Do women really participate in combat at the 1500s in Japan?

Answer 1

No, no, no. Women were not ever involved in fighting.

Answer 2

I have lived in Japan for 20 years and have never heard of women of the samurai class actually fighting, but a visit to the women in world history website (see link below) indicates that some samurai women did fight during the 1100-1200s.
However, the role of women, even in the samurai class, declined over the next several hundred years, and there probably were not women combatants during the 1500s.


"In the early feudal period, samurai women were expected to exhibit loyalty, bravery, and take on the duty of revenge. In matters which concerned the well-being of the family, her advice was sought and her opinions respected. In wartime women sometimes had to defend their homes. Trained in weaponry, women carried a dagger in their sleeves or sashes and could throw with deadly aim. The naginata, a long, curved sword, was considered the weapon most suitable for women.
Sometimes women joined men in battle, actually fighting along side them or encouraging the troops. Over time the independent samurai woman was replaced by an image which depicted the ideal samurai women as humble, obedient, self-controlled and above all subservient to men. By the later feudal ages, the law of primogeniture prevailed... Supporting the deterioration in women's position were both Confucian doctrine and Buddhism which denigrated women's intellectual and moral capacities. After the 15th century, the teachings of the "Three Obediences" reigned. "A woman has no way of independence through life. When she is young, she obeys her father; when she is married, she obeys her husband; when she is widowed, she obeys her son.""

Answer 3

I know that they were equally Samurai, probably some did but I doubt it was normal. Wait what the hell do I know I'm a gai jin.

Answer 4

yes.