Female Martial Arts - Onnabudo

...There are many different types of female roles, but in the early days they were broadly divided into "young female roles" and "festival roles." The young female roles include a prostitute (Agemaki in "Sukeroku Yuen Edo Sakura"), a geisha (Miyokichi in "Hachiman Matsuri Yomiya no Nigiwai"), a princess (Yaegakihime in "Honcho Nijūshi Kō"), and a young lady (O-Fune in "Shinrei Yaguchi Watashi"), while the float roles include a teahouse wife's float (Oen in "Koi Hikyaku Yamato Orai"), a one-piece float (Masaoka in "Meiboku Sendaihagi"), a wife (Sono no Mae in "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami"), a housewife (Otoku in "Kyosei Hangonkou (Chimata)"), a maid (Onoue in "Kagamiyama Kyūnishiki-e"), and a female martial artist (Osono in "Hikosan Gongen Seisukeken"), and so on, depending on their status, age, and occupation. As a rule, it is customary for female actors not to play villains or old women. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "female martial arts" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…女方の役は多岐にわたるが，初期には〈若女方（わかおんながた）〉と〈花車方（かしやがた）〉に大別された。若女方には，遊女(《助六由縁江戸桜》の揚巻)，芸者(《八幡祭小望月賑（はちまんまつりよみやのにぎわい）》の美代吉)，姫(《本朝廿四孝》の八重垣姫)，娘(《神霊矢口渡》のお舟)など，花車方には，茶屋の女房の花車(《恋飛脚大和往来》のおえん)，片はずし(《伽羅先代萩（めいぼくせんだいはぎ）》の政岡)，奥方(《菅原伝授手習鑑》の園生の前)，世話女房(《傾城反魂香(吃又)》のお徳)，奥女中(《加賀見山旧錦絵》の尾上)，女武道(《彦山権現誓助剣》のお園)などで，身分，年齢，職業などにより違いがある。原則として悪女や老女には女方は扮さないのを習慣としている。…

※「女武道」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報