Ever since the Empress Jingo-kogo led an invasion of Korea while pregnant with the future Emperor Ojin, tales of female Japanese warriors have emerged from Japan's rich history. Using material that has never been translated into English before, this book presents the story of Japan's female warriors for the first time, revealing the role of the women of the samurai class in all their many manifestations, investigating their weapons, equipment, roles, training and belief systems.

Introduction: The elusive samurai woman -- Chronology -- Women in samurai history - Female rulers of ancient Japan - Women and the rise of the samurai - Women in the Age of Warring States - Women of the ikki -- Appearance, Equipment and dress - Armed women - Nagginata - Dagger -- Samurai woman in peace and war - Wives, daughters and marriage - Vengeful woman - Samurai women and defended castle -- The Samurai woman on the battlefield - Tomoe Gozen: the beautiful samurai - Tsuruhime of Omishima, the sea princess - Ueno Tsuruhime at Tsuneyama - Keigin-ni at Imayama - Myorin-ni, the warrior widow of Tsurusaki Castle - Women of Hondo - Female defenders of Omori Castle - Women in the Sekigahara Campaign - Women warriors of Aizu-- Museums and memorials.