Nakano Takeko: A Brave Onna-Bugeisha

A Samurai's Wife with a Naginata

     The word 'samurai' evokes an image of strict, disciplined men; the glory of battle, and an honorable death. Women are written in history with status below men, serving their needs (1). Women were educated and trained in defending their clan and their homes (1). However, this was due to their potential value to prospective husbands (2). Wives were to be the last line of defense for the house, if need be. But to keep their honor samurai would bring the image of honor and their wives upheld it. If all looked bleak, women carried a dagger around with them everywhere in order to give themselves a quick honorable death which involved extreme ritual to maintain their gracefulness (2). They were trained in the art of the naginata and some became masters (2). Some women did not settle solely in the role of wives, but of warriors as well. Written out of history, with few exceptions, women have had their exploits in battle and their sacrifices erased (3). While we may never know the exact number of women that defied the cultural norms and rushed into battle, DNA testing has come in to help us award battlefield honors to these women (3). Currently, it seems that approximately 1/3 of soldiers in feudal Japan were women (2).  

Nankan Takeko in Aizuwakamatsu

     Nankano Takeko is one of a very few selective women who has her story celebrated and told. She grew up in the Aizu clan (4). She was trained in the ways of being the perfect samurai wife and soon becomes unique by being a naginata master, which was unheard of  at the time (2). Her sister soon joined her in training, and it wasn't long before they were able to put their training to us as all out war began in Japan (2).  Forces of the Emperor had obtained a technological edge by obtaining firearms (2). The Shogun, feudal war lords, resisted the new weapons (2). Unrest lead to all out war, with the Shogun's forces being out-manned and out-gunned (2). Nankano realizes that soon the Aizu clan will be surrounded by an inconceivable amount of fire power (2). She readies herself and her sister for battle (2). She leaves behind one request for her sister: cut off her head to avoid becoming a trophy for the enemy (4).  Aizu was surrounded by an impossibly large and well-equipped force, she led 20 to 30 women to defend her clan's honor and dignity. These women would later go on to be called joshitai, translated to "Women's Force" (4). However, the joshitai were not welcomed by the Aizu samurai force (2).  

    Her brigade was to remain "unofficial" in order to allow the men on the battlefield to die honorable deaths since it was seen as a disgrace to die with women on the battlefield (4). It was an implication that men were not enough to win their own battle, conversely any wins on the battlefield were not seen as honorable if women were suspected of having a hand in it (2). Nakano found an opportunity when the Emperor's men were reloading to charge with her women warriors, and was said to take down 5 or 6 men before being fatally shot (2). Yuko fulfilled her sister's wish by cutting off her Nakano's head and fled the battle to bury it under a tree, safe from trophy hunters on the field. 

Today, that tree has been memorialized in Nakano's honor (2). Women are still trained in the art of fighting with the naginata (2). 

   Today, Nankano and the joshitai are remembered during the Aizu Autumn Festival. So let us not forget Nankano's own words. Before battle, samurai would write death poems to leave beauty behind in the world, in case they die on the battlefield. Nankano's death poem reflects a beautifully sad, but daring sentiment on the onna-bugeisha of Japan: 

" Of all the famous warriors, I would not count myself among them - even though I share the same brave heart." (2)

Works Cited

1 Hastings, Christobel. “How Onna-Bugeisha, Feudal Japan’s Women Samurai, Were Erased From History”. Vice, 24 Sep 2018, 4:10pm, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a383aj/female-samurai-onna-bugeisha-japan

2 Samurai Warrior Queen. Directed by John Wate, Performances by  Shoka Oshima, Sarasa Fujita, Junko Kimoto, Smithsonian Channel, 2015.

3 Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Women 1184 – 1877. E-book, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_VS1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=%E2%80%9Cthe+exploits+of+female+warriors+as+the+greatest+untold+story+in+samurai+history.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=t2vyoisjzc&sig=-gIkc-ECNyKxfAj0_LtmaU8pKrg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi06_-Hj8jdAhVLBsAKHZdKAYsQ6AEwAXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cthe%20exploits%20of%20female%20warriors%20as%20the%20greatest%20untold%20story%20in%20samurai%20history.%E2%80%9D&f=false

4 Vaporis, Constantine N. Samurai: An Encyclopedia of Japan’s Cultured Warriors. E-book, ABC-CLIO, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=lPaKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA366&lpg=PA366&dq=Aizu+Autumn+Festival&source=bl&ots=VP-aQwe44N&sig=ACfU3U2r8aXk81TjiphIca6ivtUlupIV4Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwioppD1jMLlAhVHU98KHUnZCOI4ChDoATAHegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=Aizu%20Autumn%20Festival&f=false

Video Credits

“The Vicious Sword Female Samurai Favored”. Youtube, uploaded by Smithsonian Channel, 28 Aug 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQouh5yczWI.

“Women Were Some of the Fiercest Samurai Warriors Ever”. Youtube, uploaded by Smithsonian Channel, 28 Aug 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQouh5yczWI.

Picture Credits

Hironori. 2019, Takeko Nakano Monument, Aizuwakamatsu. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g780850-d4765403-Reviews-Takeko_Nakano_Monument-Aizuwakamatsu_Fukushima_Prefecture_Tohoku.html

Kuniyoshi. Ishi-jo, wife of Oboshi Yoshio, on of the “47 loyal ronin.”, 1848. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna-bugeisha#/media/File:Onna_bugeisha_Ishi-jo,_wife_of_Oboshi_Yoshio.jpg