Nagamaki is a Japanese pole weapon with a large and heavy blade. It is very much like a glaive. It was introduced and used primarily during the Kamakura (1192 - 1333), Nanbokucho (1334 - 1392) and early Muromachi (1392 – 1573) periods. It was a long sword with 2–4 foot blade and a handle with 2–3 foot length. The blade was single-edged. It was also sharpened along the back edge to reduce its weight. It looks similar to a traditional naginata, but the main difference was that the handle (tsuka) of the nagamaki was not constructed of wood; it was made more like a katana handle. Even the name "nagamaki" is given by the tradition of handle wrapping. The word "nagamaki" means "long wrapping". The nagamaki handle was wrapped with cords in criss-crossed manner, very similar to the wrapping that is made on katana. The nagamaki is considered to be a type of the no-dachi sword. This one was a variation of long samurai sword. 