Naginata
Videos
The naginata is a polearm and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (nihontō). Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru and sōhei. The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-musha, a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility. A common misconception is that the Naginata is a type of sword, rather than a polearm.
A naginata blade forged by Osafune Katsumitsu. Muromachi period, 1503, Tokyo National Museum
Mounting for naginata, Edo period
Tomoe Gozen, an "onna-musha", wields a naginata on horseback.
A sōhei (warrior monk) with a naginata
Genpei War
Videos
The Genpei War was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as Shōgun in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura.
Scene of the Genpei War
The Heiji rebellion (1159) and the subsequent rise of the Taira were the main cause of the Genpei War 20 years later.
Scene of the Genpei war (1180–1185), Kanō Motonobu (1476–1569), Muromachi period (1336 and 1573).
The Phoenix Hall of the Byōdō-in, where Yorimasa committed seppuku