Japan: Lady Hangaku (Hangaku Gozen). Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), c. 1885. Hangaku Gozen was a female warrior samurai, or onna-bugeisha, one of the relatively few Japanese warrior women commonly known in history or classical literature. She lived at the end of the Heian and the beginning of the Kamakura periods. Daughter of a warrior named Jo Sukekuni, she was sister of Sukenaga and Sukemoto. The Jo were warriors, allies of the Taira clan, in Echigo Province (present-day Niigata Prefecture). They were defeated in the Genpei Wars, losing much of their power.
Lady Hangaku (Hangaku Gozen) was a female warrior samurai, one of the relatively few Japanese warrior women commonly known in history or classical literature. She lived at the end of the Heian and the beginning of the Kamakura periods. Daughter of a warrior named Jo Sukekuni, she was sister of Sukenaga and Sukemoto. The Jo were warriors, allies of the Taira clan, in Echigo Province (present-day Niigata Prefecture). They were defeated in the Genpei Wars, and lost most of their power. In 1201, together with her nephew Jo Sukemori, she raised an army in response to Sukemoto's attempt (the Kennin Uprising) to overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate. Hangaku and Sukenaga took a defensive position at a fort at Torisakayama under attack from Sasaki Moritsuna. Hangaku commanded 3,000 soldiers to defend against an army of 10,000 soldiers loyal to the Hojo clan. Ultimately she was wounded by an arrow and captured; the defenses then collapsed. Hangaku was taken to Kamakura. When she was presented to the shogun Minamoto no Yoriie, she met Asari Yoshito, a warrior of the Kai Genji, who received the shogun's permission to marry her. They lived in Kai, where she is said to have had one daughter.
Size: 3428px × 5100px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1885, 19th, amazon, arrow, art, arts, asia, asian, block, bow, century, commander, east, equestrian, female, general, gozen, hangaku, historical, history, horse, horseback, image, images, japan, japanese, jo, lady, officer, onna-bugeisha, pictures, print, rider, samurai, taiso, tsukioka, ukiyo-, warrior, warriors, woman, women, wood, woodblock, yoshitoshi
