Tomoe Gozen

Female Warrior

Tomoe Gozen is one of the few examples of a true woman warrior in early to early modern Japanese history. While countless other women were at times forced to take up arms (in defense of their castle, for example), Tomoe seems to have been a consumate warrior. She was married to Kiso (Minamoto) Yoshinaka, who rose against the taira and in 1584 took Kyoto after winning the Battle of Kurikawa.

In the Heike Monogatari, Tomoe Gozen was a general in the troops of Kiso Yoshinaka, Yoritomo's first attack force. She was described as exceptionally strong and hauntingly beautiful, with pale white skin, like that of a court lady, long hair and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captian, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she preformed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.

Her last act, on the verge of Yoshinaka's defeat, is the subject of many plays and poems. She was ordered to retreat because Yoshinaka stated "it would be a disgrace to have it said that Lord Kiso was accompanied by a woman in his final battle". Rather than simply leave, however, she instead rode directly into a group of the enemy, singling out the strongest. She matched his horse's stride, reached over, sliced off his head with her sword and cast it aside.

There is a legend that she was taken captive by Wada Yoshimori and had a son, Asahina, who became the strongest warrior of the later Kamakura era. Tomoe, has not, however, ever been proven as a historical figure, and not for lack of trying. She exerted a fascination upon the Japanese for hundreds of years in the starling image of a beauteous women who was also a breaker of wild horses, and the equal of any man. Some have written that Tomoe in fact died in battle with her husband, while others assert that she survived and became a nun.

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