Buke: Onna-bugeisha

Buke (武家^?), in Japanese history, is the upper, privileged class such as samurai, bushi, or onna bugeisha.

Its modern sense may be derived from a term referring to the armed nobility from which the samurai class arose.

Note that buke is a gender neutral term unlike samurai or onna bugeisha and is a generalization for the upper class.

An onna-bugeisha (女武芸者^?) was a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese upper class.

Many wives, widows, daughters, and rebels answered the call of duty by engaging in battle, commonly alongside samurai men. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war. Such training ensured protection in communities that lacked male fighters.

They also represented a divergence from the traditional "housewife" role of the Japanese woman.

During the earlier Heian and Kamakura periods, women who were prominent on the battlefield were the exception rather than the rule. Japanese ideals of femininity predisposed most women to powerlessness, in conflict with a female warrior role.^[2] Women warriors were nonetheless pioneers in this role, and some even went on to lead their own clans.

They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as female samurai, although this is an oversimplification. Onna bugeisha were very important people in ancient Japan. Significant icons such as Empress Jingu, Tomoe Gozen, Nakano Takeko, and Hōjō Masako were all onna bugeisha who came to have a significant impact on Japan.