Although the "bō" is now used as a weapon, its use is believed by some to have evolved from the long stick () which was used to balance buckets or baskets. Typically, one would carry baskets of harvested crops or buckets of water or fish etc., one at each end of the "tenbin", that is balanced across the middle of the back at the shoulder blades. In poorer agrarian economies, the "tenbin" remains a traditional farm work implement. In styles such as Yamanni-ryū or "Kenshin-ryū", many of the strikes are the same as those used for "yari" ("spear") or "naginata" ("glaive").