Japanese Prints Gallery

Japanese warrior woman with naginata

Japanese warrior woman with a large Naginata. A naginata is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. It consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end, similar to the Chinese Guan Dao or European glaive or Russian sovnya. Usually it also had a sword-like guard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft as depicted on this card. During the Edo Period, as the naginata became less useful for men on the battlefield, and became a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class. A functional naginata was often a traditional part of a samurai daughter's dowry. Women of the samurai class were expected to be capable of defending their homes while their husbands were away at war

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Girl playing instrument

A young Japanese woman with ribboned hair playing a stringed musical instrument, perhaps a version of a lute

© Mary Evans/Pump Park Vintage Photography

19th, Century, Girl, Hair, Historical, History, Instrument, Japanese, Late, Lute, Musical, Playing, Ribboned, Stringed, Version, Woman, Young