Tomoe Gozen

Japanese: 巴御前 - ともえごぜん

Year of birth: Year of birth and death unknown. A female warrior from the early Kamakura period. She was a servant of Kiso (Minamoto) Yoshinaka and is also said to have been his concubine. She is said to be the daughter of Nakahara Kaneto, the husband of Yoshinaka's wet nurse, and joined Yoshinaka's uprising in 1180 (Jisho 4), and entered Kyoto after fighting in the Battle of Tonamiyama in Ecchu Province (Toyama Prefecture). In January 1184 (Genryaku 1), she performed feats such as twisting off an enemy's head in the Battle of Awazu in Omi Province, but Yoshinaka, who was prepared to die, ordered her to leave the battlefield. In the early Middle Ages, women in samurai families held high status, and she was portrayed as a woman based on the belief that great strength was passed down through female bloodlines. The Genpei Seisuiki adds a legend that Tomoe later became the wife of Wada Yoshimori, gave birth to Asahina Yoshihide, and died as a nun in Ishiguro, Ecchu. Some believe that the background to this Tomoe legend was the existence of a traveling shrine maiden who told the story of Yoshinaka. <References> Hajime Mizuhara, "The Formation of the Tale of the Heike"

(Ryoichi Hosokawa)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
鎌倉初期の女武者。木曾(源)義仲の従者でその愛妾ともされる。義仲の乳母の夫,中原兼遠の娘といわれ,治承4(1180)年の義仲の挙兵に従い,越中国(富山県)礪波山の戦などを経て入京。元暦1(1184)年1月,近江粟津の戦では敵の首をねじ捨てるなどの活躍をしたが,死を覚悟した義仲の命令で戦場を離脱した。中世前期に武家の女性は地位が高かったことを背景として,大力は女性の血筋で伝えられるという信仰のもとに造形化された女性である。『源平盛衰記』は,巴がのちに和田義盛の妻となって朝比奈義秀を生み,越中石黒で出家して死んだという伝説を付け加えている。このような巴伝説の背景に,義仲説話を語った廻国巫女の存在を想定する見解もある。<参考文献>水原一『平家物語の形成』

(細川涼一)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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