The famed Hozoin-Ryu Sojutsu recently announced that the first female in its 465-year history has completed its beginner course in spear-wielding. Some members were cautious about opening the doors to women on grounds that spears are difficult to handle and too heavy for women to hold. Others felt there were enough trainees already. Despite that, it was eventually unanimously agreed that the mission of Hozoin-Ryu Sojutsu is to “pass on our skills to posterity.” It was decided there was “no good reason to refuse to teach spear-wielding techniques to women.”