Naginata Adept

The Sweeping Glaive

The naginata was a curved-bladed Japanese polearm prized for its reach and sweeping cuts, capable of felling both horse and rider. Wielded by sohei warrior-monks and famously associated with the women of samurai households, the onna-bugeisha, it became the weapon a wife or daughter took up to defend the home while the men were at war. Figures like Tomoe Gozen and Hangaku Gozen made the naginata legendary in Japanese martial tradition.