Naginata

 The naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese swords (nihonto) in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sohei (warrior monks).
 Although associated with considerably smaller numbers of practitioners, a number of "koryu bujutsu" systems (old school martial arts) which include older and more combative forms of naginatajutsu remain existent, including Araki Ryu, Tendo Ryu, Jikishinkage ryu, Higo Koryu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu,Toda-ha Buko Ryu and Yoshin ryu, some of which have authorized representatives outside Japan.
 In the USA, there are an estimated 200 practitioners, half of whom are male.

Kyudo

 It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyudo today. In 2005 the International Kyudo Federation had 132,760 graded members, but in addition to this kyudo is taught at Japanese schools and some traditions refrain from federation membership.
 During the changes brought by Japan opening up to the outside world at the beginning of the Meiji Era(1868–1912), the samurai lost their position. Therefore, all martial arts, including kyudo, saw a significant decrease in instruction and appreciation. In 1896, a group of kyudo-masters gathered to save traditional archery. Honda Toshizane, the kyudo-teacher for the Imperial University of Tokyo, merged the war and ceremonial shooting styles, creating a hybrid called Honda-ryu. However, it took until 1949 before the All Japanese kyudo Federation (ANKF, jap. Zen Nihon kyudo renmei) was formed. Guidelines published in the 1953 kyudo kyohon define how, in a competition or graduation, archers from different schools can shoot together in unified form.