encyclopedia-amazonica: Tachibana Ginchiyo - The warrior nun of Yanagawa Tachibana Ginchiyo (1569-16
encyclopedia-amazonica: Tachibana Ginchiyo - The warrior nun of Yanagawa Tachibana Ginchiyo (1569-1602) was the daughter of Tachibana Dōsetsu, an influential retainer of the Ōtomo clan in Kyushu. In the absence of a male heir, Ginchiyo became the head of the Tachibana family at only 6 years old and occupied the position until 1581. She ultimately married Tachibana Muneshige, who had been adopted into the family. He thus became the clan’s leader by marrying Ginchiyo. Ginchiyo remained nonetheless extremely influential and it was said that she and Muneshige didn’t get along well. Ginchiyo was interested in military matters. She notably inherited her father’s sword Raikiri (”Lightning Cutter”). Her elite guard was entirely made of women and she made sure that every woman working in the castle could take part in its defense. Such measures prevented eventual attacks on her domain. In 1586, the rival Shimazu clan besieged the Tachibana castle. The women, equipped with firearms, fought the enemy, while Ginchiyo defended the castle gates. (Replica of the armor that Ginchiyo may have worn) The Tachibana clan ultimately allied themselves with Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a preeminent general considered as Japan’s second “great unifier”) in the afterward of his campaigns to conquer Kyushu. Hideyoshi entrusted Tachibana castle to Ginchiyo who lived separately from her husband. She was also in charge of managing the whole clan’s estates when Muneshige was absent. It is also said that Hideyoshi tried to visit Ginchiyo while her husband was away. He soon gave up on the idea when he saw her armed women and feared her ferocious personality. Ginchiyo never gave birth to a child. Muneshige divorced her and she became a buddhist nun. This was not, however, the end of her military career. After Hideyoshi’s death, the power of the Toyotomi clan declined and civil war broke again in Japan. In 1600, the battle of Sekigahara opposed the Toyotomi supporter to the army of Tokugawa Ieyasu , who would ultimately establish the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa supporters marched on the Yanagawa castle were Tachibana Muneshige was. Their advance was however stopped by an unexpected resistance stronghold at the south of the castle. It was the convent were Ginchiyo resided. She had decided to lead the other nuns in armed resistance. The exact nature of her defensive measures is unknown, but they were certainly efficient. The attackers were Muneshige’s former comrades in arms. Ginchiyo’s resistance convinced them to offer Muneshige to surrender and join them in a campaign against the Shimazu. Muneshige agreed and was later pardoned. Ginchiyo died of illness in 1602 at the age of 34 and was buried in a temple in Yanagawa. References: Tachibana Ginchiyo’s page on Wikipedia Turnbull Stephen, Samurai Women 1184-1877 -- source link