Warrior Women: Tomoe Gozen

Hi all .. this drawing might be the start of a series of drawings about warrior women through history .. first is:-

Tomoe Gozen from Japan

Here is some info about her from Wikipedia

Tomoe was a rare female samurai warrior (onna bugeisha), known for her bravery and strength. She is believed to have fought and survived the Genpei War (1180–1185).

According to one historical account, Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.

— The Tale of the Heike

Although the later part has some poetic exaggeration i found it to be very inspiring, she must have been one dazzling sight on the battlefield .. and i wanted to capture that somehow .. so there you go .. i did some research on her and found few historical drawings of her, and several models who portrayed her character on TV and in Japanese festivals .. i tried creating an image of her using a combination all that visual data .. hope you like it ^_^

And if i decide to turn this into a series .. Joan d'arc is probably next in line (tell me what you think or make suggestions for other real warrior women you might want to see and i'll consider it ^_^).

Have a good day everyone and enjoy