Female Warriors in the 'Retribution' Universe and in the 'Real World'
My fics have a significant number of minor female characters who are samurai or combatants from other classes. Some readers may wonder whether it is 'realistic' to have so many female fighters running around. After all, in many fans' interpretations, the social culture of Samurai 7 is more 'medieval' and 'male-dominated', unlike some modern 'egalitarian' society in which women choose careers as they please. I agree that the culture of Samurai 7 is misogynistic and patriarchal. (See my article The Role of Women in Samurai 7.) But Chinese history (from which I draw some of my fic-writing inspirations) indicates that women warriors did not occur as a lone warrior among men - a female soldier is often part of an all-female unit led by a female officer. Women warriors were NOT isolated instances despite of, or perhaps because of the influence of Confucianist sexism on society. Read on...
Contents
Why Female Warriors Often Do Not Occur as a Lone Woman Among Men
Female Military Commanders
Does a Female Fighter have to be 'Masculine'?
The Red Wolves of 'Retribution'
Back to Retribution Chapter Index
Why Female Warriors Often Do Not Occur as a Lone Woman Among Men
There were numerous female military commanders whose exploits were recorded in East Asian history. Some of these were highborn women from noble or military families. Others were peasant rebels. These leaders commanded male troops but that does not mean that they were the lone female among men. Recorded history attests to the existence of entire units of women soldiers, The historical records of the Warring States through the Three Kingdoms era in China mention the use of female rank-and-file soldiers. Liu Bang, founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, had 2000 female soldiers who fought the forces of the warlord Xiang Yu to cover their lord's escape.1 Lady Sun, sister of the warlord Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms era, had command of a few dozen female soldiers in addition to male troops. Even her husband the warlord Liu Bei (a descendant of the aforementioned Liu Bang) had to have an audience with his wife under the supervision of the lady's armed female warriors.2
It has been speculated that the reasons for the not uncommon use of female soldiers in premodern China was not so much 'progressive thinking' about gender roles but rather pragmatic considerations. The military needed headcount, and with the male population decimated by war, it made sense to deploy women. And since it was not considered proper for unrelated men and women to work together too closely without the supervision of their families, it was out of the question to have a lone female soldier in a male unit comprising of non-family members. Thus, all-female units existed in armies with a male majority, and noblewomen and female army officers were accompanied by female soldiers.
Here are a few more examples of the group presence of female warriors in pre-modern East Asia:
Gao Guiying of the Ming Dynasty joined the peasant rebels together with her husband Li Zicheng. Before joining the rebels, they practised martial arts together. After they joined the peasant rebellion, they both rose up the ranks of the rebel army. Gao organized and trained an all-female fighting force complete with female generals and officers.3
Qing Dynasty White Lotus Sect Army Commander Wang Cong'er organized and led a rebel army. She led men, but the soldiers closest to her were women warriors. Wang's army was victorious until the government forces confined the peasant population within city walls, thus cutting the White Lotus Army off from its sympathizers and supply chain. When the White Lotus Army was finally cornered by government troops, Wang's female warriors followed Wang in suicide by leaping over a cliff.4 Hong Xuanjiao of The Taiping Army held the strategic Jinjiling with 2000 female soldiers under her command. They repelled the Qing soldiers sent as reinforcements to the imperial army.5 The Yihetuan (the organization behind the Boxer Rebellion) also had an all-female unit led by a female officer.6 The peasant rebel forces behind the Shimabara rebellion in Japan were also said to include women.7
Female Military Commanders
In the Retribution series, Haruko, Mizuho and Ayame were female military officers with command over both male and female soldiers. The historical possibility of such a phenomenon has been touched upon in the previous section. But I'll add a few more examples here:
General Qin Liangyu of the Ming Dynasty, was born into a military family and then married a military commander. She served as her husband's lieutenant before being promoted to take his rank and responsibilities upon his death. Qin's career then rose to exceed those of her husband and brothers and she became commander-in-chief of Sichuan Province. 8 The army commanders Shen Yunying of the Ming Dynasty and Li Xiu of the Jin Dynasty were both soldiers under their fathers' authority before being promoted by the Imperial Court to take their late fathers' posts.9 Shen Yunying also started a martial arts school to train the girls of her clan. One can speculate that if Qin, Li and Shen's menfolk had not died, then they might not have reached their high positions even if they had been worthy, and these very capable warriors would be nameless soldiers in history, as other women (and men) from military families.
It can certainly be argued that history seems to indicate that a warrior woman's career is tied to that of her menfolk, or at least, a military woman needs a well-placed male relative to hold the door open for her. Tomoe, the most famous female samurai, was an officer under her husband the daimyo Yoshinaka. Her military career ended with his death. Some accounts said she died in battle with him or killed herself. Others said she became a nun.10 Lady Yu, consort of the Chinese Three Kingdoms warlord Xiang Yu, was also said to have been a combat soldier who came up with the idea of attaching red tassles just below the spearhead to make the spear head's motion hard to follow.11 Today, Chinese spears are still adorned with red tassles. Like Tomoe, her career ended with her husband's death. Lady Yu killed herself to ease her lord's escape.
But there were certainly exceptions. Rebel leader Lu Mu (d. 18 CE) started and led a rebellion without taking a subordinate position to a male leader. She was the supreme commander of her troops. Lu Mu was a widow who revolted against the government after her son, a constable, was executed for allegedly neglecting to punish civilians who failed to pay taxes. She was the first peasant leader to rise up against the tyrant Wang Mang, igniting the nationwide flames of peasant resistance.12 Peasant rebel leader Gao Guiying operated independently from her husband for many years, leading a number of generals to the strategic location of Changde in Hunan, where she made her base for 17 years. Today, the base is a tourist destination and is called The Lady's Base.13
Does a Female Fighter have to be 'Masculine'?
Ayame (who is NO male canon character's love interest) is probably the most 'feminine' of my OCs - she's the most petite of Kyuuzou's three 'sisters', the most female-identified and the most conventionally beautiful. She gets a fair deal of male attention (from nameless OCs) which she has no interest in anyway. The other two sisters are never described as 'beautiful', period. Although Haruko (height 6'1") looks like a very handsome man and attracts a lot of female attention. ;-) Does Ayame's higher degree of femininity make her a less potent warrior than the other two sisters? She is the only fighter in Retribution who has been described as beating Kyuuzou in a match (though Kyuuzou obliquely implies the other two sisters might be above or equal to Ayame's level, and thus possibly above his level.)
It also so happened it is the most 'feminine' OC who has the most violent temper and the most forceful personality. For the Retribution series, I chose not to subscribe to the 'masculinity=power' paradigm. I think there're enough writers out there promoting that sort of thinking, and while they are entitled to their opinion, I like taking the road less taken, sometimes. (or maybe not just sometimes ;-)
Ayame likes window shopping and enjoys designing and making nice dresses (not to mention wearing them). Is this necessarily OOC for a deadly female fighter? The historical Chinese general Liu Jinding was recorded to have put a priority on personal grooming. When enemy soldiers came to retake Shoutang Pass from her, Liu Jinding calmly finished her personal grooming routine before leading her troops into battle, scattering the enemy who fled in defeat. People later nicknamed Shoutang Pass "The Vanity Table" in memory of Liu.
The Red Wolves
The Red Wolves are an all-female vigilante organization with no central authority, spread over all the states as independent cells which maintain an informal contact network. Women of all classes are found among the Wolves, though mixed-class cells like the one based on Mount Kei'an are relatively rare. Its origins are ancient but the organization had been banned for about two centuries by the time of Samurai 7. It still operates underground. Real world inspirations for the Red Wolves include the Golden Orchid Sisterhood of Guangdong, China (which is not a vigilante organization but a social support organization of women who want to spend their lives living with women; they have been termed 'marriage-resisters') and the all-female Red Lantern Unit of the Yihetuan (the organization behind the Boxer Rebellion).
The Red Wolves were considered subversive because their first loyalty is to 'the mandate of Heaven', a phrase to which they give a different meaning from the general population. To others, the 'mandate of Heaven' is the edict of the Emperor, allegedly a being of divine inspiration. But the Red Wolves believe in the fundamental equality of all humans and do not subscribe to the idea of imperial divinity. To them, 'mandate of heaven' is "to do the will of Heaven" on behalf of the weak and oppressed, a code of conduct that transcends state, class and other divisions. They fight oppression where they can, even if it means going against group loyalties. Samurai found to have membership in a Wolf cell were usually executed by their clans regardless of whether they actually did anything subversive. In reality, things are not always so black-and-white and Wolves of different classes do not always get along.
Notes:
- Heroines of Chinese History - The Han Dynasty (Simplified Chinese article)
- Sun Quan, Cao Cao and Liu Bei - who is the greatest military strategist of the Three Kingdoms Era? (Simplified Chinese article)
- Gao Guiying
- Visiting Jinjiling (Simplified Chinese article)
- Wang Cong'er
- Lin Hei'er
- The Shimabara Rebellion
- Qin Liangyu
- Shen Yunying, Li Xiu
- Tomoe Gozen
- Heroines of Chinese History - The Han Dynasty (Simplified Chinese article)
- Lu Mu
- Gao Guiying