Martial Arts Tomoe Gozen

Tomoe Gozen is a famous woman samurai from the 1100's during the Genpei War (1180 - 1185).

She was probably born about 1160, and little is known about her life. Much of what is known today is legend. She was said to be either wed to or was an attendant to Minamoto Yoshinaka. Like many women of the time, she was schooled in the art of the Naginata (a long polearm similar to a European Glaive) however, she was much more skilled than that. She was said to be a master horsewoman and was extremely skilled with both sword and bow. She was fiercely brave and extremely loyal to Yoshinaka and because of her skill, was his highest general and would ride out in battle at the head of the line. the Heike Monogatari says this about Tomoe:

Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, 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 captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.
—Tale of the Heike, McCullough, page 291.

She fought along side Yoshinaka through the Genpei War, after which Yoshinaka took Kyoto and began to take power within the Minamoto clan which was fiercely opposed by his brother Yoritomo. They clashed at the Battle of Awazu, February 21st, 1184, there Yoshinaka eventually was defeated. There are several accounts of what happened to Tomoe but history is unsure of what truly happened. Some say she fought and died by her lords side, other say she fled after Yoshinaka prompted her to leave, still another says she cast herself into the ocean, and yet another says she gave up the sword and became a nun. Still there is no clear truth to what happened.

Its uncertain what her family name was but the name Tomoe means "perfect circle" and gozen is a honorific term usually used for woman generally being translated to "Lady".

So that is the story of one of the most powerful and influential woman Samurai in all of Japan's history.

 

I remember reading about her in one of these books I own but cant remember which one. I was quite surprised myself until I read about it before reading this. Didnt know women could do that sort of thing back then....I was wrong.

 

well during this time period, it was common for the woman of the day to train with their husbands and then ride into battle with them, but that was usually ashigaru, or low ranking samurai. It was HIGHLY unusual for a woman to hold so much power.