Legendary Fighting Women: Tomoe Gozen

Possibly the most famous Japanese fighting woman, Tomoe Gozen (toe.moe.e go.zen) has captured the imagination of the Japanese for several centuries. Her name is also starting to quite recognized in the US, largely thanks to a series of novels by Jessica Amanda Salmonson called the The Tomoe Gozen Saga.

Who was Tomoe Gozen?

There are a number of sites on the web that talk about Tomoe Gozen, most of which refer back to a single source dating from the 1300′s called The Tale of Heike. The part of the story concerning Tomoe Gozen describes a battle during the Genpei War (1180-1185). There is described as striking beautiful, with skills in kenjutsu, archery, and horsemanship to rival her beauty.

Almost nothing is known about Tomoe Gozen as an historical figure; at this point it’s safer to consider her a legendary figure. But like Mulan and Yim Wing Chun, legendary or not, she still provides fighting females as a role-model and a source of inspiration.

The Battle of Awazu

What we information we do have tells us basically nothing about Tomoe Gozen until the Genpei War. During that time Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Lady Tomoe‘s husband or master (depending on which version of the legend you read) captured Kyoto and decided to to win the leadership of the Minamoto clan. His cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo sent his own brothers, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori to him. Yoshinaka fought Yoritomo’s forces at the Battle of Awazu. It was said that Lady Tomoe performed more valorous deeds than any of Yoshinake’s other warriors. Certainly he thought much of her skill, for legends tell us he sent her out as his first captain whenever battle loomed.

What  happened during the battle is far from certain. All the sources I found confirmed that during the battle of Awazu, Lady Tomoe took at least one head, that of the Minamoto warrior Onda no Hachiro Moroshige. Most accounts agree that Yoshinaka, knowing he had lost and that death was imminent, urged her to flee. Some accounts say did this just that, with the head she had taken in battle or with the head of Yoshinaka to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

Other accounts say that Lade Tomoe refused to go and died by the side of Yoshinaka or committed suicide. Still others say she survived and became a nun. One other version claims she was captured by Wada Yoshimori and bore him a son, Asahina, who was to go on and become the strongest warrior of the Kamakura era.

Lady Tomoe’s Signifigance

The legend of Tomoe Gozen documents a rare but historical phenomenon–that of women warriors in the history of Japan. While most women did, indeed, follow the common view of Japanese femininity–as bound by social custom as the layers of kimono they wore–they were still expected to take up arms in defense of their home. And a rare few rode into battle themselves.

Lady Tomoe serves as a reminder that there have always been women who have pursued the martial arts, usually in spite of law, culture, and custom. The female warrior isn’t a new–she’s following the centuries-old path of both legendary and real women who followed their own hearts to take the right path for them. Can we expect less of ourselves and daughters in the modern world?

Note: The term gozen is actually an honorific, not a name. It translates literally to “perfect circle”, but is usually translated as “Lady”.

Sources

• 5 Legendary Warrior-Women of Asia
• Images of Samurai Women–The Most Famous Female Samuri: Tomoe Gozen
• Onna Musha Tomoe Gozen
• Tomoe Gozen–Absolute Astronomy.com
• Tomoe Gozen–Boards Group Forums
• Tomoe Gozen: Encyclopedia–AllExperts
• Tomoe Gozen–The Samurai Archives Citadel
• Tomoe Gozen–The Samurai Archives SamuraiWkiki
• Tomoe Gozen–Wikipedia
• Who is Tomoe Gozen?
• Women Warriors of Japan (part 1)

Other Posts in This Series

• Famous Fighting Females?
• Legendary Fighting Women: Mulan
• Legendary Fighting Women: Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun

Tags: female samurai, fighting women, legends, tomoe gozen