Were There Any Women Samurai?

Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo, the manager of this website and the interpreter/instructor at Yushikan Kyoto’s Samurai Training Activity/Yushin Ryu Online Lessons.  One of the most frequent questions we get from guests who participate in our Budo experience is, “Were there any female Samurai?” The answer is yes. Let me explain in detail.

First of all, the term “samurai” has three main definitions, depending on the period in which it is used. When samurai first appeared in history, they were the bodyguards of the nobility. At this time, men of skill approached the nobility mainly to earn a higher income.

However, the nobles gave the samurai too much power, and as a result, the samurai themselves began to rule Japan. Strong samurai groups emerged in each region, each fighting for control of the country. The most typical example of this is the famous Sengoku war period. The definition of a samurai at this time was literally a soldier. Anyone could become a samurai as long as they were strong enough to fight, and there were many female samurai at this time. In fact, there were even armor and other items that fit women’s bodies.

It was Tokugawa Ieyasu who ultimately triumphed over that Sengoku period. From there, the Tokugawa family ruled Japan peacefully for 15 generations. During this period, laws were strictly enforced to maintain order, and women were forbidden to become samurai. To make a long story short, there were women samurai in Japanese history, but it was only for a limited amount of time in Japanese history.

If you are in Kyoto, Japan, one of the things you must do is to train like a samurai. Join our 120-minute samurai training activity at a real dojo to explore the exciting world of Japanese katana and martial arts. Please jump to our Airbnb or TripAdvisor pages to make your reservation.