Quote Originally Posted by O'Hea View Post
Are you certain of this? The zhanmadao is shown in a military manual from the 1070's, not very long after the tachi first became widely used. Odachi were obviously widely used in temples or sent as gifts, but these are ceremonial weapons made by smiths as a show of skill, not battlefield weapons designed to fill a tactical role in an army. The nagamaki, on the other hand, appears to have been a combat weapon first and foremost.

Hmm. Perhaps the Zhanmandao is older. I don't know for sure, the dates that the No-dachi and Odachi arrive on the sceen. But I was nearly certain that the Japanese swords were older.


According to wikipedia, a naginata's shaft is normally the height of the user, and ranges from five to seven feet, while a nagamaki's shaft is usually between two and four. One was a polearm and the other was a long-handled sword- this is also why naginata shafts tended to be unwrapped whereas nagamaki were often wrapped in silk and rayskin in the same way as a tachi's would have been.
Yeah. It's a shorter Naginata. It has a longer shaft that a regular sword. It's a mix between a sword and a polearm though. The longer shaft allows it to be used in a different way than a sword. But it can also be used like a sword. It's rather akward though, as the longer shaft often gets in the way if you use it like a katana. I have some practical experience in using katana and nagamaki. It was one of Nobunaga Oda's preffered weapons though.