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He escaped to Azuchi Castle and briefly served Nobunaga's son until he, too, was attacked by Mitsuhide and committed suicide. When Nobunaga was betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide and forced to commit suicide at Honno-ji Temple in 1582, Yasuke was there, and battled Mitsuhide's forces. In 1581, Yasuke was elevated to the rank of samurai and stationed at Azuchi Castle, Nobunaga's crowning glory, where he dined with the warlord and functioned as his personal sword bearer. Nobunaga was so impressed by Yasuke's strength and size-recorded as roughly 188 centimeters (6ft 2in) tall-that he made him his personal retainer and bodyguard.

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He was called to an audience with Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful warlord of the day, who was so stunned by his appearance that he had him strip to the waist and rub his skin to prove he wasn't colored with ink. Nobody in Japan had seen a black person before, so his presence caused quite a sensation. Yasuke was an African slave brought to Japan in 1579 by the Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano. He is now a symbol of courage and devotion to the emperor, and a statue of him stands outside Tokyo's Imperial Palace. When his troops were finally overwhelmed at the Battle of Minatogawa near present-day Kobe, Kusunoki committed suicide rather than allow himself to be captured. The seasoned strategist knew this to be a death sentence, yet he accepted. Go-Daigo, however, ordered Kusunoki to advance. On the second occasion, Kusunoki advocated letting the superior Ashikaga force take the capital while the emperor's supporters took refuge among the monks of Mount Hiei, then sweep down upon the Ashikaga and trap them in the city. However, the Kenmu Restoration would be short-lived, as the Ashikaga Clan betrayed Kusunoki and twice led armies against Kyoto in 1336. Kusunoki was given control of several parts of the Kansai area after the war was won.

Kusunoki's greatest triumph came in 1332, when he defended Chihaya Castle, located south of Osaka, against the shogunate's 100,000-man army with just 2,000 men. In 1331, he joined Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) in a bid to wrest power back from the Kamakura Shogunate, under which the emperor had become a mere figurehead. Kusunoki Masashige (1294?-1336) is famous both as a military strategist and for his unfailing devotion. What became of her thereafter is unclear, and the role of onna-bugeisha faded toward the Edo Period, though Tomoe reemerged as a popular figure in ukiyo-e prints and kabuki plays.įive Women Warriors from Japanese History While he was defeated by his cousin Yoritomo (who went on to found the Kamakura Shogunate), it's recorded that Tomoe unhorsed, pinned and decapitated Yoritomo's strongest warrior at the Battle of Awazu in 1184. In The Tale of the Heike (平家物語・ Heike Monogatari), an epic poem about the conflict compiled by at least 1309, it's written that in addition to Tomoe's beauty, 'She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swords-woman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot.'Īs the Genpei War came to a close, Yoshinaka vied for power over the entire Minamoto Clan. Tomoe had a number of achievements in the war, leading 1,000 cavalry, surviving a battle of 300 against 6,000, and collecting opponents' heads like postage stamps. The Genpei War was fought between the powerful Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike) clans, both offshoots of the imperial line. In fact, the legendary Empress Jingu is said to have led an invasion of Korea in the year 200 after her emperor-husband was slain in battle, though whether this invasion ever actually happened remains a matter of debate.

Before the samurai became a formalized caste in the Edo Period (1603-1868), women were trained to use naginata spears and kaiken daggers to protect communities with few male fighters. Tomoe Gozen (1157?-1247?) was an onna-bugeisha (女武芸者, female martial artist) who served Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the Genpei War (1180-1185).