clioshiddenportraits:Ohori Tsuruhime (1526-1543) became the head priestess of the Oyamazumi Shrine,

clioshiddenportraits:Ohori Tsuruhime (1526-1543) became the head priestess of the Oyamazumi Shrine, in Omishima Island, when she was 15 years old, it was the Sengoku Jidai (or Warring States period) and her father and brothers were dead. Being trained in martial arts all her life, Tsuruhime took the lead of her island’s army against Lord Ouchi Yoshitaka. Initially the experienced commanders literally laughed at her, but as she managed to send fleet after fleet back to the main island of Honshu, while engaging directly in the battles and raids, her cause grew. In the ocident she’s commonly linked to Joan of Arc because she claimed to be the avatar of Mishima Myojin, the shinto god worshiped in her temple. Tsuruhime kept fighting for a few more years, but as a tragic turn common of the period she commited suicided after her fiance was killed in battle.The Oyamazumi Shrine is an important center till this day, there are dozens of armours and weapons donated by warlords along japanese history, actually is roughly estimated that 80% of Japan’s cultural treasure is guarded there. Among these armours is a simple breastplate clearly adjusted for a woman’s body said to have belonged to Tsuruhime, besides a statue and other homages to her.After the Warring States period Japan was unified under the shogun and closed to the world for centuries, the ruling class was the samurai class who didn’t live constantly away in their wars anymore, the place of women as defenders of homes and families was erased, they couldn’t inherit or have any official prevalence thereafter, even be culturally nurtured wasn’t much of a priority for women in those times, in consequence there’s no much about women registered in those years be them warriors or not.Next post will be the last one of this ‘onna bugeisha series’ and I’ll once again jump some centuries.Love miko’s outfits. =) -- source link

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