Tomoe Gozen: The Most Famous Female Samurai.
Tomoe Gozen: The Most Famous Female Samurai. During the Genpei War from 1180 to 1185, a beautiful young woman named Tomoe Gozen fought alongside her daimyo and possible husband Minamoto no Yoshinaka against the Taira and later 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 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 Y...