During the Genpei War (1180-1185), a beautiful young woman named Tomoe Gozen fought alongside her daimyo (and possibly her husband), Minamoto no Yoshinaka, against the forces of his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo.
Tomoe Gozen (gozen is a title meaning "lady") was famous as a swordswoman, a skilled rider, and a superb archer. She was Minamoto's first captain, and took at least one enemy head during the Battle of Awazu in 1184.
The Genpei War
The late-Heian era Genpei War was a civil conflict between two samurai clans, the Minamoto and the Taira. Both families sought to control the shogunate. In the end, the Minamoto clan prevailed and established the Kamakura shogunate in 1192.
The Minamoto did not just fight the Taira, though. As mentioned above, different Minamoto lords also fought one another. Unfortunately for Tomoe Gozen, Minamoto no Yoshinaka died at the Battle of Awazu. His cousin, Minamoto Yoritomo, became shogun.
Reports vary as to Tomoe Gozen's fate. Some say that she stayed in the fight and died. Others say that she rode away carrying an enemy's head, and disappeared. Still others claim that she married Wada Yoshimori, and then became a nun after his death.
