Onna bugeisha – The
Powerful Female Samurai Warrior: In the earlier periods such as the Heian and
Kamakura, there were female members of the samurai class who became prominent
or even present on the battlefield. They were the exception and not the rule,
but this doesn’t mean that most women were powerless.
onna bugeisha female
samurai
Onna-musha or women
warriors were very unusual. The most famous women warriors were Tomoe Gozen and
Hangaku Gozen.
Bushi women were
trained mainly with the naginata because of its versatility against all types
of enemies and weapons. They would also use the kaiken – a type of dagger – and
the art of tantojutsu in battle.
It was generally the
responsibility of women to protect their homes rather than go off to battle in
the field, so it was important that they become skilled in a few weapons that
offered the best range of techniques to defend against anyone who would attack
on horseback.
During the Sengoku
period (mid. 15th century – beginning of
17th century) there are accounts of the wives of warlords, dressed in ornated
armor, leading bands of women armed with naginata. It was probably at this time
that the image of women fighters with naginata arose.
In the mid-17th
century, when Japan finally arrived at an enforced peace under the
authoritarian rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, the need for skill at arms
decreased. Many schools focusing on the use of the naginata were created and
began to be increasingly associated with women.
onna bugeisha female
samurai
After World War II it
came the Atarashii Naginata (lit. “new naginata”), a modern martial mode
(Gendai Budo) sport like, which was created based on the Naginatajutsu, as it
happened with the development of kendo from of Kenjutsu.
When there was a
disturbance at night or a suspicious character entered the village, the women
would grab their naginata, which hung ready on one of the walls of the house,
and go running outside to gather and search the town for any danger.
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