Nakazawa Koto (中沢琴, 1839–October 12, 1927) was a Japanese swordswoman and

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 ...

of the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

. She joined the

Rōshigumi The Rōshigumi (浪士組, meaning "the rōnin squad"), the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai (''rōnin''), founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokug ...

and later Shinchogumi forces, and worked as a pro-Tokugawa agent in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

Life

Nakazawa Koto was born in

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...

. She was very skilled in martial arts from childhood, especially in

Kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of ...

. In 1863, she went to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

dressed as a man, following her brother Sadamasa, who was a member of the Roshigumi group in

. At 170 cm (5'7"), she was tall for a Japanese woman at that time, so that she was taken for a man when she reported to the Shogunate officers in Kyoto. She took part in the ''Kyoto defenders'' group led by Kyokawa Hachirō. Although the Rōshigumi was funded by the Tokugawa

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

, the leader Kyokawa Hachirō and others had strong loyalties to the emperor and planned to gather other ''

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...

'' in Kyoto to combat

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric na ...

s in the city. On March 26, 1863, Kiyokawa led the Rōshigumi out of Edo as the vanguard of Shogun Iemochi's procession to Kyoto, where they arrived on April 10, 1863. When Kyokawa's scheme was revealed in Kyoto, he immediately commanded the Rōshigumi to return to Edo. The group was disbanded and the members returned to Edo. Nakazawa Koto and other officers went to Edo (Tokyo) and later became the founding members of the ''Shinchōgumi''.

Boshin war

Nakazawa Koto and her brother joined the shogunate forces of Edo, the Shinchogumi. During the crisis between the empire and the Tokugawa Shogunate, Koto allied with the Tokugawa in the

. One cause of the war was Emperor Meiji's declaration that he would decree the abolition of the 200-year-old

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

and impose direct command by the imperial court. Military action by the imperial forces and acts of violence by Meiji supporters in Edo led the Shogun

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

to attack and attempt to gain control of the court in Kyoto. Historical records indicate that, during the Boshin War, Nakazawa Koto defended the shogunate against the attack of the

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

and

Ogi Ogi may refer to: People * Adolf Ogi (born 1942), Swiss politician *, Japanese football player *, Japanese actress and politician *Darko Ostojić (born 1965), nicknamed Ogi, Bosnian musician and actor *, Japanese football player *Ogi Ogas (born 19 ...

clans (the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satchō'' () is ...

) in Edo in 1868. After those attacks, she and her brother participated in the

Battle of Hokuetsu The was a battle of the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, which occurred in 1868 in the northwestern part of Japan, in the area of modern Niigata Prefecture. Background The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favourable to the resto ...

. During this battle, Nakazawa Koto, encircled by a dozen enemy samurai, broke the encirclement by defending herself with her katana and then pressing her attackers.

Legacy

While Nakazawa Koto worked as a member of the Shinchogumi, she always dressed as a man, even after the officers knew her true identity. In addition to being a great swordswoman, it is said that she had an exceptional beauty that left an impression on many people. A tale written about her says: "When Koto dresses as a man, many women fall in love with her. When Koto dresses as a woman, many men fall in love with her." Koto was proud as a swordswoman and decided she would only marry a man stronger than she. However, apparently no living man was able beat her in a duel, so she remained single all her life. She died on October 12, 1927. Her grave is located in

Tone District, Gunma is a rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2015, the district had an estimated population of 34,946 and an area of 1,322.23 km2, with a population density of 26.4 people per square kilometer. Towns and villages * ...

, where she was born. Many people visit her tomb to this day.

References

{{Reflist

Life

Boshin war

Legacy

References

See also