Women warriors of Japan: an exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin, Italy

The exhibition Warriors from the Rising Sun, curated by theYoshin Ryu Association in collaboration with the MAO Museum of Oriental Art in Turin, from Oct. 18, 2019 to March 1, 2020 aims to pay tribute to the figure of the woman warrior in Japan.

The history of Japan encompasses an eight-century-long period characterized by many clashes and battles, in which women, particularly those of the warrior class, were educated to fulfill every task, from the financial and economic management of their families to those that might involve the use of arms.

The warrior woman, onna-bugeisha, was prepared for the defense of dwellings, trained in the use of a variety of weapons, pitched battles and even the eventuality of giving herself death.

Famous names remain from that past, whose legendary deeds are remembered through plays, paintings and film plots.

But women have struggled through time and civilizations not only with swords, halberds, daggers, bows and arrows: from the past to the present, through courage and creativity, they have used other types of attack and defense, succeeding in overcoming prejudices and impediments, in literature, art, theater, science, technology, and exploration. Women who over time, sometimes silently and without being valued by history, managed to produce significant changes. The exhibition attempts to develop this storyline, starting in Japan to transcend eras and frontiers, as many heroines of today’s popular culture originate from that very past.

The exhibition develops multiple aspects of the woman warrior, displaying historical and artistic objects from the collections of the MAO, the Stibbert Museum in Florence, and private collections. The works include original weapons, an ornate armor of the Myochin school, vertical scroll paintings, prints by famous ukiyo-e artists, kimonos, utensils and an elegant 18th-century biwa musical instrument. These are complemented by videos, 3D reproductions of objects, and a vast collection of rare and precious objects related to the world of manga, anime, and cinema, contemporary media that have taken up the legacy of women warriors, creating indelible icons such as Wonder Woman, Lady Oscar, Sailor Moon, and Princess Leia from Star Wars. The exhibition concludes with 40 portraits executed by young women artists in tribute to as many women who fought their battles in various eras and territories.

Accompanying the exhibition is a lecture series at the MAO offering insights on the theme and a film show at the Cinema Centrale in Turin dedicated to the figure of the woman warrior in the world.

Among the moments dedicated to delicate and burdensome issues is also proposed a conference of reflection on the issue of women victims of breast cancer, in collaboration with a Turin association to which a share of the entrance tickets will be donated.

The women “warriors” of the Yoshin Ryu Association are also offering their skills in the use of weapons used by the onna-bugeisha in the distant Japanese past with a series of workshops organized at the headquarters at Lungo Dora Colletta 51/53.

The exhibition is accompanied by video installations, illustrative panels, and a bilingual Italian/English catalog.

For all information you can MAO’s official website.

Women warriors of Japan: an exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin, Italy

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