BudoGirl is an artistic research project that brings together visual art, martial practice, and cultural critique through a sustained engagement with the way of the warrior. Encompassing kata studies, kendo-inspired drawings, explorations of hojojutsu (the Japanese art of binding), and the development of the BudoGirl brand, the project examines discipline and constraint as productive forces. Whether through the disciplined gesture of a drawn line, the controlled tension of a tied rope, or the deliberate construction of a visual identity, BudoGirl investigates how strength, form, and restraint are cultivated, embodied, and communicated. Drawing on Japanese and Japanese-inspired techniques — including calligraphy, manga-influenced illustration, cyanotype on washi paper, and brush painting — these practices are reimagined within a contemporary visual language.
Emerging from a critical awareness of the lack of visual representation of minorities in martial arts culture — particularly women, disabled practitioners, and people of colour — the BudoGirl brand functions not merely as a design practice, but as a deliberate critical intervention. It challenges dominant iconographies of martial strength by foregrounding alternative bodies, identities, and narratives within budō-related visual culture. Works from the BudoGirl project have been exhibited at, among others, Bibliotheek Neude, Bibliotheek Leidsche Rijn, and ACU, and featured on platforms such as the website of Kate Sylvester and Creatief met Zwarte Inkt. BudoGirl illustrations have appeared widely in both national and international martial arts and cultural contexts, including Zanshin, Kendo Jidai, official T-shirts for the 2023 Iaido National Championships in Utrecht, promotional materials for seminars for sword-fighting women, Comic Con Utrecht, Abunai Con, album artwork for Japanese music releases, projects for Japan Fans and CEAL, numerous dojo worldwide, and the official programme booklet of the 2025 European Kendo Championships in Leiden.
BudoGirl Avatars (selection)
Tanto Geisha series (selection)
