Nakano Takeko is one of Japan's most celebrated female warriors. An expert in naginata-do (a type of polearm commonly used by onna-bushi or women warriors), she studied martial arts for over a decade and instructed the Daimyo of Okayama's wife in the spear. Takeko was a founding member of the Jōshitai, a unofficial group of female warriors including her mother and sister. They defied orders to fight on the front lines for the shogun during the Boshin War against the Meiji Emperor's forces. Nakan