The samurai of Japan are famous for being skilled warriors who followed a code of honor. In popular culture and museums, samurai are often depicted as men, which raises a question: Were any samurai women?

Female samurai existed and there is some evidence that they fought in battle, several experts told Live Science. But how often they fought is a matter of debate, with some scholars calling it very rare and others suggesting it happened more often.

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"Any woman born in the samurai status group was a 'female samurai' even if she never picked up a weapon, just as any man born into that status group was a samurai, no matter how wimpy/untrained/etc.…