A bisento is a type of Japanese pole weapon derived from the Chinese "dao" sabers, and consists of a wide and curved dao type iron blade placed on a shaft as if it were the continuation of the hilt. It is the precursor of the Japanese Naginata and heavier than the latter.

Bisento's Origins and history

The bisento is said to have been introduced around the 5th century, around which time Japan was an importer of weapons, armor and forging techniques from powerful and overdeveloped China.

Its design is identical to that of the Chinese Kwan-Dao, making it an infantry weapon developed specifically to confront cavalry, although its design made it equally functional against infantry.

It was used by the samurai and ninja for this purpose, but, of the latter, references are found to the atypical "use" that the ninja made of this heavy pole weapon.

Bisento's Old article entry and additional data

Bisento (more correctly called binsen-tō): is a weapon from Japan, variant of the naginata, widely used with great success by the ninja. It is therefore a short naginata, one or one and a half meters, sharper and double-edged, slightly curved to facilitate the extraction of the same from the bodies.

The bisen-tô was also used as a self-defense weapon by many women, since it was lighter than the naginata and therefore allowed them to learn the movements of defense and attack (divided into thrusts, circles and blocks) more easily and with less effort.

It was also widely used by ninjas because, thanks to its smaller size, it was suitable for indoor fighting and also made it easier to carry.