In conclusion...

Throughout the last 900 years, the character of Tomoe Gozen has been reinterpreted through popular media in various ways. She appears as a strong leader and warrior, a devoted romantic and even a bit of a clumsy woman but she continues to appear and inspire. The central identifying traits for Tomoe really are her long, flowing black hair and naginata.

Anime and Manga

While the Genpei War isn't usually the biggest topic for popular media, there are actually many several highly varied characters that are either supposed to represent Tomoe Gozen or a reincarnation of her in several series.

 

 



For example in Samurai Deeper Kyo I appear as the above fighter named Saisei who works as a nurse as part of her alter-ego. She was resurrected as a zombie by another character and thus fights for her. The characteristics that link her to the historical Tomoe are really only the fact that she fights with a naginata and the clan crest she wears on her chest. As as villain that only appears for a few chapters of manga she does not get much character development, but she also personifies the strong, spirited female warrior often depicted in modern versions. However, it should be taken into consideration that she also has a secret love interest which allows her to be spared....I'm seeing a theme here.

So far so good...until you get to Nurarihyon no Mago.

One evil character, Hagoromo Gitsune, requires hosts to live and it is revealed that in her second host was Tomoe Gozen. The historical accuracy is hopelessly scrambled here. Hagaromo Gitsune preferred weapon fan which she supposedly received from her time with the Taira clan. That's right. They say I was fighting for the OTHER SIDE! Her two other weapons are a bit more realistic for the historical Tomoe: a tachi called Sanbi no tachi and a straight spear, Yonbi no yari. No naginatas here.
As for her character, she is seen as the imperious but motherly queen of the yokai. Honestly, there is not really any connection to the historical Tomoe. It seemed as if the creator simply needed another recognizable female historical figure that could pull off the dignity of the character.

Anyone who is interested in the Fate universe may also know that Tomoe is a common fan character for the Magus Wars roleplay groups. There are several different versions of her character depending on the creator but she is considered a Lancer class due to her main weapon being a naginata although some creators also note her skills with other weapons that could class her as an Archer, Saber and Rider. While the interpretations vary, it should be noted that Tomoe has been linked first and foremost with the naginata, despite the fact that the Heike Monogatari never mentions her using one, perhaps because of the weapon's use among the few Japanese female warriors. She has also been stripped of any clan insignia, but the character descriptions usually noted that she should be played as a refined, confident and serious young woman.

It seems like Tomoe is quite popular in English as she is in Japanese since she also appears in another two series. Firstly, the character of Tomoe Ame, an anthropomorphic cat, from Usagi Yojimbo is a very loose interpretation of Tomoe Gozen simply because she is a female samurai. She fights along side the title character, is captured and must be rescued by him and is suspected of being in love with Usagi. (Love interest AGAIN!)

 

Tomoe was also featured in a pseudo-historical fantasy series by Jessica Amanda Salmonson where she is a rash young warrior longing to regain her honor after sorcery tears her away from it. It really doesn't try to be historical in any way and Tomoe is a convenient female protagonist but once again she is associated with the naginata, due to the title of the second book, although she is seen wielding two swords in several of the illustrations.

 

Video Games- Persona 4

When you are going to have a famous historical warrior, it is inevitable that they will find their way into some kind of video game eventually and I'm no exception. Tomoe Gozen is the Persona of Chie Satonaka. Persona are manifestations of your true self so it is no surprise that Chie is a tomboyish fan of martial arts, especially kung-fu, but she still maintains a cheerful feminine attitude. This links her to the same kind of 'strong woman' interpretation also seen in Riverworld.

 

 

 

As for the character itself, the only things tying it visually to the historical figure are the long hair and double-bladed naginata (so impractical on horseback). The design is more kung-fu related as the jumpsuit is similar to one worn by Bruce Lee. I guess a warrior spirit and a naginata is all that is necessary for a woman to be related to me nowadays.

Riverworld

Once again the tragic romantic heroine, Tomoe Gozen has also appeared in the English miniseries Riverworld (2010) based of the science-fiction series of the same name. In the movie, a number of people from many different time periods are reincarnated, but with little original memory of their old life. Tomoe first appears looking like this:

From her clothing, another person realizes she is a bhikkuni, or female Buddhist nun, and then uncovers her identity gradually. A major part of her sub-plot is her romance with Yoshinaka, who she was a consort for and is the reason she became a nun, since she could never love again and a monastery was the only place that would allow her to remain unmarried.

Of course, the details are all messed up to facilitate such a romantic connection. Tomoe assists Yoshinaka in committing seppuku after an unnamed battle by cutting off his head (in horrendously inaccurate leather armor). We also see her commit suicide herself, the final words on her lips being "I will find you".

Tomoe also takes an active leadership role and is a formidable warrior in the movie. She is the one that draws together a small fighting force and actually forges their weapons (something I wouldn't have had a clue how to do- that's work for craftsmen).

She is also portrayed as a proud, brave and skilled swords woman. Unfortunately, she fights using two katana which she wears slung across her back. First of all, this is incredibly useless for me, as it is much harder to draw weapons of that sort from behind, rather than from the belt, but also Musashi Miyamoto's two sword style would not be developed for four centuries after I had died and even then it was not for two katana. Oh well, can't win them all. This representation is meant to be a portrait of a strong, modern woman who also has some softness to her.

Modern Theatre- Always the love interest

Since we are on the subject of plays, I have recently been a theatre star. July 15-29, 2012 there were performances of Moon Saga, a pseudo-historical saga of swordsmanship, the supernatural and romance.

The famous singer and actor GACKT acted the lead role of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a naive and innocent young man afraid of the power of one hundred demons sealed within his body by Benkei. Because he is still pure-hearted he is still able to see mononoke and questions the discrimination between mononoke and humans. Apparently he feels something more than friendship for Yoshinaka and is in love with Tomoe, although he does not speak of it.

 

Well this is awkward....

 

Benkei would be so mad with all this superstitious junk. Sure Yoshitsune was naive, but he also had a rather short-tempered side and (don't let him know I said this) his swordsmanship kind of fell apart at the end and he was nowhere near as handsome as GACKT!

 

Looks like once again I am relegated to 'love interest'. What else could I be with that kind of 'armor'? I would be dead the second the first arrow was fired at me! Putting that aside though, why can I never be a romantically unentangled woman? In the Heike Monogatari I am called a "female attendant" which usually means something like a court attendant, someone who acts as a companion and trusted servant. However, mythos usually has me enmeshed in some sort of relationship. Usually it is to Yoshinaka, as his wife, consort or prostitute and when he dies, I am either rumored to die with him or become a nun. Other legends state that after I fled Awazu, I was beaten in battle by Wada Yoshimori and became his wife and after his death, a nun at Echizen.



Kabuki- Wait! I dropped my pride!

Continuing on the trail of older art forms, there is also a kabuki play that features me! It is called Onna Shibaraku and has been performed since the 11th lunar month of 1746 although the modern version was re-created as a full play rather than just a short scene in 1901. Nakamura Shikan V played the role of the super-heroine Tomoe Gozen for the first time. The play is still being performed today.

This image is from the original Edo era play. Yamabuki appears holding the Minamoto crest to the left. Tomoe is poised to defeat the villain, Noriyori, with one fierce stroke.

 

Onna Shibaraku is a parodic version of the earlier play Shibaraku and the plot is quite simple in both versions. An evil lord plans to take over the country and is about to execute a group of nobles who have resisted him. At the last moment though, the hero appears, yells "Shibaraku" (Wait!) and single handedly slays everyone.

Sounds great right? Actually I'm not all this fond of this representation of me. Don't forget, this is a parody. The reason why is is humorous is that it takes the already overblown situation of Shibaraku and makes it even more ridiculous by having a woman as the ridiculously strong hero. While the audience can barely maintain the illusion that a single man can defeat so many foes in such a dramatic manner, it becomes ludicrous when a woman does the same thing.

This is not the end though. The final parodic moment is just before the play is about to end. Kabuki plays end with the protagonist exiting on a boardwalk through the audience but Tomoe plops down and after that can't even lift her tachi again (no sign of a naginata here). She acts in a cute, womanly way and an experienced actor must teach her how to exit, but instead of completing it properly, she rushes off to visit an actor in his dressing room.

Final Part of Onna Shibaraku (performed 2010)

 

Really, the character of Tomoe Gozen is here shown in such a way that her feats seem truly impossible for a woman and must have been over exaggerated. Instead of being a bold military leader, here, in her unguarded moments, she is seen as a silly woman.

Historical Battle Prints

Yamabuki is sick again today, so I'm staying with her to keep an eye on her. Seeing her with a fever always reminds me of the when we parted just before the battle of Awazu and I get nervous and start thinking about the past so today I'm going to look at less modern popular culture representations; prints that were made around the Edo period.

This scene shows my moment of triumph against Onda no Hachiro Moroshige. I have disarmed him and I am about to twist his head off. This print emphasises my martial strength, not only through the subject of the print, but also by my ability to keep astride my horse, since I apparently "handled unbroken horses with superb skill" and "rode unscathed down perilous descents"(291) and the apparent helplessness of the other samurai protesting from the right. Also note that the pale face and shaved eyebrows denote my high status but the artist did not go so far as to give me full court make-up.

 

This images places me within the battle, about to defeat Uchida Ieyoshi and Hatakeyama no Shigetada. Note that in this image I am wielding a naginata and have my hair flowing loose, rather than bound by a band or hat which further emphasises my fierceness.

 

In this image I am once again central and surrounded by adoring retainers worried for my well being

 during the final retreat of the battle, but instead of being worried for Yoshinaka who is bringing up the rear and fighting off the encroaching troops, the image is focused on Tomoe and the relationship she has with the other retainers. It seems that Tomoe is a leader to them and they respect her power. Also note that in this image it is clear she has been in the center of the battle and has not returned unscathed. Several arrows protrude from her armor.

 

This final image is the only one where Tomoe is not the central subject of the painting, but instead the focus is split three ways between  Yoshinaka mired in the rice paddy, Kanehira warning and Tomoe charging through a slew of trampled enemies to reach Yaoshinaka. Unlike in the Heike Monogatari where I had already been bidden to leave the battle and would have already been heading towards the eastern provinces. This makes this picture either an image of great devotion and loyalty towards a lord or more likely a romantic image.

 

While there are many woodblock print images featuring Tomoe Gozen during battle, they tend to emphasize her specifically, rather than place her as one of a group of samurai. Although there is so little original source material she seemed to capture the imagination of Edo era print makers both as a strong and capable warrior and a woman.

Also note that in all but two pictures, the clan symbol is clearly and prominently displayed, both as a signifying aspect but also possibly as a claiming of future generations that although her battle was lost, she was still part of the victor's family. 

Jidai Matsuri

My interest in interpretations of Tomoe Gozen started when I attended the Jidai Matsuri for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with the festival, Jidai Matsuri is called the Fesival of the Ages and is held every October 22 in Kyoto and is distinctive for a five hour, two kilometer long parade of around 2,000 people dressed in historically accurate costumes and was originally meant to increase interest in Kyoto as the historical capital Heian-kyo. During the parade, warriors and important figures are portrayed from  the Heian to Meji eras. Of course, there are many important figures from the Genpei War, including Tomoe Gozen.

 

 As you can see, she is weilding a naginata, which was an appropriate weapon for mounted combat, and also carries a signal fan, a tachi and a short blade without a tsuba in her belt (a katana or sayamaki) as well as a bow and arrows. Her armor seems to be rather light compared to many of the male warriors in this area of the parade.

This somewhat follows with the description form the Heike Monogatari which says "She was a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior woth a thousand men"  but fails to take into account the later passage "Yoshinaka sent her out with strong armor, an oversized sword and a mighty bow" (291). While the naginata seems to be an appropriate weapon both as a mounted warrior and as a traditionally female weapon, there is no mention of it in the original text and her armor, while including a brocade silk hitatare appropriate for a warrior of her status is a bit light for the heavy fighting she is described as doing. More emphasis is placed on her beauty, which is emphasised by her courtly make-up in many parades which would never last through a battle. The portrayal, although quite plausible, leaves Tomoe Gozen a beautiful warrior rather than a strong one.

Reincarnation is a Drag

Hello everyone! My name is Tomoe. Just Tomoe this time. In my last reincarnation I was Tomoe Gozen, but in this period there don't seem to be all that many titles, so I must be content with being just plain old Tomoe. I have been rather fortunate to actually remember little snatches of my past life and be born in much the same area as last time but the down side of this is that I end up seeing all the strange interpretations of me everywhere. The historical  me pops up in all sorts of situations, since I seem to be rather famous, but there are so many different stories about me they all get kind of mixed  together even if none of them are true. Apparently, even the scholars think that it is most likely that I'm more a work of fiction than a real historical figure!

Because of all the different interpretations of me, I have made it kind of a hobby to analyze the different images of Tomoe Gozen in popular culture. I hope you will find my research as amusing as I have.l

(1781-1878) Kikuchi Yosai's painting of me!