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Japanese warrior woman with naginata

Japanese warrior woman with a large Naginata. A naginata is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. It consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end, similar to the Chinese Guan Dao or European glaive or Russian sovnya. Usually it also had a sword-like guard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft as depicted on this card. During the Edo Period, as the naginata became less useful for men on the battlefield, and became a symbol of the social status of women of the samurai class. A functional naginata was often a traditional part of a samurai daughter's dowry. Women of the samurai class were expected to be capable of defending their homes while their husbands were away at war

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10417767

Shadakshari Lokesvara: Folio from a manuscript of... (Perfection of Wisdom) , early 12th century

Shadakshari Lokesvara: Folio from a manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom), early 12th century. Shadakshari Lokesvara, a four-armed form of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara sits with his primary hands pressed together in the gesture of veneration (anjali mudra); his right hand holds a mala and his left hand holds a lotus and a book. He sits in a yogic posture, legs crossed, drawing legitimacy from ascetic practice as a means to harness the power of meditation. This deity is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara, a bodhisattva of our era who embodies compassion and protection and helps clear a path to enlightenment for the devotee

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 1800s. Creator: Matsumura Goshun (Japanese, 1752-1811)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 1800s. Matsumura Goshun was trained in literati art by Yosa Buson and Maruyama Okyo. Here, he depicted "Oath of the Peach Garden," a scene from the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms . The three warriors Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees. Matsumura's painting follows the example of Buson's Evening Banquet at the Peach and Pear Blossom Garden, inspired by a 16th-century Li Bai poem

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