#yae yamamoto

[tamayokny]

the way i got so excited when miss tatsu rolled up! she's one of the best characters of the franchise

[hallowedgal]

i luv women like her... *swoons*

♥ twitter upload / dA upload / pixiv upload ♥

[whitelotusherald]

Well, Yamamoto Yae wandering around Aizu under the alias "Saburo", literally looking like Harada Sanosuke with boobs, being popular with all the ladies and constantly messing with Tetsu in Peace Maker Kurogane was NOT on my 2023 bingo card but here we are

[ultra-rockart]

Another Thing Blue Eye Samurai Got Wrong

There were women who fought as fighters and samurai (or more often called as onna-bugeisha or onna-musha) for their clan. They didn't have to hide their femininity. There is a long history of female warriors in Japan that date back to an Empress named Jingū (she ruled from 201 to 269 AD). I bring you two of the greats:

Tomoe Gozen

She was skilled at archery, the sword and the use of the naginata. Tomoe is one of the most feared women because of her cleverness and offensive tactical skills. Her men trusted and respected her. During the Battle of Awazu, she killed the Musashi clan leader. Sadly, there is no more records of her after that. Tomoe is the most known and celebrated of the onna-bugeisha.

Nakano Takeko

Like many samurai of her time, she wore the typical samurai armor but instead chose to wear a red hakama. This red hakama became a symbol of not just her femininity but empowerment. She fought in the Boshin War against Imperialists who wanted the Emperor to rise to power (they eventually won during the Battle of Toba–Fushimi).

Similar to the Kiheitai (or the ad hoc army by the Imperialists), she led the Jōshitai or women's army fighting on the side of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Nakano was wounded with a rifle shot and rather than allowing her enemies to parade her lifeless body as a trophy, she ordered her sister (also a capable warrior as with her mother. all 3 women fought alongside each other) to cut her head off and burry her head in secret so her enemies would not have a reason to disgrace her. Her head was buried under a pine tree and her beloved naginata was given to a temple.

In Aizu during the Autumn festival, girls parade around the streets wearing a red hakama and a white headband to honor Nakano and the women fighters of the Jōshitai.

Other female fighters include Yamamoto Yae aka "Bakumatsu Joan of Arc" and Hangaku Gozen or Lady Hangaku.

______________________________________________________________

There is a reason the filmakers of Lady Snowblood (a film Blue Eye Samurai heavily borrows from) didn't chose to disguise Yuki as a man when she enacted her revenge.

[xinxiaogato]

— live to tell the tail

summary. you unfortunately lived in a universe where general gorou had found out ms. hina was… himself. and just your luck: gorou’s first impression of you was a crazed devotee of the ms. hina fan club, but you had only been in the wrong place at the wrong time. will you live to tell the tail?

love interests. gn!reader x a watatsumi general, an inazuman vagrant, the balladeer, and the kreideprinz.

warnings. infinite pet puns, referenced character death, weapons, swearing, blood, alcohol, harassment, and mentions of war.

word count. 892

chapter twenty-two ⌇ are you shih tzuing me

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yae miko was the bane of gorou’s existence…

…so he was a little irked to see you falling over yourself to admire her in front of netsuke no gen crafts.

“guuji yae, i never thought i would have the chance to meet you like this!” you bunched up your shoulders and entwined your fingers behind your back. gorou had only seen a crumb of this strange behavior whenever kazuha swung by, but now... it was in full force.

okay, gorou recognized that, as an editor, you would obviously be thrilled to shake hands with the editor-in-chief of inazuma’s publishing house, but this same editor-in-chief had subjected gorou to a legion of teasing, pet names, and schemes. if the multiverse existed, gorou doubted there was a universe in which he trusted yae miko because in every single one, she would have most definitely created ms. hina without his consent.

“what a cute disciple i have,” yae cooed, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up. “i actually have something i mean to discuss with you, reader, but there’s a more pressing matter i must tackle with your furry friend first.”

you slowly nodded. “oh… do you want me to leave and then come back?”

yae detected gorou squirming beside you. “...i think he would want you to stay,” she concurred, which only exacerbated your confusion.

“d-don’t waste reader’s time!” gorou yapped, getting more riled up than usual. every bone in his body was screaming for him to flee, but he didn’t want to show a cowardly side of him with you there. “what do you need to talk to them about?”

how strange. when did gorou and reader come to know each other? “well, if you insist. i’m certainly not short on time myself.” arms cradling her stomach, yae looked at you with a more solemn frame of mind. “reader, i assume you are out here because you saw a discrepancy between what you know and the report you received today.”

“yes…” you scratched your cheek. “...on the off chance, are you aware of what happened to the book that went missing?”

“...your author should be,” she returned, “but i suppose things were lost in communication. a year ago, mr. yamamoto had contacted an illustrator from abroad by letter to see if he’ll draw art for tickled pink.

“a copy of that book was sent along with the letter… but i have an inkling the illustrator couldn’t respond in time before the sakoku decree was put into effect.”

so this all happened before i arrived at inazuma, you confirmed, eyebrows springing upward. no wonder i was never told anything about this. “who’s the illustrator?”

a thoughtful pause later, yae answered, “hmm… you’ll chance upon him eventually, reader. the yae publishing house commissioned him for the irodori festival, so… we’ll see if he accommodates for mr. yamamoto’s commission as well.”

that response made your nose scrunch up. was it too much for yae to apprise you of this guy’s identity? especially if he was so reputable to the point that the publishing house called for his artistic expertise… you racked your brain for names hotaru dropped in the past, but, to your understanding, none of them were illustrators.

gorou studied your dismay, his tail swishing speedily behind him. this formed a disquieting smile on the kitsune's face.

“hehe… reader, care to see what sort of face gorou is making?”

“pardon?”

with a gentle finger under your chin, yae redirected your attention to gorou’s cheeks that had blossomed into a rosy color once he realized this was another one of yae’s ploys.

“what… about his face…?” your voice grew faint.

it was that feeling again. caterpillars breaking out of their chrysalises in your stomach. nerves being set on fire. an acrobat performing a ropewalk.

and yae was getting a real kick out of watching you two act like students about to confess their crushes on each other behind the school building. it was time for her to play as the angel "cupid" (in her own devilish way). “fascinating. never would i have predicted for someone other than the traveler to get under your armor, dear gorou.”

“under my armor!?” gorou screeched.

yae lazily lolled her head toward him. “not literally, but i know you, general. you keep words lodged in your throat while letting other people vent to their heart’s content, but it’s a different story around the traveler, is it not?”

gorou rubbed a distressed hand over his face to suppress the urge to cry before wildly gesturing in your direction. “reader, don’t be fooled by her cunning words! there's nothing going on between the traveler and me!”

your eyes widened by the slightest bit. right, the traveler. why aren’t they the one in my shoes right now?

“um… oh,” you uttered absentmindedly.

yae and gorou stared at you.

…oh?

…

…could you not care less about gorou and the traveler being an item?

yae pursed her lips, feeling a bit sorry.

and gorou willingly chose to speak with yae—his most formidable foe—to escape this painfully awkward conundrum. “s-so what was it that you had to tell me, yae miko?”

“...oh, yes. the publishing house declined in sales since the disappearance of its foremost columnist, so i need you dressed up as our precious ms. hina for a magazine signing event.”

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[gladyscontrerasart]

Mentally, I have not been here. For some reason, drawing doesn't being me joy as much as it has before. I'm in slump and I will eventually roll over that hump. Maybe...

Anywho, here are some doodles of Harada being smexy and Yae Yamamoto!

WHHHEEEEEE!!!!!

[bcdwclves]

also, to supplement Kali icons, i was just honestly gonna use Roberta for her because lemme tell you, my version of Kali used to really love fighting. she was a wild woman who terrorized the isle of Menagerie and kept it free from corporate control in the old days by kicking their asses and sending them back home.

also also, to supplement my lack of good Gheera (fem!ghira) icons, I'm also using Yamamoto Yae bc i am absolutely in love w/ masc female characters, and what better for a walking, talking mountain than Gheera.

[lt1211]

So uh apparently Christian music has been terrible for at least 130 years

Explanatory notes: This scene is from a Japanese Taiga drama called Yae's Sakura which is about the life of a Japanese educator and feminist Yamamoto Yae, which spanned from the Bakumatsu (1853-1867) all the way to Japan's invasion of China in the 1930s. This specific scene is from the 1870s when Yae first met her future husband who happened to be a Jesus guy. Yae's husband was trying to set up a Jesus school in Japan and he can't help but sing Christian music to the students.

[appleinyoureye]

Requests • Fandoms/Characters List

⇾ I mostly take headcanons requests!

⇾ I have to really like your drabble/fic idea to write it.

⇾ I still plan on taking most of your requests. However, I'm only a human, so don't expect me to write them immediately. Depending on how I feel and how inspired I am, it may take me a day, a week or even more than a month to complete it.

⇾ Reader is always gender neutral (you can't request them to have any other pronouns than they/them – but you can request specific headcanons about body parts). Every character is bisexual unless they have a stated sexuality in canon.

⇾ No OCs, no SH, no ED. If your request makes me uncomfortable, I'll not write it.

⇾ I take fluff, crack, angst and smut requests!

⇾ I'm okay-ish with aging up characters, but it strongly depends on a character.

⇾ Please, be as specific as you can in your requests.

⇾ Up to 6 characters for headcanons!

⇾ I also write polyamory ;)

⇾ Please, don't republish my work.

Fandoms and characters that I write for:

❇ Anime/Manga

↠ Attack on Titan

Armin, Connie, Eren, Jean, Mikasa, Sasha

Erwin, Hange, Levi

Annie, Reiner

↠ Bungou Stray Dogs

Atsushi, Dazai, Kunikida, Ranpo, Tanizaki, Yosano

Akutagawa, Chuuya, Gin, Oda, Tachihara

Poe, Lovecraft, Lucy, Mark Twain

Fyodor

As of now, I haven't watched the fourth season, but I'm sure this list will be updated as soon as I see it.

↠ Dr Stone

Chrome, Francois, Gen, Ginro, Kinro, Kohaku, Magma, Ruri, Ryusui, Senku, Suika (only platonic), Taiju, Yuzuriha

Homura, Hyoga, Nikki, Tsukasa, Ukyo

Amaryllis, Kirisame, Matsukaze, Mozu

Luna, Maya, Stanley, Xeno

Byakuya, Lilian

↠ Haikyuu

Karasuno: Daichi, Sugawara, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kiyoko

Nekoma: Kuroo, Yaku, Yamamoto, Kenma, Fukunaga, Inuoka, Lev, Shibayama

Aoba: Oikawa, Matsukawa, Hanamaki, Iwaizumi, Kindaichi, Kunimi, Kyotani

Date: Aone, Futakuchi, Koganegawa

Fukurodani: Bokuto, Akaashi, Konoha

Shiratorizawa: Ushijima, Semi, Reon, Tendou, Goshiki, Shirabu

Inarizaki: Kita, Aran, Atsumu, Suna, Osamu

Kamomedai: Hoshiumi, Hirugami

Itachiyama: Sakusa, Komori

Other: Alisa, Daishou, Kanoka, Meian, Miwa, Pedro, Saeko, Takeda, Terushima, Tomas, Ukai

↠ JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Part 1: Dio, Jonathan, Speedwagon

Part 2: Caesar, Joseph, Kars, Lisa Lisa

Part 3: Avdol, Dio, Hol Horse, Joseph, Jotaro, Kakyoin, Polnareff

Part 4: Josuke, Jotaro, Kira, Koichi, Mikitaka, Rohan, Yukako

Part 5: Abbacchio, Bruno, Diavolo, Doppio, Fugo, Giorno, Mista, Narancia, Trish

I haven't seen part 6 yet and haven't read the manga yet.

↠ Jujutsu Kaisen

Hakari, Inumaki, Itadori, Kirara, Maki, Megumi, Nobara, Yuta

Geto, Gojo, Ino, Mei Mei, Nanami, Shoko, Toji, Yuki

Koichi, Mai, Miwa, Noritoshi, Todo

Choso, Mahito, Sukuna

Haven't read most of the culling game

↠ Tokyo Revengers

Literally everyone, except for South, Mochi and Muto.

❇ Games

↠ Genshin Impact

Mondstadt: Albedo, Amber, Barbara, Bennett, Diluc, Eula, Fischl, Jean, Kaeya, Lisa, Mona, Razor, Rosaria, Sucrose, Venti

Liyue: Baizhu, Beidou, Chongyun, Ganyu, Hu Tao, Keqing, Ningguang, Shenhe, Xiangling, Xiao, Xingqiu, Xinyan, Yanfei, Yelan, Yun Jin, Zhongli

Inazuma: Ayaka, Ayato, Ei, Gorou, Heizou, Itto, Kazuha, Kirara, Kokomi, Kuki, Sara, Thoma, Yae, Yoimiya

Sumeru: Alhaitham, Candace, Collei, Cyno, Dehya, Faruzan, Kaveh, Layla, Nilou, Tighnari

Other: Aether, Dottore, Lumine, Scaramouche, Signora, Tartaglia

I also write for some NPCs.

Platonic only: Diona, Dori, Klee, Nahida, Sayu, Yaoyao

↠ Yakuza 0

Kiryu, Lee, Majima, Nishiki, Nishitani, Oda, Tachibana

Makoto (only platonic), Reina, Yuki

I'm currently playing Yakuza Kiwami, so please, no requests with future characters, and no spoilers.

❇ Series

↠ Alice in Borderlands

Will write who you may request later. Don't have energy to do so right now lmao. But I think everyone is cool (except for Niragi)

↠ Stranger Things

Idk, I just love Steve. Will eventually update this list.

↠ The 100

Currently re-watching it with my partner after I've seen it four years ago, so I may not remember some of characters.

Haven't seen the last season, so no reqs with it, and no spoilers please!

[matsudaryota-works]

MV chilldspot Digital Single「キラーワード」

映画『隣人×-疑惑の彼女-』主題歌

恋人役で出演しています

Staring : YAE, MIO

Ryota Matsuda

Yume Koga

Yuko Sakurai

Nobuyuki Hirose

Kurin Kusunoki

Shuji Yamamoto

Yoko Kaneshiro

Director : Takuya Setomitsu

Cinematographer : Yuki Maxima

1st AC : Seijun Ichinose, Mitsunori Nakata

2nd AC : Takahiro Kawahara

Lighting Director : Yamato Watanabe

Lighting Assistant : Hirari Okuyama, Ginji Ono

Compogitor : Daiki Matsuo (NANON CREATIVE)

Colorist : Yusuke Adachi

Hair&Makeup : Minami Ariga, sakai

Hair&Makeup Assistant : Kanoko Fukushima

Stylist : Yuya Nakajima

Stylist Assistant : Ryusei Higa

Casting : Kentaro Masuko, Mei Shibata(SKALY)

Production Manager : Yusuke Sato, Ayana Ishikawa

Production Assistant : Shion Uchida, Tomo

Sakamoto, Mikuto Hayashi

Assistant Producer : Rikuto Yoshikawa (Cyran)

Producer : Keita Sugai (Cyran)

Production : Cyran

[kxrta]

and now some famous onna-musha (or female warriors)

- Tomoe Gozen (1157 – 1247 assumedly)

While Tomoe Gozen* was mentioned in the Tale of Heike, she may have only been a character, as she doesn't appear in any primary sources on the Genpei War.

*'Gozen' is not a name, but rather an honorific title, thpically translated to Lady

- Niijima Yae (1 Dec 1845 – 14 June 1932)

Born Yamamoto Yae to Yamamoto Gonpachi, a samurai and official gunnery instructor in Aizu Domain. Her family claimed descent from Takeda clan's retainer Yamamoto Kansuke, also known by his formal name Haruyuki, who was a brilliant strategist.

Yaeko was skilled in gunnery having been taught by her father, which is fucking sick. A legend is told of her dressing in her brothers garb in order to fight, though I couldn't find much on that.

After divorcing her first husband in 1871 due to him becoming a prisoner of war, she moved to Kyoto in search of her brother, and became a sub. teacher at Kyoto Women's School, acquired her tea master qualification in 1894 and became a tea master.

She re-married to Rev. Joseph Hardy Neesima [in 1875], a former samurai who lived in the US to seek higher education and promoted for women's rights. Neesima was in the motions of building a Western School that promoted Christianity (which was not appreciated by Buddhists and Shintoists). After the marriage, Yaeko was dismissed from her teaching position, and she volunteered to assist running the new school.

Yaeko played an integral part in the founding of the Doshisha English School. The couple (alongside help from Alice J. Starkweather) later opened a Joshijuku (small girl's school) named Doshisha Branch School for Girls and then Doshisha Girls' School.

After the death of Neesima (1890) shifted her focus to nursing and became a member of the Japanese Red Cross later that same year. Yaeko joined the army and was stationed as a nurse in Hiroshima during the First Sino-Japanese War. Her efforts in improving the social status of trained nurses was recognised in being awarded her first Order of the Precious Crown in 1896.

After the war, Yaeko became an instructor in nursing schools. Then she rejoined the army for the Russo-Japanese War (1904) and as a volunteer nurse in Osaka. This earned her her second Order of the Precious Crown and was further awarded a silver cup at the inauguration of the Shōwa Emperor in 1928.

This diva girl-bossed her way through history right up until her death. Hell yeah.

- Nakano Takeko (Apr 1847 – Oct 1868)

Nakano was born [in Edo] to Nakano Heinai, an official of Aizu, and Nakano Kōkō, daughter of Oinuma Kinai, a samurai in service of Toda of the Ashikaga domain. She was well educated and from a powerful samurai family.

She recieved training in martial arts, in literary arts on Chinese Confucian classics and calligraphy, and was later adopted by her teacher Akaoka Daisuke. Nakano also taught students younger than her, including her younger sister.

Nanako's certification, or menkyo (teaching license) was in Hasso-Shoken, a branch in the major of Itto-ryu*. She both served as the secretary for and taught naginata to the wife of lord Niwase, whom she was employed under at Itakura estate.

She left her position in 1863 when she was adopted by her master, but later reunited with her Edo family.

In 1868 she was in Aizu for the first time, and spent time teaching women and children naginata in Aizuwakamatsu Castle, as well as capturing voyeurs in the women's bathrooms.

At 21, Nakano participated in the Boshin War where she, alongside other women, took the front line without permission, as the senior Aizu retainers disallowed their participation as an unofficial part of the domain's army. This unit was later called the Jōshitai (Girls' Army). This ad hoc group included her 40 year old mother and 16 year old sister, and was lead by Nakano under Furuya Sakuzaemon.

In October of 1868 Nakano led these women to face enemy forces at Yanagi Bridge equipped only with their naginata while Meiji troops had firearms. When the men realised their targets were women, the commander ordered them not to be killed. This allowed to the Jōshitai to kill many enemies before the attack continued. She was downed by a bullet to the chest.

Instead of allowing imperial forces to mutilate her corpse, Nakano had her sister cut off her head to avoid the humiliation, to which she agreed. She passed with her dignity and her head was buried at the family temple where a monument was eventually erected.

*one-sword school, ancestor school of several japanese koryū kenjutsu styles.

further reading

japan's warrior women, Chris Kincaid, Aug 9 2015

a long history of japanese women warriors, Kallie Szczepanski, Jan 22 2020

samurai warrior queens, a drama documentary based on the life of nakano takeko (imdb)

nakano clan, Sumiko Nakano

in conclusion

Sure. I would have loved to continue the narrative of Jin Sakai, as it felt for me as though the end of the game was not the end of the story of the Ghost of Tsushima.

In saying that, Ghost of Yotei shouldn't be blacklisted just because it features a woman. If you don't wanna play the game due to a feminist movement that only might have something to do with the choice of a female lead, then don't play it. Simple. No one is making you buy it. No one is telling you you have to enjoy it. There is no gun to your head.

There is nothing that I have seen so far that makes me think this game should be thrown to the side. The trailer visuals look just as stunning as Ghost of Tsushima and two swords sounds mad. Just because I'm excited about a new story, does not mean that I enjoyed Jin's journey any less.

Also, eat rocks. Onna-musha are fucking awesome.

Ghost of Yotei Summary

They made her a female samurai, which did not exist. At all. It's not like Northern Europe that had rare but extent shield maidens.

And they hired a Feminist cunt to play her. While Disney is still reshooting Snow White, because they hired a Feminist cunt to talk about how terrible the original was, and are regretting it.

Some people say to give it the benefit of the doubt, but nowadays, games do NOT get the benefit of the doubt. They have to prove they are not girlbossing.

They also have her dual-wield, because of course she has to be better than Jin Sakai.

Addendum: And "if you don't like it, don't buy it" does not work in convincing us it will be good. Especially after all of the other times it's been done, and then we're called -ist for not buying it.

[whitelotusherald]

As I previously stated, I can't unsee the images of Yamamoto Yae running around in a single loincloth like a female counterpart of Harada Sanosuke but at least there are a decent amount of happy moments for Saya and Tetsu!! (Too bad they get some serious reality check at the end of volume 17 lol)

[talesofedo]

Good evening,

thank you always for your interesting and well researched information.

I'd like to ask if you know, wether women (of the samurai nobles) in the late Edo period were allowed to wear weapons in public or not.

I always wondered that.

Thanks in advance

Sincerely Yours

Lilith

Thank you for following my tumblr! <3

___

Women of the samurai class traditionally did not carry swords, but they often carried a kaiken (懐剣, dagger).

The word 懐剣 (kaiken) is made up of two characters: 懐 (futokoro) which means breast pocket or bosom, and 剣 (ken) which means sword or blade. Kaiken is therefore literally “a small blade carried in the bosom”. Specifically, it is carried either tucked inside the kimono or, more commonly, inside a fabric pouch tucked into the left front of the obi, the same side on which a man's swords would be worn.

Kaiken served two functions for samurai women:

First (and most obviously) as a weapon for self-defense. A historical example is the mother of Sagawa Hirobee who used her dagger to stab a new government army soldier during the battle of Aizu-Wakamatsu when he tried to rob her. (She’d left the castle to obtain vegetables for the wounded.)

Second, and perhaps less obviously, as a tool for ritual suicide. Female ritual suicide was carried out by cutting the carotid artery on either side of the neck, which would ensure a quick and certain death. Some situations in which a samurai woman might choose suicide would be if her husband had committed seppuku, if she had been dishonored, or to prevent being taken alive by enemy forces. Going back to the battle of Aizu-Wakamatsu, this was an option chosen by some 230 samurai women when the battle was lost.

Illustrations below: kaiken carried in a silk brocade pouch with a red tassel (source); the wife of Onodera Junai of the 47 Ronin preparing to take her life (source) after her husband's seppuku.

Even though women of the samurai class did not carry swords, many did receive training in martial arts. Although women were allowed to train in swordsmanship, and some certainly did, most women who practiced martial arts did so with a weapon called a naginata (薙刀, halberd or pole sword).

Naginata didn't start out as a "women's weapon": they saw use on the battlefields of the Heian period where they were successfully used against cavalry. However, as firearms were introduced during the Sengoku period and battlefield tactics changed, spears replaced the naginata and it eventually became a weapon for home defense and martial arts practice, used primarily by women.

How much training a samurai woman received in the use of naginata depended on a few different factors, not least of which was the domain in which she grew up and lived. Sticking with the example of Aizu, the strict honor code here demanded that samurai women's first duty was to her domain and daimyo and then her family, and that the women of Aizu should be equally skilled in the ways of the pen and the sword (figuratively speaking).

Illustration below: Women fighting soldiers of the new government army using naginata (source).

Does that mean women never carried swords in public during the late Edo period? Well ... yes and no.

No, women did not routinely carry swords like their male samurai counterparts for whom swords were not only a symbol of their class status but also an expected and essential part of what they carried with them when they left the house.

But yes, there are instances where women went into battle armed with both swords and naginata during the Boshin War at the end of the Edo period / beginning of the Meiji period.

Going back to Aizu during the Boshin War, samurai women who had martial arts training with naginata, swords, and (in a few rare cases) firearms, formed their own unit, later termed the Joshigun (娘��隊, women's unit), after the domain's senior retainers wouldn't let them fight as an official part of Aizu's army.

Based on period accounts, most of Aizu's female warriors went into battle dressed as men: they cut their hair short, tying it up in a young man's style, wore men's hakama, and carried swords.

Illustrations below: a statue of Nakano Takeko, leader of the Joshigun, armed with both naginata and sword (wiki) and a later photograph of Yamamoto Yae wearing men's formal clothing, carrying a long sword, and holding her Spencer rifle (wiki).

Recommended reading:

"Female Combatants and Japan’s Meiji Restoration: the case of Aizu" by Diana Wright (You can get the full text PDF free by putting the DOI into Sci-Hub.)

Media featuring Aizu's women warriors:

Byakkotai (1986) Two part miniseries. Not specifically focused on the women.

Yae's Sakura (2013) NHK drama, 50 episodes. Focused on Yamamoto Yae. Amazon Prime has the first episode (and nothing else).

[gladyscontrerasart]

Some ideas for Yae Yamamoto (Niijima). This is wayyyyyy in the future, but for some reason I had to. She's kinnda a mix between a friend's big smile and Haruka Ayase from Yae no Sakura

[redsamuraiii]

YAE NO SAKURA

“Cherry Blossoms don’t resent the winds that scatter them. They just bloom with all their might. The flowers may scatter but in time, they will bloom again, and again, many times over. Yae, you are a Sakura.”

I just finished watching this Taiga Historical Drama which turns out as great as Onna Joshu Naotora where the story centers around a female lead character.

You may have heard about Takeko Nakano, a fearless female Aizu Warrior who fought to her last breath with her naginata, leading her fellow female warriors against the Imperial Forces defending Aizuwakamatsu Castle. 

While Takeko (played by Meisa Kuroki) does appear in this show, the drama focus on another fellow Aizu female warrior named, Yamamoto Yae (played by Haruka Ayase), a Samurai’s daughter who was skilled in gunnery who led the last line of defense of Aizu Castle while Takeko led the Naginata armed female warriors to head out of the castle earlier to prevent the enemy from reaching it.

It tells about Yae’s life story from childhood (played by Rio Suzuki) where she had a fascination with the Teppu (Matchlock) Gun from her brother (Yamamoto Kakuma) and her desire to be stronger in order to serve her Lord and protect her family. She caught the attention of her Lord (Matsudaira Katamori) for her “Samurai Spirit” in her young age, in a sense that she’s not afraid to come forward to admit her mistakes instead of running away like other children and thrives to be better than others. 

Her long journey of life is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, with her dreams and efforts in starting something new or has never been done before by a woman of that era, overcoming tribulations and tragedies, meeting new people in her life, loving and losing people who meant to her dearly, her struggles to push on, and paving way for a new generation of females for a new country. Her determination and resilience in adapting the changing way of life under different rule from the Shogunate to the new Imperial Meiji era is something I admire and adore her for. While the Boshin War might have ended, there are those from Aizu who are still trapped in the past, drowning themselves in pain and sorrow but Yae managed to struggle her way out with the help from her loved ones and start over a new life, venturing into the unknown in an attempt to help others.

Growing from an obedient Samurai’s daughter, to a fierce Rifle-woman, a protective sister, a loving wife, a passionate teacher and a caring nurse. She went through a lot, acquiring new life experiences and knowledge to adapt, using her cherished memories of her loved ones whom she lost before, during and after the war to motivate her in life and do not let her failures, regrets and sorrows of past tragedies to stop her. Something I’m sure we are all aspiring. “Once you decide on starting on a new path, you must never give up.” Haruka Ayase played an amazing role in this that you can empathize with her easily and feel her emotions surging through her throughout the show, feeling her happiness and sadness from time to time. 

The setting of the story is interesting in a sense that you can feel their desperation and helplessness in being inferior to foreign power since the arrival of Commodore Perry and his Black Ships which divided the Samurai Clans which will ultimately led to the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. However, the transition from a Shogunate rule to a an Imperial rule is not a smooth sailing ride as they are those who oppose the new changes and fear the unknown. Or afraid of losing the privileges that they had once enjoyed in order to build a better country that can match the industrial and military powers of the world. And there are those in the new government who still use their positions for their own self-interests, which corruptions lead to more rebellions from discontented population. The challenges of opening new Westernized schools for the younger generations as many feared of losing their Asian values by learning western knowledge and so on. Overall, it’s a very interesting show which shows you the hardship felt by every character on all sides as they struggled to do what is right.

[mangathime]