Naginata

A Naginata is a Japanese pole arm, similar to a glaive. The naginata saw primary battlefield use during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1573) of Japan. A used on horseback as well as on foot, the naginata could disarm a mounted warrior as well as it could a soldier. During the Sengoku period of Japan, the naginata fell into disuse on the battlefields, in favor of the yari, or spear. With the decline, naginata were left at home and women were trained in their usage; thus with the Edo period, the misconception of the naginata being a woman's weapon came to be. Hotaru wields a naginata in Mortal Kombat Deception.