A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 16

This is the 10th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Today’s story: Fierce female Samurai warrior born in 1184.

I first stumbled upon Tomoe Gozen in a BuzzFeed article entitled “The Definitive Ranking Of The 11 Most Badass Queens In History.” That led me to this Wikipedia page:

Tomoe Gozen (c. 1157–1247) was a late twelfth-century female samurai warrior, known for her bravery. She married Minamoto no Yoshinaka and served him in the Genpei War and was a part of the conflict that led to the first shogunate in Japan. Her family had strong affiliations with Yoshinaka. Her father, Nakahara Kanetō was a strong supporter of Yoshinaka and also his foster father, who raised him since he was two. Her mother was Yoshinaka’s wet nurse. Two of her elder brothers also served Yoshinaka as generals. She is best known for her loyalty and courage at the Battle of Awazu in 1184.

According to epic account written at the beginning of the 14th century, “Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors. — The Tale of the Heike ”

After defeating the Taira and driving them into the western provinces, Yoshinaka took Kyoto and desired to be the leader of the Minamoto clan. His cousin Yoritomo was prompted to crush Yoshinaka, and sent his brothers Yoshitsune and Noriyori to kill him. Yoshinaka fought Yoritomo’s forces at the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, where Tomoe Gozen purportedly took at least one head of the enemy. Although Yoshinaka’s troops fought bravely, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. When Yoshinaka was defeated there, with only a few of his soldiers standing, he told Tomoe Gozen to flee because he wanted to die with his foster brother Imai no Shiro Kanehira and he said that he would be ashamed if he died with a woman.

It’s Kill Bill meets The Last Samurai. And given the current climate in Hollywood which is embracing female-lead movies, this could be a very nice spin on a familiar subject.

There you go: My sixteenth story idea for the month. And it’s yours. Free!

Here are links for all the previous posts in this year’s series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15

Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.

See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.