naginata

Noun

Meaning

naginata (plural naginatas)

A traditional Japanese halberd: a polearm historically used to cut down infantry and cavalry.

Examples

A naginata consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end; it is descended from the Chinese guan dao. Source: Internet

It had a much shorter grip and longer blade than the naginata, and was developed later. Source: Internet

The main blade is symmetric and straight unlike a naginata, and usually smaller but can be as large or bigger than some naginata blades. Source: Internet

The name refers to the style of mount as well as a blade type which means that a naginata blade could be mounted in a nagamaki mount and be considered a nagamaki. Source: Internet

The yari (Japanese spear) displaced the naginata from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized around massed, inexpensive foot troops ( ashigaru ). Source: Internet

Use of large numbers of infantry called ashigaru ("light-foot", due to their light armor), formed of humble warriors or ordinary people with nagayari (a long lance ) or ( naginata ), was introduced and combined with cavalry in maneuvers. Source: Internet

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