Women

Women in the Tale of the Heike are mostly all “proper women.” This meaning that they perform all of the duties they are expected to as a woman or wife, and do just about anything that a man (particularly one of power) asks them to. Chapter 9, however, sees a bit of a departure from this “typical Heike woman,” as seen in Tomoe Gozen and Kozaishou.

Tomoe Gozen was with Kiso no Yoshinaka as he fled towards Seta before his death. A powerful warrior and a skilled archer (which is already very uncommon for a woman at the time), Yoshinaka ordered Tomoe to flee once he knew his death was imminent, as he did not wish to be outlived by a woman on the battlefield. In an unexpected move, Tomoe initially refused to listen to Yoshinaka. In order to first prove her worth as a warrior to him she turned and took down a mighty enemy samurai. Upon showing Yoshinaka what she was capable of, Tomoe then took her leave. Although she did technically listen to him in the end, an initial outright denial of Yoshinaka’s request was very uncharacteristic of a woman during the time of the Genpei War.

Next is the case of Kozaishou, Taira no Michimori’s wife. Despite Michimori telling her before the battle of Ichi-no-Tani that they might not see one another again, Kozaishou still could not accept that her husband had died in combat. Spiraling into depression, Kozaishou’s condition worsens, and she looks to suicide as her only option. Her nurse urges her to stay strong, as she is pregnant and has family to attend to who are still alive. Nevertheless, Kozaishou ignores all request and suggestions, and drowns herself by jumping into the ocean, not even allowing her nurse the opportunity to take her life alongside Kozaishou. With not one, but two defiant women featured prominently within its episodes, Chapter 9 shows a very different side to women than what has been shown in the Tale of the Heike up until now.