Samurai woman - is this possible? In feudal Japan, not only men could acquire weapons skills. History shows that even in this conservative country there were many ladies who were not inferior to men in everything related to martial art. What is known about such women?
What is known about onna-bugeysya
First of all, it should be mentioned that the term “samurai” was not applied to the fairer sex. Only men had the right to be called samurai. The composition of this word includes two hieroglyphs: “serve” and “warrior”. Onna-bugeysya translated from Japanese means "martial arts man." So called the ladies who belonged to the samurai class, learned to handle various types of weapons.
Onna-bugeysya is a woman who not only owns weapons, but also participates in battles along with the stronger sex. Also, such a lady can take revenge on the enemies who killed the master, inflicted insult to him. It is known that it was the fair sex in Japan who were famous for their devotion, often surpassing men in this.
Famous representatives
It is described above that a female samurai is not a beautiful legend at all. What warriors who belonged to the samurai estate managed to leave a mark on history? First of all, we should recall the lady who was called Hangaku Godzen, who lived at the end of the Heian era, which lasted from 794 to 1185. This fearless woman participated in the battle with the 10, 000th army of the Hojo clan, who fought on the side of the Minamoto shogun. Under her command there were 3 thousand soldiers. The battle was lost, but Hangaku, who was injured, managed to survive. She subsequently married and gave birth to a child.
Hojo Masako is another famous female samurai born in 1156 in Japan. After the death of the shogun Minamoto no Yerimoto, who was her husband, this fearless lady actually took control of his lands, his sons were only called rulers. It is also known that she was nicknamed the “Shogun Nun” and secured the power of the Hojo clan.
Of course, there were other prominent samurai women in Japan. For example, one cannot help but recall Nakano Takeko, born in 1847. This brave warrior was among those who defended the Aizu palace after the Tokugawa shogun fell. Unfortunately, she died in this battle, but her memory is preserved.
What is known about buque-no-onna
Of course, the ladies who fought along with the stronger sex were still the exception rather than the rule. More often it was possible to meet buke-no-onna. Such women were not required to participate in battles. They received fencing and hand-to-hand fighting skills primarily in order to protect their family if necessary, to educate children.
It was believed that from buque-no-onna should obey her husband, to serve him impeccably. They should also be deprived of the weaknesses typical of the fair sex, and demonstrate strength of mind in all situations. They had such ladies and the right to revenge, if someone killed members of their family, inflicted a heavy insult.
Weapon
What weapons did the average female samurai handle? For example, it was naginata - a traditional Japanese edged weapon, whose name translates as "long sword". She was also required to skillfully master the tanto - that’s the name of the samurai dagger, whose name in Japanese means “short sword”. Also, the warriors fought with the help of ropes and chains, spears of yari.
Traditions ordered to hold the spear in a special place, which was located above the front door. This guaranteed that the woman would have time to seize him to protect herself and the children in the event of a sudden attack by the enemy, the appearance of uninvited guests. They used the ladies and a short dagger, which was called kaiken. Japanese women practically did not part with this weapon; they wore it behind a belt or in a sleeve. The dagger allowed you to instantly injure or kill the enemy in close combat, and he was also thrown at amazing speed. It is known that a warrior girl received a knife on the day when she came of age. This happened when she was 12 years old.
Suicide
Did Japanese women commit ritual suicide, as was customary for male samurai? Yes, this ritual was called dzigai, was ubiquitous. Ladies did not end up with themselves as the representatives of the stronger sex did. They did not rip open their stomachs, preferring to cut their throats.
The ritual certainly had to be carried out in accordance with all the rules. One of them tells women who decide to die to first knit their ankles. This was done in order to have a decent appearance after death. Most often, Japanese women decided to commit suicide when there was a threat to be in the hands of the enemy. Moreover, they often killed not only themselves, but also their less courageous relatives, including their own children.
The crisis
Samurai woman is a common occurrence for 11-17 centuries. At the beginning of the 13th century, laws were approved according to which the fairer sex had the same rights to their paternal inheritance as their brothers had. Also, the ladies were allowed to leave a will, to dispose of their property.
The crisis came in the 17th century, when attitudes towards female warriors worsened significantly. Some historians attribute this to the widespread adoption of same-sex fashion in the samurai ranks. However, the brave warriors continued to amaze the world with their exploits, opposing being used as pawns on the matrimonial market.
For example, many ladies participated in the Bosin Civil War, which took place in the 19th century. Some of them even went down in history.
