Samurai Weapons

Female Samurai

The term 'Female Samurai', strictly speaking, is a technically incorrect usage of the word Samurai. 'Samurai' was a gender specific term used to indicate only the male members. However, in modern parlance, 'Female Samurai' has become the commonly accepted term for the womenfolk of the Samurai.

All through history, the warring class has been mainly a domain of men. However, history has it that several female samurai showed extraordinary fighting prowess and the spirit to defend one's honor and perform the duty required off her towards her fellowmen.  

The naginata was a popular and widely used weapon among the womenfolk of the samurai. Consisting of just a long pole, the female samurai were even imparted extensive training in the use of this weapon to fight out the enemy and defend themselves when required. Many women became highly skilled in the use of the naginata.

Japanese epics and historical recordings mention several incidents of extreme courage and sense of duty exhibited by the female samurai. There are even prominent stories of the Samurai women taking upon themselves, political duties, upon the death of their husbands. One woman, Masako, is believed to have been hugely responsible for rallying the Samurai together and having them stand by the shoguns.

Clearly, these snippets of history show us the kind of stature women enjoyed in the early Japanese samurai society. Infact, the laws in those times, gave clear rights to the women to stake an equal claim as their brothers in matters of inheritance of property. In the household, the women were accorded a high position in administrative matters. They controlled the household finances while also managing the domestic helpers. In addition to these duties, they were often summoned to fight in times of war. Also, the womenfolk were largely responsible for bringing up the children and raising them along the Samurai ideals of loyalty and courage.

The above was the situation at around the 13th to the 16th centuries. However, by the 17th centuries when various clan struggles arose, the women were sadly reduced to being pawns in the hands of their fathers and brothers. They were often given off in marriage to other samurai often in exchange for political mileage.
 

During this time, the general feeling arose that women were just necessary to bring forth children but not as fitting comrades in war. Such sentiments, interestingly, even resulted in a general trend of homosexuality among the samurai when men started to seek companionship in other men.

Inspite of such alienation, the samurai woman was still expected to show moral values and a sense of bounded duty towards her husband. The act of a wife giving up her life or honor for the sake of her husband was a very popular theme in Japanese drama.

Despite these difficulties, stories of female samurai displaying their martial prowess still surfaced from time to time. Especially during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 and in 1868, when the shogunate and the imperial army fought, the samurai women are said to have played a brave and important part.
 

One celebrated women, Nakano Takeko, is known to have been highly skilled in the use of the naginata, and during the struggle between the shogunate and the supporters of imperial restoration, she charged into the enemy lines and fought bravely to cut own many a man. Unfortunately, she was eventually shot to death.

A monument to her was erected in the Hokai temple in Aizu Bangemachi, Fukishima province.