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Linguistic purists point out that the term "samurai" is a masculine word; thus, there is no "female samurai." Nonetheless, for thousands of years, certain upper-class Japanese women have learned martial skills and participated in battles right alongside the male samurai.

Between the 12th and 19th centuries, many women of the samurai class learned how to handle the sword and the naginata primarily to defend themselves and their homes. In the event that their castle was overrun by enemy warriors, the women were expected to fight to the end and die with honor, weapons in hand.

Some young women were such skilled fighters that they rode out to war beside the men, rather than sitting at home and waiting for a war to come to them.