Okyō (於京) or Okyō no Kata (お京の方) was a Japanese female warrior (

onna-musha is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan, who were members of the ''bushi'' (warrior) class. They were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war; many of them fought in battle ...

) from the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. She served Aso Koremitsu alongside her husband, Kiyama Masachika. When

Higo province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces. History The cas ...

was divided between

Konishi Yukinaga Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長, baptized under the Portuguese personal name Agostinho; 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese daimyō who served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Known as a Kirishitan daimyo, he is notable for his role as the ...

and

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was . His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi's Seven ...

in 1587, on the completion of the

Kyushu Campaign is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, Kiyomasa invaded the lands of the

Aso clan The Aso clan (阿蘇) is a Japanese clan associated with Aso Shrine. They descend from Kamuyaimimi. The clan were originally Kuni no miyatsukoMatsunaga Naomichi: Kuni no miyatsuko', Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved 25 October 2023 but after th ...

and Okyo volunteered for the defense.

Siege of Hondo Castle

Okyo no Kata‘s early life is not recorded in historical registers. She was married with Kiyama Masachika (木山正親) of

. Her husband was a samurai warlord who first served the Ryuzoji clan and later the

. Okyo is best known for dueling the famous samurai, Kato Kiyomasa, to a single fight. In the year 1589, during the Battle of Hotokezaka, her husband Masachika was defeated in a duel with

Kato Kiyomasa Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan *Katowice, a city in Southern Poland, ...

. Following his defeat, Kiyomasa and the allied forces of

besieged Hondo Castle. OKyō no Kata, dressed in her husband's armor and disguised as a man, rode out with a force of over thirty female warriors. However, while passing by a plum tree, her helmet became entangled in its branches, leaving her unable to move and ultimately leading to her death in battle. It is said that in her final moments, she cursed the plum tree, saying, "Detestable plum branch, though you bloom, never bear fruit," and since then, the tree has never borne fruit. This plum tree, known as "Kabuto Ume" (兜梅), remains preserved within the grounds of Enkeiji Temple in Amakusa City.Kabuto Ume
. Amakusa City (July 2, 2018). Retrieved August 24, 2023.

References

Sources

* "Tenshō no Amakusa Gassenki" (『天正の天草合戦記』), published by the Amakusa Historical and Cultural Heritage Association. Women of the Sengoku period 1589 deaths 16th-century Japanese people Women in 16th-century warfare 16th-century Japanese women {{Japan-mil-bio-stub