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was a onna-musha warrior, one of the relatively few Japanese warrior women commonly known in history or classical literature. She took a prominent role in the Kennin Rebellion, an uprising against the Kamakura shogunate in 1201.


Early life

She lived during the end of the Heian and the beginning of the
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle betwee ...
s. Her other names include . She was the daughter of a warrior named , and her siblings were and (or ).


Career and capture

Hangaku Gozen was a member of the Taira clan who lived with her family in Echigo. Also known as Hangaku Itazaki, she was the daughter of Jo Sukenaga, who was defeated by Kiso Yoshinaka in battle. She joined her uncle, Jo Nagamochi, and cousin, Jo Sukemori, in the Kennin Rebellion of 1201, and became an integral part of their defensive operations at Torisaka Castle. Hangaku was noted for her leadership and bravery during the three-month long defense during which she and Sukemori led forces of men against Sasaki Moritsuna's bakufu army, who were loyal to the Kamakura Shogunate. "Dressed as a boy", Hangaku stood on the tower of the castle and all those that came to attack her were shot down by her arrows which pierced them either in their chests or their heads.M.R. Beard, The Force of Women in Japanese History (Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press, 1953), 72-73. The rebel defenses were eventually struck down and Hangaku's fighting stopped only after she was wounded by an arrow that pierced her thigh. She was captured and presented, "fearless as a man and beautiful as a flower", as a prisoner of war to the Shogun Minamoto Yoriiye, who was intrigued by her beauty and reputation. Lady Hangaku was precluded from ritual suicide by the Shogun's orders to marry his retainer, Asari Yoshito. Later, she reportedly delivered a son, but there is little record of the remainder of her life. The Jō were warriors, allies of the Taira clan, in
Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...
(present-day Niigata Prefecture). They were defeated in the
Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...
s, and lost most of their power. In 1201, together with her nephew , she raised an army and joined Sukemoto in his attempt (the Kennin Rebellion) to overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate. Hangaku and Sukenaga took a defensive position at a fort at Tossakayama under attack from . Hangaku commanded 3,000 soldiers to defend against an army of 10,000 soldiers loyal to the
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 ...
. Ultimately she was wounded by an arrow and captured; the defenses then collapsed. Hangaku was taken to
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...
. When she was presented to the shōgun Minamoto no Yoriie, she met , a warrior of the Kai- Genji clan, who received the shōgun's permission to marry her. They lived in Kai, where she is said to have had one daughter.


Culture references

Hangaku appears in the '' Azuma Kagami''. Hangaku is said to have been "fearless as a man and beautiful as a flower," Cited by and to have wielded a naginata in battle. Many storytellers and printmakers have portrayed her in their works, including
Kuniyoshi Kuniyoshi (written: 国吉 or 國吉) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fumio Kuniyoshi (国吉 史生, born 1985), Japanese-German rapper *, Japanese footballer *, American painter and photographer *, Japanese bas ...
, who produced a series of warrior women prints. This series also included such historical or literary figures as Tomoe Gozen, Shizuka Gozen, and Hōjō Masako.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hangaku Japanese women in warfare Taira clan Women in 13th-century warfare Women of medieval Japan Japanese warriors 13th-century Japanese women 13th-century Japanese people