…whether we like it or not.
In the army we saw those who considered themselves our masters naked, in tears, some cowardly or ignorant. When a white soldier asked me to write a letter for him, it was a revelation—I thought all Europeans knew how to write. The war demystified the colonizer; the veil fell.
Tomoe Gozen || 3/6 women, history meme
Tomoe Gozen is a legendary warrior woman from early Japanese battle tales. In these earlier periods (such as the Heian and Kamakura), prominent, or even present, women on the field of battle were the exception rather than the rule. Yet Tomoe Gozen (and Hangaku Gozen, another warrior woman of the tales), though not a proven historical figure, has been a prominent Japanese heroic figure — as a beauteous woman, a breaker of wild horses and the equal of any man — for hundreds of years. She is one of the main symbolic figures of the Onna Bugeisha.
In the tale of the Heike it says,”She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.” (x)
