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Originally Posted by ガールズ&パンツァー鑑賞の手引き: 32p～33p－戦車道のなりたち
The most convincing explanation to the origins of Senshasho would be that it originated in Japan from mounted Naginata-do and from horseback jousting duels in Europe.
On the other hand, it has also been suggested that the sport originated from competitions of horse pulled two-wheeled battle-wagon such as Chariots and Quadriga.
It is accepted that female charioteers existed since a charioteer of small build would be advantageous in this sort of competition, and that the the charioteers were cladded when it was common practice for the ancient Olympic athletes to compete in the nude.
Female participation in Chariot races sharply increased when Cynisca, the daughter of the Spartan king Archidamus II, won in the battle-wagon racing event in the Olympiad. (the victor was the horse owner, not the rider of the horse)
During Roman times, Gladiatrices (female gladiators) would race in chariot events donning dazzling, beautiful costumes as they compete in chariot races became incredibly popular, as these garments flutter about during the races and was highly provocative of a sight as they tear apart in engagements.
Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern empire liked chariot races far more than gladiatorial combat. However, due to the costly expense to maintain this sport as the Byzantine decline, chariot racing died with the empire. As this practice did not spread other powers, it is commonly accepted that chariot racing events were not the origins of Senshado.
Chariot competition that were derived from combat skill trainings carried on, no matter the time or the place. This is no different from how Kenjutsu came from Kendo, recreational archery from Kyūdō and archery, Jujutsu from Judo, Martial Arts from Wrestling and Boxing, and how Shogi and Chess came about.
Jousting tournaments became popular by the 12th Century in Europe, which coincided with the time when the Knightly class became a part of the court. Knights went from warriors that achieved battlefield accolades to a class that value honor and mannerisms, with an emphasis on pledging themselves to the noblewomen.
After Edward III of England had inducted his Queen consort, Philippa of Hainault, into the Order of the Garter, female knights came to abundance as other countries followed suit. These lady knights naturally took part in Jousting tournaments. However, as female are inferior in strength to male, specially made armours for female riders were forged to minimize risks of being wounded.
In the end, with the advent of armored chariots where the rider would operate from behind the steed, the lady knights had adopted war chariots for combat. It is viewed that the progenitor of western Senshado was from the use of these armored chariots.
As for Japan, the foundations of Senshado were laid in Edo period, when the female-centric Naginata-do came into being from the popularity of the heroines of ere.
Namely, figures such as the mythical Heian on the saga of Tomoe Gozen, the concubine of Minamoto no Yoshinaka in their expedition against the Taira clan; that of the exploits of Lady Hangaku Gozen in the same period; the example of Myōrin'ni, who fought against the forces of Shimazu in the defense of Tsurusaki Castle during the warring periods and that of the tales of Tachibana Ginchiyo .
Naginata-do became an essential practice for the wives of the bushi (Samurai) and those under the service of Daimyos.
With the widespread use of machines and the debut of modern weapons, guns were increasingly used in shooting matches and in races of automobiles, airplanes and ships.
Planes, which underwent rapid development and were mass produced in the First World War, found themselves in private ownership, as they gave birth to people who made their living through aerobatics.
Tanks also came into being in the First World War and were mass produced, but they did not develop at the breakneck pace as with airplanes. This led to a surplus of obsolete vehicles that were widely sold as tractor substitutes to the general public.
On the other hand, the First World War proved a tragic war, with unprecedented number of causalities when compared to prior wars.
A female demographic that centered around mothers and housewives rose to oppose tank warfare on public media, advocating that tank warfare and machine-gunning were uncivilized, un-chivalric display of barbaric warfare.
In contrast to tanks, airplanes were advocated since they fight on a one-on-one basis, and broke off combat upon exhausting ammunition or meeting mechanical failures. The airplanes were glorified by the elegance of aerobatic flights at the time as well.
This gave rise to the popular sentiment that 'the male tankers were despicable and "uncool"'.
Aside from the aforementioned developments, automobile racing took off in Europe at the same time.
There were virtually no competing female drivers, as competing in these open-aired racers meant that one's hair would be blown freely about while the face gets dirtied in the event, as one braves the danger of fatalities in racing accidents.
It was by then that female tankers using governmental surplus tanks made their debut. The tanks became popular with the ladies even if the interior of tanks were foul, suffocating and disorganized, as they were rather safe given their encased armor protection.
The introduction of Tankettes that crewed one to two in the 1920s were well received by the female audience as they were easy to operate, and in tankette competition events came to be held. As such, the European Senshado came into being as tankette events were adaptable to the earlier armored chariot jousting events.
Tanks were also imported into Japan, but were unpopular with men who emphasized Bushido, and thus priority was given to equipping female cavalry units. There were fused with mounted naginatado to form Japanese senshado.
There are times when those that don't understand Chivalry and Busdhido would apply tanks widely in warfare, although Senshado, where tanks are a past-time for women, has ensured. But lately there's been a downward trend due to the the birth of Attack Helicopters.
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