Akai Teruko (赤井輝子, November 6, 1514 – December 17, 1594) or Myoinni (妙印尼) was a late-

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

Onna-musha ''Onna-musha'' (女武者) is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan. These women fought in battle alongside samurai men. They were members of the ''bushi'' (warrior) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons ...

warrior. Teruko was a woman trained in ko-naginata, fought in many battles when younger and commanded three thousand soldiers in

Kanayama castle was a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style castle located on top of Mount Kanayama in what is now the city Ōta, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1990. The castle was also known as ''Ōta Kan ...

at 70 years old. She was the daughter of Akai Terumitsu, spouse of Yura Shigeru the retainer of

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

, and grandmother of

Kaihime ("hime" means lady, princess, woman of noble family), speculated to have been born in 1572, was a Japanese female warrior, onna-musha from the Sengoku Period. She was the daughter of and granddaughter of Akai Teruko, retainers of the Later Hōjō ...

. In contrast to her famous granddaughter, Kaihime, who was known as "The most beautiful woman in east Japan" (東国無双の美人), Teruko was known as ''The strongest woman in the Warring States Period'' (戦国時代最強の女丈夫).

Early life

Teruko was born as the daughter of

Tatebayashi Castle is a Japanese castle located in Tatebayashi, southern Gunma Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Tatebayashi Castle was home to the Akimoto clan, ''daimyō'' of Tatebayashi Domain, but the castle was ruled by a large number of differen ...

lord Akai Terumitsu. According to legend, Teruko's father saved a young fox from naughty children, and then in the evening an

Inari Inari may refer to: Shinto * Inari Ōkami, a Shinto spirit ** Mount Inari in Japan, site of Fushimi Inari-taisha, the main Shinto shrine to Inari ** Inari Shrine, shrines to the Shinto god Inari * Inari-zushi, a type of sushi Places * Inari, ...

appeared and recommended a location for his castle, drawing a design for the fortifications on the ground by its tail. The castle that Teruko lived during her early life was the target of constant threats from the

Uesugi Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan **Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Jap ...

Takeda is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files

and Later Hōjō clans. There are no details about Teruko's life with her father, but it is likely that she was trained in military skills from the early age.

Arrival to the Yura clan

Terumitsu proposed a political marriage between Teruko and Yura Shigeru, the head of the Yura clan and lord of

in currently

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

. During the marriage to Shigeru, she gave birth to

Yura Kunishige Yura may refer to: Place * Yura, Wakayama, a town in Japan * Yura District, a district in Peru * Yura Station, a railway station in Japan Ethnic groups and languages *Yura, or Adnyamathanha, an indigenous group of South Australia *Yura, or ...

and

Nagao Akinaga was a Japanese samurai clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nagao," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 39 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Nagao clan descend from T ...

. She had a daughter who married the lord of

Oshi castle file:Oshi Castle 20100723-02.jpg, 270px, Surviving gate of Oshi Castle is a Japanese castle located in Gyōda, Saitama, Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, Oshi Castle was the center of the 100,000 ''koku'' Oshi Domain, but t ...

, Narita Ujinaga, during the wedding Teruko's daughter gave birth to

. Teruko's husband, Shigeru, was a warlord who played independence as a

Sengoku The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various s ...

feudal lord, and switched forces in front of the powerful forces Uesugi and Hojo. The Yura family has been a role of intermediary between the Echiso Alliance, which is the alliance between Uesugi and Hojo. In 1578, Shigeru died of illness, so his son Kunishige took over the leadership of the clan. After her husband's death, Teruko becomes a Buddhist nun by changing her name to Myoin-ni (妙印尼). Because Kunishige proved unable to lead the clan, Myoin-ni (Teruko) acquired substantial political power and acted actively in the administration of her family's domain.

Struggles with Hojo clan

When

suddenly exhibited hostility against Yura clan in 1584, Yura Kunishige and his brother Nagao Akinaga were captured by the Hōjō of

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

. The Hōjō's troops marched to took Kanayama castle. Akai Teruko at the age of 71, commanded the defense of the Battle of Kanayama Castle (1584), she led her 3,000 remaining soldiers and resisted over 15 months, and finally under the condition of returning captured leaders Yura clan voluntary opened Kanayama castle At 76 years old, the Conquest of Odawara (1590) took place. She sided with

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary un ...

and turn to the retainer of Maeda Toshie with her grandson, Yura Sadashige. Together with Toshiie, Teruko took part in the Siege of

Matsuida Castle is the remains of a castle structure in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. After Go-Hōjō's army defeated Takigawa Kazumasu's army in the Battle of Shintsugawa, Matsuida Castle was seized and controlled by the Go-Hōjō clan. Daidōji Masashi ...

. Teruko was greatly admired by Hideyoshi and Toshiie for their heroic deeds as a warrior. Hideyoshi gave her as a reward the territory of 5435 koku in Ushiku and she became the owner of Ushiku Castle, but soon she transferred the property to Kunishige.

Later life

Teruko died in 1594 and was buried in Togetsu-in in Ushiku,

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

. She was known as ''The Strongest Woman in the Warring States Period'' (戦国時代最強の女丈夫)

Popular Culture

She makes appearances in the

Samurai Warriors is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, rele ...

and

Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games. The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei. ''Nobunaga's Ambition'' takes place during ...

series of games.

References

External links

妙印尼輝子 - The strongest woman in the Sengoku period
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akai Teruko Japanese women in warfare People of Sengoku-period Japan Women of medieval Japan 16th-century Japanese women Women in 16th-century warfare Samurai 16th-century women rulers 1514 births 1594 deaths Toyotomi retainers