The picture is of a samurai man. The hairstyle is Chonmage and he is wearing Hakama. Hakama may be worn by men or women and may resemble a skirt but male styles actually have two legs, like trousers- see aikido practitioners today.
No, samurai women did not usually carry swords in feudal Japan but they would carry daggers which were deadly enough, and they were taught and expected to fight , usually in a home defence capacity. If you have the stomach for it, the history of Nakano Takeko, from the very end of the samurai era, contemporaneous with this photo, shows a woman samurai fighting and dying in battle in manner equal to any man.
The picture is of a samurai man. The hairstyle is Chonmage and he is wearing Hakama. Hakama may be worn by men or women and may resemble a skirt but male styles actually have two legs, like trousers- see aikido practitioners today.
No, samurai women did not usually carry swords in feudal Japan but they would carry daggers which were deadly enough, and they were taught and expected to fight , usually in a home defence capacity. If you have the stomach for it, the history of Nakano Takeko, from the very end of the samurai era, contemporaneous with this photo, shows a woman samurai fighting and dying in battle in manner equal to any man.
Thank you, this was a fascinating read, and thank you for pointing me towards more to find out. Very cool indeed.
That’s what I thought at first, but it doesn’t look like the top of the subject’s head is shaved.
Actually, chonmage without shave was common (among men).
Thanks for your input on this subject.
Interesting, I’ve never heard that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chonmage