shuurai11@hotmail.com (Shuurai) writes:

> iso_angelfaceroses@yahoo.com (iso) wrote in message news:<f3c31b73.0209090514.380db82d@posting.google.com>...
>> This is a female only m.a. using a long stick with a blade tied at one
>> end, created to be used by the wives of samurai to protect the castle
>> when the husbands were away.  :)  Thanks.
>
> You're thinking of the naginata, which is a form a halberd.  It was not
> really a "female only" weapon - plenty of men used the naginata.  However,
> it was considered a suitable weapon for a woman to learn - in part because
> it allowed her to maintain (in theory anyway) some distance from her opponent.
> Basically the idea was to give her a fighting chance in the event that the
> home was invaded.

Hopefully, before! Once the invaders were inside, it was time for the
woman to use her shorter weapon... yuck, lots of blood. Love those
chambala movies! BTW, does anyone else here know Samurai Champloo, a
Japanese anime series, easily available on as torrents? Quite
hilarious, though the english subtitles might not cut it at
times. Good fun, and of course the Japanese psyche is pretty well made
fun of (sort of Monty-Pythonesque in a Japanese way). Cheers, Gernot