A samurai woman in Japan. Famous onna-bugeysya

A samurai woman - is it possible? In feudal Japan, not only the representatives of the stronger sex could acquire skills in possession of weapons. History shows that even in this conservative country there were many women who did not concede to men in everything that concerned martial art. What is known about such women?

What is known about onna bugaine

First of all, it should be mentioned that the term "samurai" was not applied to the representatives of the weaker sex. Only men had the right to be called samurais. The composition of this word includes two characters: "serve" and "warrior". Onna-bugaysya in translation from the Japanese language means "a man of martial arts". So called the ladies who belonged to the samurai class, learned to handle various types of weapons.

Onna-bugeysya - a woman who not only owns weapons, but also participates in battles on a par with a strong sex. Also, such a lady can take revenge on the enemies who killed the master, who insulted him. It is known that the fair sex representatives in Japan were famous for their devotion, often exceeding in this the men.

Famous women

The above is told that a samurai woman is not a beautiful legend at all. What warriors who belonged to the samurai class managed to leave a mark in history? First of all, we should remember the lady who was called Hangaku Godzen, who lived at the end of the Heian period, which lasted from 794 to 1185. This fearless woman took part in a battle with the 10,000-strong army of the Hojo clan that fought on the side of Minamoto Shogun. Under her leadership there were 3,000 soldiers. The battle was lost, but Hangaku, wounded, managed to survive. She subsequently married and had a baby.

Hodze Masako is another famous samurai woman, born in 1156 in Japan. After the death of Shogun Minamoto but Yerimoto, who was her husband, this fearless lady actually took control of the lands that belonged to him, his sons were only called rulers. It is also known that she wore the nickname "nun-shogun" and provided the power of the Hojo clan.

Of course, there were other outstanding samurai women in Japan. For example, you can not forget about Nakano Takeshko, who was born in 1847. This brave warrior was among those who defended the palace of Aizu after the Tokugawa shogunate fell. Unfortunately, she died in this battle, but the memory of her survived.

What is known about the book-no-onna

Of course, the ladies who fought along with the strong sex were still the exception rather than the rule. Much more often it was possible to meet the book-on-on. Such women did not need to participate in battles. They got the skills of fencing and hand-to-hand fighting in the first place in order to protect their families if necessary, and to teach children.

It was believed that from the book-on-on must obey his spouse, to serve him impeccably. Also they should be deprived of the weaknesses, typical for the fair sex, to demonstrate the strength of the spirit in all situations. There were such ladies and the right to revenge, if someone killed members of their family, caused a serious insult.

Weapons

What kind of weapon did the average samurai woman know how to handle? For example, it was naginata - traditional Japanese cold steel, whose name translates as "long sword". It required her and skillful possession of the tanto - the so-called dagger samurai, whose name in Japanese means "short sword." Also, the warriors fought with the help of ropes and chains, spears yari.

Traditions ordered to hold the spear in a special place, which was located above the front door. This guaranteed that the woman will have time to grab him to protect themselves and children in case of a sudden attack of the enemy, the phenomenon of uninvited guests. The ladies also used a short dagger, which was called kaiken. With this weapon the Japanese women practically did not part, they wore it at the waist or in the sleeve. The dagger allowed me to immediately wound or kill the enemy in close combat, and he was also thrown at an astonishing speed. It is known that the knife girl-warrior received on the day when she reached adulthood. This happened when she was 12 years old.

Suicide

Did Japanese women perform ritual suicide, as was the practice of samurai men? Yes, this ritual was called jigai, it was widespread. The ladies did not end up with themselves in the same way as the representatives of the stronger sex did. They did not rip open their belly, preferring to cut their throats.

The ritual must have been carried out in accordance with all the rules. One of them orders that women who decided to leave their lives, tied their ankles in advance. This was done in order to have a decent appearance after death. More often than not, Japanese women decided to commit suicide when there was a threat of being in the hands of the enemy. And they often killed not only themselves, but also their less brave relatives, including their own children.

A crisis

A samurai woman is a common phenomenon for the 11th-17th centuries. At the beginning of the 13th century laws were approved, according to which representatives of the weaker sex had the same rights to the paternal inheritance as their brothers possessed. Also, the ladies were allowed to leave a will, dispose of their property.

The crisis came in the 17th century, when the attitude towards female warriors worsened significantly. Some historians attribute this to the wide spread of fashion for same-sex ties in the samurai ranks. However, brave warriors continued to amaze the world with their exploits, resisting that they were used as pawns in the matrimonial market.

For example, many ladies participated in the civil war of Bosin, which took place in the 19th century. Some of them even went down in history.

In culture

The amazing fate of heroic Japanese women warriors does not give rest to many contemporary writers and directors, they are often written books and historical dramas. For example, in the television project "Kenkaku Sebay" much attention is paid to one of the famous onna-bugeysya - Sasaki Mifuyu.