Women guarded the Ryukyu kingSourced
Ordinary soldiers stayed outside.
Women with swords guarded the king.
Ryukyuan envoys to Korea reported that fifteenth-century king Shō Taikyū had an all-female royal bodyguard armed with swords. Regular soldiers were not permitted inside his residence. The account comes from envoys of the period.
An unexpected guard
inside the royal residence.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Shō Taikyū · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01