Quote:
Originally Posted by Sumeragi
Actually, that's a completely wrong statement.
Kyudo is still practiced pretty much equally, except that due to the popularity of kendo pulling in the boys, in pure numerical standards it may appear that the girls are the majority.
Naginatajutsu became "feminine" because it was the prime weapon of the onna-bugeisha due to the advance of history. The use of firearms meant there was not as much of a need for the naginata as before (with the yari, the spear, becoming more important), and this led to the use of the naginata as both a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class and for actual use in home defense.
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I am not disagreeing with that. As you said, if a boy wants to take up a traditional martial art in school, kendo is the obvious choice. That's why I say the gender differences is a side effect. There is no barrier for entry, just that Kendo sucks up the male applicants as you say.
Now, of course Senshado is different. In the case of senshado there is an actual social barrier in associating boys with tanks. So it is not directly comparable.