to a limited extent in Europe. Modern naginata under the aegis of the All Japan Naginata-do Federation is usually Atarashi-Naginata, literally a New Style of Naginata. Practise is nearly always spear against spear, using the comparatively light keiko-naginata with a curved bamboo blade constructed on similar lines to the kendo shinai. The practise spear is usually about two metres long in length but longer shafts are recommended for taller students. The protective armour is exactly the same as that used for kendo, but with the addition of the suneatte, or shin guards, as a defence against strong sweeping cuts below the knee. Sometimes the kote, or gauntlets, have a separately padded index finger to give extra sensitivity to the spear posture. The valid targets in naginata are just the same as for kendo but with the addition of the sune, or shins. The same conditions for cutting apply; that is to say the cut must be delivered with intention to strike that particular area, it must be given with proper form, it must be made with the correct part of the bamboo blade, it must be accompanied by a kiai or shout, and there must be movement of one or both feet simultaneous to the strike. However, in naginata the cut is usually comparatively light compared to that given in kendo. If the spear were a real weapon, its weight would ensure the cut was effective. While kendo is possibly too physically hard for the majority of girls or women, naginata presents a reasonably safe yet strenuous exercise that through its long circling movements and great control teaches excellent posture and deportment. Long reach permits ladies to practise against swordsmen on more than equal basis. Naginata is no longer practiced in Western Australia. |
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In
these ancient times the naginata, or curved-bladed spear, took several forms.
The most common one had a socket or tanged blade some one metre or more in
length. The shaft was always stoutly banded and longer than the
blade. A second form was the nagemaki, a heavy, very long sword blade
mounted on a shorter sturdy shaft. Both weapons were very popular with
warriors, especially in the turbulent monastic armies of the eleventh and
twelfth centuries and increasingly so with the warrior class, or bushi, from the
twelfth to the fifteenth century.