Tomoe gozen family

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The History of Fighting

Tomoe Gozen appears in Japanese samurai chronicles from the latter half of the twelfth century and probably lived from around 1157 to around 1247 CE. While there is much variation on the stories concerning her, the texts are clear that Tomoe was one of the best martial arts practitioners of her day and was famed as a warrior of formidable skill.

Tomoe Gozen’s Battles

As one of the few female samurai legends, Tomoe has earned her place in martial arts history however how much of the accounts of her are actually true is impossible to tell. It is certainly plausible at least that Tomoe did learn martial arts and had a unique opportunity to use her skills.

She is famed for going into battle alongside the samurai warrior Minamoto Yoshinaka, whom she served with absolute loyalty; according to some sources she was also his mistress or even his wife. They fought together in the Gempei War (1180 – 1185) at the end of the Heian Period, which she is believed to have survived, unlike her master Yoshinaka. In one battle, she is reported to

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Trailblazers — The Age of Girls: Tomoe Gozen

Tomoe Gozen. Drawing by Shitomi Kangetsu (1747–1797). Public Domain.

In this column, I’ll be looking at an inspirational girl from every century, starting in the 21st century and working back to the 1st century CE. As a historian and feminist, I thought this was the perfect way to share the stories of awesome historical girls from around the globe. Hopefully you’ll learn about some girls you might not have otherwise heard about as these Trailblazers deserve to be your next role models!

Following on from the military accolade of my 13th century trailblazer, Mongolian princess and master wrestler Khutulun, I now present to you Tomoe Gozen, her 11th century Japanese counterpart. While many of my medieval trailblazers are chosen for their military bravery and skill, this is largely unintentional. As we delve further into history, this was how many medieval women distinguished themselves from their contemporaries. These women became well-known and respected for showing masculine traits such as bravery and cu

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Tomoe Gozen

Female samurai

This article is about the female samurai. For the 1981 Jessica Amanda Salmonson novel, see Tomoe Gozen (novel).

Tomoe Gozen (巴御前, Japanese pronunciation:[tomo.e]^[5]) was an onna-musha, a female samurai, mentioned in The Tale of the Heike.^[6] There is doubt as to whether she existed as she doesn't appear in any primary accounts of the Genpei war. She only appears in the epic "The tale of the Heike".^[7]^[8] She served under samurai lord Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the Battle of Awazu,^[9] part of the Genpei War in the late Heian period, which led to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.^[10]^[11]

Genpei War

She commanded, under the leadership of Yoshinaka, 300 samurai against 2,000 warriors of the rival Taira clan during the war. After defeating the Taira in 1182 and driving them into the western provinces, Yoshinaka took Kyoto and desired to be the leader of the Minamoto clan. His cousin Yoritomo was prompted to crush Yoshinaka, and sent his brothers Yo