Tachibana Ginchiyo: Warrior of Kyushu
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Born: September 23, 1569
Died: November 30, 1602
Country: Japan
Culture: Sengoku Period
Ginchiyo was a terrifying onna musha (female samurai warrior) who was an expert in military strategy, and weapons-based combat. She was part of a powerful family and lived in a chaotic era in Japanese history. She lived in Japan on the southern island of Kyushu.
From her childhood, Ginchiyo was raised totally different from most girls in Japan. Trained by her parents, including her father who was a famous samurai named Dōsetsu, Ginchiyo mastered the use of the sword and a long-handled blade used by female warriors called a naginata. She was also drilled in military and combat strategy, and grew to be a strong young woman with deadly skill and a clear head for strategy.
Ginchiyo was raised in a tumultuous era in Japan. Clans across Japan were at war with each other, and rebellions were constant. Her family, the powerful Tachibana Clan, was a target of rival clans and attacks were frequent.
Just a few weeks after her 16th birthday, Ginchiyo’s father died. Her father had already declared Ginchiyo as his heir, and upon his passing teenage Ginchiyo took over as the head of the powerful Tachibana clan. She inherited ownership of her father’s properties, armies, and even his legendary sword, Raikirimaru (“Thunder Cutter”). Even while she grieved her father, Ginchiyo knew she would not have peace. Her clan’s enemies would see this change in power as a point of vulnerability, so Ginchiyo knew she had to quickly establish her strength as a leader.
Ginchiyo immediately ordered the Tachibana Castle to be fortified and started to strengthen alliances with other clans. She also knew that her clan’s enemies would put a price on her head, so she formed a group of elite warriors to be her personal guard. For the first time in samurai history, all of these elite guards were onna musha, women trained in weaponry and combat strategy. These warriors were also trained in firearms, early types of guns called Matchlock guns, which had been brought to Japan by Portuguese traders. Ginchiyo’s band of warrior women became famous around Japan, not just because it was the first all-female squad of elite guards in the country, but also because they quickly garnered a reputation for being fearsome.
Ginchiyo’s preparations paid off in 1586, when she was 17. Ginchiyo received word that the rival Shimazu clan was approaching to attack. She decided to make a stand at Tachibana Castle, which she had already fortified and which had a strategic position on a mountain, so she could see any incoming enemies before they reached the gates. She gathered her armies there, but also did something unusual: she called the castle maids to gather together, and trained them how to use a Matchlock gun. When the army was approaching, she hid the maids up on the castle gate. While her soldiers were in their usual position, no one would suspect an entire line of defense made up of castle maids, and that element of surprise meant Ginchiyo had the advantage.
When the Shimazu armies arrived, the hidden maids rained gunfire down on their enemies, causing chaos and giving the rest of the army strategic openings to attack. An epic battle ensued, and Ginchiyo’s forces emerged victorious. The Shimazu armies retreated. With that battle, Ginchiyo demonstrated not only her strength as a warrior, but as a strategic leader who considers all of her resources, even those others would overlook: like castle maids who could become fearsome soldiers with the right training and opportunity.
Ginchiyo continued to rule, and when was eighteen she made one of the most important decisions of her lifetime. While many rival clans across Japan had been fighting for dominance, one clan in particular was gaining significant power, the Hideyoshi clan. Ginchiyo weighed all of her options about whether to oppose or ally with the clan, and eventually decided to be their ally.
Good thing too, because just a few years later, when Ginchiyo was 21, her forces joined the Hideoyoshi clan and all of their allies, and she led her soldiers to a victorious siege at Odawara Castle. Ginchiyo’s side emerged victorious, and this is the event that actually re-unified Japan, changing it from an island chain of small clans to one large nation.
Ginchiyo’s legendary sword, Raikirimaru (“Thunder Cutter”) was passed down through generations of warriors and is now preserved at the Tachibana Museum in Yanagawa, Japan. The ruins of the Tachibana Castle wall, where Ginchiyo armed the castle maids and defended her clan, still stand on a mountain in Kyūshū, Japan.
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