Tendo-ryu is a martial art school that incorporates an impressive array of weapons, including the naginata, kenjutsu (sword), nito (dual swords), jojutsu (staff), kusarigama (sickle and chain), kodachi (short sword), and tantojutsu. While the school is known for its teachings involving the naginata, its techniques with other weapons are equally impressive.
The naginata is a weapon that has been used by warriors, miscellaneous soldiers, priests, and women for centuries. The term originally meant "long sword," but it eventually came to refer to a weapon for cleaving people and horses. There are different types of long and short swords, large and small, of different shapes and with different names depending on the period, including the large long sword, the small long sword, the double-edged long sword and the sen-dan maki long sword.