Artstories2d ago
Chris 👾

Interesting. New exhibition at the British Museum, London:

"..half of the samurai class were women and although they did not tend to fight they were a vital part of the elite order, playing a key role both on and off the battlefield."

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/japan/british-museum-samurai-women-warrior-myth-b2913476.html

#Japan #History

Half of Japan’s samurais were women reveals groundbreaking new exhibition at British Museum

‘Samurai’ explores over a thousand years of Japanese history related to the elite warrior class

The Independent
Mar 23 at 8:48amWeb
Show threadOut of Print Archive (meppi64)2d ago

@chris

Gamers™ will be furious when they read this. 👀

Show threadAnnie Hsh 👾🖖☕2d ago
@chris Good to see those historical elements getting more mainstream light. Plus we already knew about the Onna-musha, so not that hard to believe. Then again, glancing at the comment section of the article, maybe for some it is.
Show threadChris 👾2d ago
@fringemagnet I'd love to see this exhibition. The portrayal of samurai or warriors in general has always been very one-sided and stereotypical male for as long as I can remember. Few people in the West have heard of female warriors like Tomoe Gozen or onna-musha. Glad this is slowly changing and newer (Western) productions become slightly more historically accurate. The Shogun remake did a pretty good job (I think), Lady Mariko had been trained to fight and is badass and we had Mizu in
Blue Eye Samurai or Ghost of Yotei..
Show threadAnnie Hsh 👾🖖☕2d ago
@chris 100 this! I think for most of us in the west, you'd have to have a particular interest and do your own research on the subject, and also be open to accepting that history is not as male-centric as we've been led to believe. And honestly, it's all interconnected, mythology, history, and culture. Asia has a long history of female martial artists, and generally women training in all sorts of martial arts, from ancient times to modern pop culture. The Queen and absolute badass Michelle Yeoh is one of the most prominent modern examples of that.