[1][2] Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks).

A naginata consists of a wooden or metal pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end; it is similar to the Chinese guan dao[4] or the European glaive.

[5] Similar to the katana, naginata often have a round handguard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft, when mounted in a koshirae (furniture).

The blade is removable and is secured by means of a wooden peg called mekugi (目釘) that passes through a hole (mekugi-ana) in both the tang and the shaft.

[6][7] Another assumption is that the naginata was developed by lengthening the hilt of the tachi at the end of the Heian period, and it is not certain which theory is correct.

[10] In Honchō Seiki compiled from 1150 to 1159 in the late Heian period, it is recorded that Minamoto no Tsunemitsu mentioned that his weapon was a naginata.

The widespread adoption of the naginata as a battlefield weapon forced the introduction of greaves as a part of Japanese armor.

Ōyamazumi Shrine houses two naginata that are said to have been dedicated by Tomoe Gozen and Benkei at the end of the Heian period and they are designated as Important Cultural Property.

[15] After the Ōnin War (1467–1477) in the Muromachi period, large-scale group battles started in which mobilized ashigaru (foot soldiers) fought on foot and in close quarters, and yari (spear), yumi (longbow), and tanegashima (Japanese matchlock) became the main weapons.

This practice of cutting off the hilt of an ōdachi, tachi, naginata, or nagamaki and remaking it into a shorter katana or wakizashi due to changes in tactics is called suriage (磨上げ) and was common in Japan at the time.

The meaning of this saying is that naginata and nagamaki are equipment for actual combat, not works of art or offerings to the kami, and that the sharpness and durability of swords made from their modifications have been proven on the battlefield.

The naginata used by koryū practitioners has an oak shaft and blade, carved from a single piece of wood, and may incorporate a disc-shaped guard (tsuba).

Naginata can be used to batter, stab, or hook an opponent,[22] but due to their relatively balanced center of mass, are often spun and turned to proscribe a large radius of reach.