The NO MERCY series was born during the earliest days of Half Sumo and went on to become one of the most iconic and recognizable design series in the history of the brand. It started as a curiosity with a forgotten piece of history: the Onna-bugeisha (女武芸者), the female warriors of feudal Japan. For years, they were spoken about almost like myths. Ghosts hidden between the pages of samurai folklore. Stories of women moving through battlefields with impossible speed, cutting through armies with elegance and brutality alike. We grew up believing they were legends, but over time we discovered they were real. Long before the emergence of the celebrated samurai class, women were already preparing for war. The Onna-bugeisha fought alongside men during some of the darkest and most violent chapters of Japanese history. Trained in the use of the naginata, masters of tantojutsu. One legendary figure, later known as Empress Jingū (c. 169–269 AD), is one of the most mysterious and mythologized women in Japanese history, existing somewhere between documented history, folklore, and Shinto legend. Most of the stories about her come from ancient chronicles like the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, written centuries after her supposed lifetime, so separating truth from legend is almost impossible. According to legend, after the emperor ignored the gods and died suddenly, Jingū took command herself. She is said to have led an invasion of Korea while pregnant (!!!!) . In many depictions she appears calm, elegant, almost supernatural, the opposite of the wild berserker archetype. There are darker stories tied to her mythology though. Some versions portray her as ruthless in battle, capable of executions and terrifying acts of vengeance. In medieval retellings and kabuki adaptations, she is sometimes depicted ordering beheadings or personally delivering justice to traitors and enemies…. With NO MERCY. COMING FRIDAY. #halfsumo