What Is a Nagamaki?

The Nagamaki Defined

The Nagamaki is a Japanese polearm that enjoyed great popularity in Japan between the 12th and 14th centuries. This sword is thought to have been widely used by warrior monks and by horsemen of the Kamakura period.
The Nagamaki is similar to the naginata. The nagamaki is said to have been developed originally to make the great sword easier to handle, and it differs from the naginata in its shape and in the way it is wielded. What kind of object was the nagamaki? Here are the basics of the nagamaki, along with how it differs from the naginata.

The Difference Between the Nagamaki and the Naginata

There is no clear definition of the difference between the nagamaki and the naginata. There are many theories about the features cited as differences, and they are still debated today. The most frequently cited are "the difference in size", "the degree of curvature at the tip", "the presence or absence of a yokote", "the difference in koshirae", "the difference in types by shape" and "the difference in handling methods".

Differences in Size

The size of a naginata varied by period, but the general blade length of a naginata used in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) was about 2 shaku (about 60 cm / 23.6 in), and the shaft about 9 shaku (about 270 cm / 106.3 in), so the shaft is longer than the blade.
The blade of a nagamaki, on the other hand, is about 3 shaku (about 90 cm / 35.4 in) long, and its shaft is 3 shaku (about 90 cm / 35.4 in) to 4 shaku (about 120 cm / 47.2 in), so blade and shaft are almost the same length.

Curvature of the Blade

The naginata has a deep curve, whereas the nagamaki has a shallow curve.

With or Without a Yokote

The yokote is the border line at the base of the blade tip (kissaki).
It is a feature generally found on swords in the shinogi-zukuri style; naginata blades have no yokote, while nagamaki blades do.

Differences in Decoration

The shaft of a naginata is rarely decorated, but a nagamaki has hemp cord or leather wrapped around the shaft, which is the origin of the name "nagamaki".

Differences by Shape

The three types of naginata are:

• the Shizukata Naginata, named after the mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Shizuka Gozen
• the Tomoe-gata Naginata, named after the mistress of Kiso no Yoshinaka, Tomoe Gozen
• the Tsukushi Naginata, which was widely used in the Kyushu region.

The nagamaki, by contrast, comes in only one type.

Differences in Handling

The nagamaki and the naginata are both specialised long-handled blades, but they were handled differently. The naginata, whose shaft is longer than its blade, had a wider reach and was better suited to handling. The nagamaki, whose blade is almost as long as its shaft, was more powerful but physically harder to wield like a naginata.
As armies shifted from mounted warriors to foot soldiers, and from the sword to the firearm, long-handled blades such as the nagamaki gradually fell out of use.

Nagamaki-naoshi

A nagamaki-naoshi is an altered nagamaki. Its tang (nakago, the part that fits into the handle) is polished and the blade reshaped into a sword such as a wakizashi.

Even during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when the Sengoku warlords were active, swords made in the Kamakura period (1192-1333) and the Nanbokucho period (1392-1568) were sometimes polished and reshaped into swords and wakizashi.

There are various theories about why swords were reshaped, for example to make them easier to handle and less costly in time and money than making new swords. It is sometimes said that "there are no dull swords among the nagamaki-naoshi". This is because they were made by reusing excellent swords that had seen real service. In fact, many surviving nagamaki-naoshi are said to be excellent.