Japanese school girls practicing naginata (薙刀).
Naginata is a pole weapon traditionally used by members of the samurai class. It consists of a wooden shaft with a curved blade on the end. In the modern martial art form of naginata, it is carved from one piece of Japanese white oak or it features a replaceable blade constructed from bamboo.
Practitioners wear protective armor called bogu (防具). It is very similar to the armor worn by practitioners of kendo. In modern Japan, naginatajutsu is practiced especially by women.
This photo comes from a year album for 1935 of Okayama Girls’ High School (岡山県岡山高等女学校) in Okayama City, Japan. The 55 photographs show the female students studying, doing traditional Japanese as well Western sports, playing games, posing, at the train station and about town. The album also includes classroom scenes, portraits of teachers as well as administrative personnel and the Showa era wooden school building itself.
For more information about education in Japan during the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods, read Okayama 1935 • School Girls Eating Bento.
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Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.
To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.
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Kjeld Duits
Reference for Citations
Duits, Kjeld (). Okayama 1935: Practicing Naginata, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on June 22, 2026 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/319/practicing-naginata-2
Martial Arts Guide
These are often used by foot soldiers to create space on the battle field.They have many more advantages than sword.
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