Onna-musha (女武者) was a female warrior in pre-modern Japan. These women engaged in battle alongside Samurai men mainly in times of need. They were members of the bushi  class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war. Onna-Bugeisha women were trained to use the Naginata, an iconic weapon of the period. The version of the weapon often used by the female warriors was known as the ko-naginata. This was smaller than the male o-naginata, allowing a better balance for women given their height and strength. Another weapon used by the female samurai is the Kaiken dagger –a double-edged blade with a length of up to to 10 inches.Empress Jingu was one such woman skilled and fit to lead a battle,The famous book Heike Monogatari recorded the history of the formidable female samurai Tomoe Gozen.

This is a clay Hakata doll , very rare to find on this subject .