Exhibition: Warrior women from the Land of the Rising Sun (MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale)

Date of event:   18/10/2019 − 01/03/2020

Exhibition Title: Warrior women from the Land of the Rising Sun
Duration: October 18, 2019 to March 1, 2020
Venue: MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale, Turin, Italy

The exhibition Guerriere dal Sol Levante (Warrior women from the Land of the Rising Sun), curated by the Associazione Yoshin Ryu in collaboration with MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale in Turin, aims to pay tribute to the figure of the female warrior in Japan.

The history of Japan spans a period lasting eight centuries characterized by many battles and disputes, in which women, especially from the military class, were taught to perform any task, from managing family finances to engaging in combat. The female warrior, or onna-bugeisha, was prepared to defend her own home and trained to use weapons of all kinds, to engage in battle, and ultimately to sacrifice her own life. Some of them have gone down in history and their legendary exploits are narrated in theatrical works, paintings, and movies.

The exhibition develops multiple aspects of female warriors, displaying historic and artistic objects from the collections of MAO, Museo Stibbert in Florence, Palazzo Madama, and private collections. Among the works visitors may admire we find original weapons, decorated armor by the Myochin school, paintings on vertical scrolls, prints by famous ukiyo-e artists, kimonos, utensils, and an elegant eighteenth-century biwa musical instrument. Plus videos, reproductions of objects in 3D, and a vast collection of rare and precious objects related to the worlds of manga, anime, and cinema—contemporary media that have embraced the legacy of female warriors and created unforgettable icons like Wonder Woman, Lady Oscar, Sailor Moon, and Princess Leia from Star Wars. The exhibition itinerary closes with 40 portraits made by young male and female artists in homage to other women who have fought their battles across all ages and places.

For more information on the exhibition and related events please see the museum website [here].