11. The Controversy Over Battle Participation
Debates persist regarding the extent of female participation in open battle. Some accounts suggest that women warriors, known as onna-bugeisha, actively engaged in combat, with instances like the Jōshigun defending Tsuruga Castle in 1868 (daily.jstor.org). However, other scholars argue that such occurrences were rare, and the majority of samurai women did not participate directly in warfare. (military-history.org)
