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Takeko Nakano
Takeko and the Joshitai Are honored in Japan Every year, during the Aizu Autumn Festival
Takeko entered training in the region of Aizu to further refine her combat skills, specializing in the naginata, a truly terrifying weapon. Takeko had so much combat prowess that she went on to train other Aizu women warriors for battle. When civil war erupted in 1868 between the, spoiler: doomed Tokugawa shogunate and the Imperial Meiji government, Takeko, along with her mother, little sister Yuko, and 20 or so other women, formed what was later known as the Joshitai or women’s army with Takeko as the primary leader. Takeko and the Joshitai charged outside the safety of the castle gates, even as the gates closed behind them locking them out. The Joshitai were now part of the shogunate forces that would attack the imperial forces at
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Joshitai
The night before the attack, Takeko and her mother stayed up late having a debate. At the battle at Yanagi Bridge the imperial forces tried to take the women warriors alive, but were caught by surprise when the Joshitai fought ferociously, killing many of them. And let’s not forget, the Joshitai were vastly outgunned, literally they had swords, the enemy had guns. In the midst of Takeko’s furious battle, she was shot in the chest.
Yuko
As she lay dying, she told her sister, Yuko, that no matter what, she was not to let Takeko’s head be taken as a trophy by the enemy. Yuko, her 16 year old sister, had to cut it off and take it with her. That escalated quickly. Yuko tried to fulfill her sister’s wishes,but she was so physically exhausted from the battle that she was unable to completely sever Takeko’s head from her body. Another soldier had to help her complete the task. Yuko wrapped Takeko’s head in cloth and took it from the battle,eventually delivering it to a nearby temple, Hokai-ji,where it was buried under a pine tree. Takako’s grave, her head, and her naginata,remain at the temple to this day.
Hokai-ji
Takeko Nakano was born in 1847 in what is now Tokyo, during the twilight of the Tokugawa shogunate. We don’t have to get too deep in the weeds here, but the shogunate was the feudal military government that ruled Japan with samurai backing them. During this era, all women of a certain class were supposed to be trained in combat, though most were taught more as an exercise rather than as a practical skill.However Takeko was adopted and instructed by a master of martial arts.
