Onna-Bugeisha 2022
Japan’s femme warriors, known as the onna-bugeisha, belonged to the bushi, a noble class of feudal Japanese warriors who existed long before the term “samurai” came into usage. This piece is an homage to history’s fiercest onna-bugeisha such as Tomoe Gozen, who was said to have fought an army of over 6,000 with only 300 samurai at the 1184 Battle of Uchide no Hama, and was one of only five people to survive; or Nakano Takeko, who led a group of femme warriors known as the Jōshitai. Nakano, who wielded a naginata, had a kill count of 172 samurai.
The actions of Nakano and her band of fighters of the Joshigun are still commemorated today during the annual Aizu Autumn Festival. Every year in September a group of young girls wearing hakama and shiro headbands take part in the procession in their honor.
3 beautiful days painting at Yodokabe with such humbling support from the Juso community! I added sparrows per lovely request from locals as it is this street’s namesake.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.
LAUREN YS
United States
Lauren YS (they/them) is a queer Asian-American femme with a deep passion for visual storytelling. Based in LA and carrying a B.A. in English and Fine Art from Stanford University, Lauren applies their background in literature to the urban sphere through freestyle muralism. Their signature style of high-chroma design elements interwoven with dynamic portraiture creates lush, florid pictorial portals to worlds that are as just as they are visually captivating. Lauren’s work seeks to bring an element of the fantastical and narrative fluidity to the dignity of their characters’ person-hoods, with a specific passion for creating space for queer and BIPOC stories. From large-scale murals to multi-layered works on canvas, Lauren’s work draws inspiration from queer worlds, fluidity, mythology, dreams, animation, travel, nature, human dignity and their mixed Asian-American heritage. Lauren’s vision encapsulates the lifetime search for identity, a love of local myth, and the constant pursuit o