Ken Miyabita (Graceful Sword)

The Ken Miyabita are a female-only military division founded by the Sword Saint Kyokari and a famed warrior named Makie Yonsa. The group's signature weapon is the Naginata, a light spear-like weapon with slightly curved edge at the end. Made out of reinforced bamboo with an edge to rival a Katana's, the Naginata is a graceful weapon to observe but also an incredibly deadly one.
In the dangerous and impoverished city of Travel's End most peasants and fishermen there are few ways to sustain oneself, specially when farmland is often destroyed by bandits and the shores can prove to be harsh and deadly during certain parts of the year. One of the few ways a family can survive during these trying times is by selling off their young daughters to the capital's Okiya (drinking/entertainment lodges) or to the less reputable brothels. Most young women fear this fate, but all but the youngest resist for they understand the value in helping provide for one's family. Those who wish to resist this fate and have the will to do so join instead the Ken Miyabita, in which they train arduously for up to a couple of years to then partake in the military entrance exam.

History

A few years after the unification of Usilia and the Shogun's proclamation of deityhood the city started to suffer as its fishermen had trouble fishing for more than a few months per year due to the frequent storms. This led to some of them resorting to thievery and later on banditry, which in turn led others to poverty and this recurring cycle resulted in the downfall of a city that was originally seen as a great symbol of unification.
During these trying times the people resorted to any all means they could to survive but often enough even those efforts weren't enough. Opportunistic businessmen from the west took advantage of this by offering the poor families gold in exchange for their young and beautiful daughters. With resignation but also with a sense of duty towards the rest of their family most of them accepted this deal, leading to many young women going to the capital to become Geisha or prostitutes, for those that didn't meet their standards.
One day such a woman resisted and injured her buyers. Armed with only wooden broom, she had broken the hand of one of her captors and crushed another's nose. When the guards were called, Kyokari accompanied them, for such an event was something that had never occurred. To his surprise, and everyone else's there, he saw the beautiful elven woman holding the broom as fiercely as a warrior holds his spear, and her enemies lied broken and bloodied outside of the tavern she worked at.
When her buyer confronted Kyokari about this matter, and demanded for compensation, he was asked only how much he had paid for her. Kyokari then ordered his men to pay the buyer thrice the amount and ordered for no harm to come to the woman, who would go under his care.
He then proposed to train her, as he few times seen a person fight so fiercely and passionately before. Instead of life of servitude for pleasure, she would serve the army to protect her family and be generously compensated for it. She accepted this, and for years the two would train daily. During these years, Kyokari developed a new type of spear-like weapon that would better suit a woman's physique, the Naginata. This weapon featured a longer pole than a spear made of reinforced bamboo to maintain a lighter weight with slightly curved blade at the end. The longer pole allowed for a wider stance which allowed women to use momentum for powerful blows and the wider stance the weapon required gave it a sense of grace and elegance appearing, at times, like somewhat of a dance.
This elven woman, Makie Yonsa, went on to become one of the founding members and future leader of the Ken Miyabita, and to this day she is still remembered and revered as a legendary warrior. She passed away of old age and was treated and taken care of by the Sword Saint Kyokari himself, leaving many to speculate that the two had a romantic involvement at some point, though those who mention or suggest that idea in front of him tend to have their lives cut short.

Overall training Level

Professional