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Sorry my dear readers, I promised for this part 2 of the history facts 5 more unusual truths. This article about Women Samurai got longer then I thought and became herewith an own post. The other facts will be posted in a part 3. Hope you’ll enjoy it as I did.

Women Warriors.

  Samurai between 1860 and 1880 are often shown as normal warriors, not as spectacular as seen in old drawings, like the one on top of this post.

Many people think the samurai were either a rare elite force (much like Navy SEALS or the Russian Spetznaz today) or a small, tightly defined caste of noblemen. However, they were actually an entire social class. Originally, “Samurai” meant “those who serve in close attendance to the nobility“. In time, the term evolved and became associated with the Bushi class, middle- and upper-tier soldiers in particular.

  Samurai in battle – Kawanakajima battle 1857.

This means there were quite a lot more of these mighty warriors than we generally assume. In fact, at the peak of their power, around 10 percent of Japan’s population was Samurai. Because of their large numbers and long influence in Japan’s history, every single Japanese person living today is said to have at least some samurai blood in them.

Onna Bugeisha.

   Onna Bugeisha with her typical Naginata. Pic Wikipedia.

While „Samurai“ is a strictly masculine term, the Japanese Bushi class (the social class Samurai came from) did feature women who received similar training in martial arts and strategy. These women were called „Onna-Bugeisha“, and they were known to participate in combat along with their male counterparts. Their weapon of choice was usually the naginata, a spear with a curved, sword-like blade that was versatile, yet relatively light.

  Woman Samurai – Onna Bugeisha, around 1800.

Onna-bugeisha (female martial artist) was a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility. Many women engaged 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. Significant icons such as Tomoe Gozen, Nakano Takeko, and Yamakawa Futaba  are famous examples of Onna-bugeisha.

Yamakawa Futaba.

As the daughter and the wife of shogunate officials in Aizu, Yamakawa Futaba was trained to fight and consequently participated in the defense of Tsuruga Castle against the Emperor’s forces.

Tomoe Gozen.

During the Genpei War from 1180 to 1185, a beautiful young woman named Tomoe Gozen fought alongside her daimyo and possible husband Minamoto no Yoshinaka against the Taira and later the forces of his cousin, Minamoto no Yoritomo.

Tomoe Gozen („Gozen“ is a title meaning „lady“) was famous as a swordswoman, a skilled rider, and a superb archer. She was Minamoto’s first captain and took at least one enemy head during the Battle of Awazu in 1184. She was for sure the most famous Samurai women warrior of all times.

     This very intriguing print from 1888 shows Tomoe Gozen in the upper panel in a very traditional female role — seated on the floor, her long hair unbound, playing the Koto. In the lower panel, however, she has her hair up in a powerful knot and has traded her silk robe for armor and wields a Naginata rather than a Koto pick.  In both panels, enigmatic male riders appear in the background. It is not really clear whether they are her allies or enemies, anyway, she is looking over her shoulder at them.

After heavy fighting on land and at sea, the shogun abdicated and the shogunate military minister surrendered Edo (Tokyo) in May of 1868. Nevertheless, shogunate forces in the north of the country held out for many months more. One of the most important battles against the Meiji Restoration movement, which featured several female warriors, was the Battle of Aizu in October and November 1868.

Nakano Takedo.

A third Aizu defender was Nakano Takeko, who lived a short life from 1847 to 1868, the daughter of another Aizu official. She was trained in the martial arts and worked as an instructor during her late teens. During the Battle of Aizu, Nakano Takeko led a corps of female samurai against the Emperor’s forces.

  Unusual and widely unknown scene. During a battle a Samurai is reporting to a Woman Warrior. Would you have known that ?

Jingu.

Long before the emergence of the renowned Samurai class, Japanese fighters were highly trained to wield a sword and spear. Women learned to use Naginata, Kaiken, and the art of Tantojutsu in battle. Such training ensured protection in communities that lacked male fighters.

                                    Empress Jingu, after almost 2000 years, still honored and worshiped in Japan today.

One such woman, later known as Empress Jingu (c. 169–269 AD), used her skills to inspire economic and social change. She was legendarily recognized as the Onna-bugeisha who led an invasion of Korea in 200 AD after her husband Emperor Chuai, the fourteenth emperor of Japan, was slain in battle.

  Jingu leads the invasion of Korea.

The Emperor Chuai went to the area to conquer Kumaso (a tribe living in the ancient Kyushu district), he passed away before achieving his ambition. Then the Empress Jingu built a mausoleum for him, which is the origin of this shrine. After that, the Empress Jingu Mausoleum was also built, the main shrine was worshiped the Empress Jingu to the Taisho era, the Emperor Chuai had been enshrined in the old palace. Now the Emperor    Chuai and Empress Jingu are enshrine in the main shrine together and the Emperor Oujin (the sun of the Emperoro Chuai and Empress Jingu) and Sumiyoshi no ookami are also enshrined.

  Ancient shrine worshiping the Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu.  About 30 minutes by train from Hakata, and 10 minutes from Kashii Jingu station.

According to the legend, she miraculously led a Japanese conquest of Korea without shedding a drop of blood. Despite controversies surrounding her existence and her accomplishments, she was an example of the Onna-bugeisha in its entirety.

Years after her death, Jingu was able to transcend the socioeconomic structures that were instilled in Japan. In 1881, Empress Jingu became the first woman to be featured on a Japanese banknote.

          Jingu, first woman ever on a Japanese banknote. Left a 10 yen note from 1878, right a 1 yen note from 1881.

Since historical texts offer relatively few accounts of these female warriors (the traditional role of a Japanese noblewoman was more of a homemaker), we used to assume they were just a tiny minority. However, recent research indicates that Japanese women participated in battles quite a lot more often than history books admit. When remains from the site of the Battle of Senbon Matsubaru in 1580 were DNA-tested, 35 out of 105 bodies were female. Research on other sites has yielded similar results. Did you know about that ?

  A woman Samurai, beauty connected with tough fighting skills.

Samurai.

A history of the Samurai must begin with the most important aspect of a Samurai: Bushido. Knowing about Bushido is how one knows the Samurai warrior. „Bushi“ is translated as „Warrior“ and „do“ is translated as „the way.“ Thus Bushido means „the Samurai way of life.“ Bushido consisted of a rigid code of ethics that was to be followed devoutly with bravery, honor and loyalty as the most important aspects. The most revered Bushido tenet was „freedom from fear.“ A Samurai was to live every moment with no fear of death, thus giving them the freedom to follow the Bushido code without hesitation and without fail. This philosophy was to be held sacred, even if one had to sacrifice one’s life to pursue these ideals.

  Samurai or Bushido – the „Warrior way of life“.

In 1185, Japan began to be governed by warriors or samurai. Until this time the government had been bureaucratic in theory, but was actually aristocratic (i.e., people held certain positions because they were born to families entitled to hold those jobs). Even after 1185, civil government at the Emperors court continued and the law and the state were not changed, but a new samurai class came to power and increasingly became the real rulers of the country. Some form of military leadership remained the form of government in Japan until 1868, when a centralized bureaucratic government came into being with the Meiji Restoration.

   Samurai in battle.

The Samurai culture rose from the ongoing wars over land among the Minamoto, Fujiwara and Taira clans. Though the Samurai originated from regional groups of ancient warriors, they quickly lost their provincial ways. They developed a unique, sophisticated culture that was renowned for stoicism, honor and military expertise during the Kamakura period (1192-1333).

   Komizucha, a warrior monk from Negorodera, fought 1585.

During the Muromachi period (1338-1573), Samurai culture created the idea of artist-warrior. Samurai training began to include the ritualized tea ceremony and flower arranging to add refinement and balance to the warrior persona. The code of Bushido became formalized.  Give yourself a favor and click on pictures to get a better view !

   Causing great problems if a dead Samurai having had his head removed and thrown away. Here samurai Endo Naotsugu during the battle of Anegawa 1570, throwing a head against his enemy.

The Samurai were considered the aristocratic warrior class of Japan. The peak of the Samurai era was in 12th century Japan where they enjoyed the benefits of belonging to a unique, privileged class. The Samurai were able to wear their swords freely and had the right to kill any peasant who offended them.

    Combat between two Samurai. I like these Japanese drawings – always unbelievable detailed and extremely dramatic portrayed.  Around 1570-1580.

The downfall of the Samurai began during the Edo period (1603-1867). Two hundred and fifty years of peace had made the Samurai archaic: they were allowed to wear their swords, but had to accept non-warrior jobs to survive. The booming economy during this time of peace further excluded the ascetic principles of the Samurai, as most Japanese citizens were enjoying the new luxuries that accompany economic prosperity.

  A lively and compelling study of two Samurai discussing written war instructions. Again late 16th century.

The gradual decline of the Samurai continued until the last Shogun resigned during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Dissatisfied Samurai had led the revolt against the shogun, but the new government abolished feudalism and betrayed the Samurai by stripping them of all their privileges in 1871. Thus ended the era of the Samurai.

Seppuku.

One of the most terrifying things about the way of the samurai is Seppuku (also known as Hara-Kiri). It is the gruesome suicide a samurai must perform if he fails to follow Bushido or is likely to be captured by enemy. Seppuku can be either a voluntary act or a punishment. Either way, it is generally seen as an extremely honorable way to die.

  Hara-Kiri – no words needed.

The Last Samurai.

Readers who have seen the movie „The Last Samurai“ with Tom Cruise might know that under special circumstances, someone outside Japan could fight alongside the samurai, and even become one himself. This special honor (which included samurai weapons and a new, Japanese name) could only be bestowed by powerful leaders, such as Daimyos (territorial lords) or the shogun (warlord) himself.

  Western Samurai among others.

History knows four Western men who have been granted the dignity of the samurai: adventurer William Adams, his colleague Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn, Navy officer Eugene Collache, and arms dealer Edward Schnell. Out of the four, Adams was the first and the most influential: he served as a banner-man and advisor to the Shogun himself. Amusingly, neither of the people Tom Cruise’s Last Samurai character was based on (Frederick Townsend Ward and Jules Brunet) were ever made Samurai.
Stay tuned to part 3 of more unknown facts in our world history.

Surprising History Facts – Part 1.

Writing this blog for almost 3 years now, I always come, through my hobby „research of the history and/or background of my posts“, along some strange or unknown facts which history wrote. With this post I like to share with you a few history facts which most people don’t know or never heard about. Some might make you even speechless.

The Vikings.

As Vikings, the members of the warlike seafaring groups of persons from mostly northern European, and sometimes also Baltic, peoples of the northern and eastern seas during the Viking Age (about 800-1060) are described in the Middle Ages „Old Norse noun“ vikingr (masculinum) – which means „sea warriors, who are on a long journey away from home“. The femininum viking meant only the „long ship’s journey“.

       Two pictures of open air museums. Left the oldest Scandinavian township in Ribe, Denmark. Right the Viking haven in Bork, Denmark.

  The Varagians are welcomed by the Russians in Constantinople. Contemporary painting from 1900. Well dressed and clean Vikings with no horns on their helmets.

Even many of their descendants have wrong ideas about the Vikings. They had neither helmets with horns, nor were they stinking barbarians. Contemporaries complained that they comed daily, frequently changed clothes, and bathed every week. Such behavior was considered vain. They were restless seafarers, explorers and conquerors.No more and no less than other people of the world, too.

   Viking home settlements in dark blue. Light blue shows their conquests. Notice they are all along shores and waterways, reachable by boat.  They reached and settled the North American continent almost 400 years earlier then Columbus. Click on pics to see the details.

The first trading towns in Scandinavia were established at the same time as the first Viking raids took place on the British Isles and the continent: Birka in Sweden, Hedeby and Ribe in Denmark and Kaupang in Norway. “Kaupang”, which translates from “kaupangr” in Old Norse to “market” or “trading place” in English, was strategically placed in a narrow bay in Sikiringssal by the outlet of the Oslo Fjord, five kilometers northeast of Larvik in Vestfold.

  Normal looking people are the Vikings. Not these, often described as  dirty, stinking, wild, naughty etc. savages.  Click on pics.

Excavations confirm that the town was established in the years 780-800 AD, and for unknown reasons was abandoned about year 930. The town was part of an international trading network and it is found thousands of artifacts from all over the Viking world: Beads from the areas around the Caspian Sea or the Black Sea, Frankish beakers of glass and ceramic tubs from the Rhine area, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, Arabic (Cufic) silver coins, in addition to weapons and tools.

   The trading place (like Kaupang) was divided into many small plots with residential houses that were smaller than the Viking farms, but had the same structure: A long fireplace in the middle of the open room with benches along the long sides where residents did work, eat and sleep. A Viking „Long House“ (Trelleborg Sweden) where a whole clan lived under one roof.

Nero, Roman Emperor.

Emperor Nero, 15 December 37 AD – 9 June 68 AD. The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of 18 July to 19 July 64 AD. Nero was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he ruled Rome from 54 AD till his dead in 68 AD.

   Nero was supposed to have lit Rome and played on the lyre during the fire, is a widespread rumor. At the time of the fire the Emperor was not in the city.

During his lifetime, not even his bitterest enemies had come to the idea of ​​accusing him of the origin of the-most likely, accidentally broken-out fires of Rome in the year 64. That Nero was playing and singing on the roof of his palace, looking at the burning Rome, belongs to this later thoughtful legend.

  Nero was for sure no saintly person, he burned Christians and organized his bloody games. But the story that he burned Rome is untrue.

In truth, the Emperor was at the outbreak of the fire in his birthplace, Antium. When he heard about the fire, he hurried to the capital and personally conducted fire and rescue operations. He opened the gardens of his palace for homeless citizens, secured food supplies, and took measures to protect them from epidemics.

Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again briefly in 1815.

  Napoleon in his true size.

Whoever compensates for his small body size with dominant behavior has a so-called „Napoleon complex“. The rumor that the famous general was said to be very small is not true at all. With a body height of 1.68 meters he was even above average in his time.

         When Napoleon got older, he gained weight as many others (see left), but that he was small and fat is untrue. See painting on the right: The Treaties of Tilsit 1807 – Napoleon meeting with Alexander I of Russia on a raft in the middle of the Neman River. He has the same average size as all other people surrounding him.

One of the most popular expressions in the English language “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” is often credited to Napoleon. However, it is important to note that those were not the exact words of the French general. Instead, he said “Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu’un long discours” which translates into “A good sketch is better than a long speech”. The meaning is practically the same.

  He also had some other popular expressions, like;

A true man hates no one !
The people to fear are not the ones who disagree with you. but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know !
In politics, stupidity is not a handicap !
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake !
A leader is a dealer in hope !

The Pyramids.

The last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the great pyramids of Giza are perhaps the most famous and discussed structures in history.

  Chart of the „Seven Ancient Wonders of the World“. Wikipedia.

When the pyramids were originally finished, they were plated in and outer layer of white “casing stones”. These casing stones were cut with astounding precision to give a smooth slope to the pyramids, unlike how they appear today with the outer stones more or less forming very large “steps”.
The original casing stones were made of highly polished Tura limestone, meant to reflect the sun’s rays, and were accurate within 1/100th of an inch. All total, they were around five feet long, five feet high, and six feet deep and weighed around 15 metric tons each once the face angle was cut, being around 40 metric tons before that for the full block.

  Original look of the Pyramids. Artist rendering.

So, what happened to these casing stones? Many of them were cut loose and carried off to be used on various other structures, such as when Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan used the polished stones from the Great Pyramid in building mosques in Cairo, some of which are still standing with these stones and still intact.

  The Mosque of Muhammad Ali, or the Saladin Citadel, in Cairo, made from Pyramids white Tora Limestone. Tora is the biggest and most well known limestone quarry in Egypt. Often confound with Alabaster, which of course is a limestone too.

Most of the rest of the stones were worn away, being loosened by earthquakes and eventually creating piles of rubble around the pyramids, which have relatively recently been cleared away. Although, a few of the stones are still there, such as around the base of the Great Pyramid.

         Still looking like new, the remaining limestone at the Cheops Pyramid (left). And the pic right shows how they covered the Pyramid with the shiny white stone about 4500 years ago. Click on pics.

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.

The view today, same color as surrounding.

Based on a mark in an interior chamber naming the work gang and a reference to fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at a height of 146.5 meters (481 feet). The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.

The Aztecs.

The Aztec culture is also known as Mexica culture, was a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in Central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300-1521. During the time in which a triple alliance of the Mexica, Texcoca and Tepaneca tribes established the Aztec empire. The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to 16th centuries.

  The Aztec triple merger and expansion.

Amazingly young is the Aztec culture. Many consider them an ancient society. It existed between the 14th and 16th century. By way of comparison, the Oxford University existed before the first Aztecs. It has no known date of foundation, but there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, a few hundred years earlier.

  Another amazing fact. Did you know how big the University of Oxford is ? Click on this pic to enjoy the view.

On their long hike south, the Aztecs came to a lake where an eagle fought with a snake. They took it as an important sign of their god Huitzilopochtli, who had once commanded them to seek a new home. So they began to build their new capital in the place and called it Tenochtitlan, today’s Mexico City.

  Frontpage of the Codex Mendoza from 1541. in the center part the „Codex Mendoza“, showing the fight between the eagle and the snake, founding myths of Tenochtitlan.

This is the founding myth of the Aztec empire, which originated in the middle of the 14th century in the basin of Mexico, and which was soon to become the greatest known empire of pre-Columbian Central America. An incredible achievement for the Aztecs because they had no weapons, no tools of metal, no use of animals or carriages, not even any kind of scripture.

Another page of the Codex Mendoza, showing the holding of prisoners. The Aztecs believed that only a new day will rise if they deliver a human sacrifice. That resulted in about 140 human sacrifices per day c. 50,000 per year. Aztecs were permanently attacking their neighbors to make prisoners.

  When the body was alive, the hearts were removed and sacrificed to the sun, to welcome the next day.

When the Spanish conquistadors conquered the empire from 1519 – with the smallpox and the rage of the Aztec-subjugated peoples – they discovered numerous books filled with drawings and pictograms. They considered them to be pagan „charms“ and destroyed them. Soon, however, clairvoyants realized that it might have been the historical tradition of the Aztecs.

    Don Jose Antonio de Mendoza.

One of them was Antonio de Mendoza (1495-1552). He was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from April 17, 1535 to November 25, 1550, and the third Viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1551, until his death on July 21, 1552. The high-ranking diplomat had been appointed by Emperor Charles V as the first Viceroy of New Spain, in which Central America had been organized after the conquest by Hernan Cortez.

   The Aztecs metropolis Tenochtitlan. Click on pis to see everything more clear. By example the massive sacrificial pyramids.

Mendoza recognized how brutally the Spaniards were destroying Indian culture. Immediately, in 1541, he commissioned surviving Aztec specialists, together with Spanish missionaries and artists, to write the history of their people with their possibilities. The result was the „Codex-Mendoza“, named after him. The „Codex Mendoza“ is considered one of the most important sources of the history of the Aztec empire.

These are five, for many people most surprising facts. I hope you enjoyed the post.
Next week I will post another 5 history facts. Stay tuned.