Takeko Nakano

Takeko Nakano: The Short Life of a Samurai

Takeko Nakano

In the final years of samurai in Japan, one of the last battles was fought by a group of warrior women. Takeko Nakano led this group of fearsome samurai that were willing to fight to the death. The blog thefemalesoldier.com reports that Takeko Nakano was born in 1847 in a region that is now known as Tokyo. She was the daughter of an official from Aizu, Heinai Nakano, but was raised in Edo. Nakano was trained in martial arts from a young age and became an instructor for other young women during her late teens. According to the website Rejected Princesses,  when she wasn't teaching martial arts, Nakano would also catch peeping toms in the local bathhouse! In 1868, Nakano traveled to Aizu for the first time.

In the history of Takeko Nakano described by rejectedprincesses.com, Japan was described as experiencing a civil war at this time, the Boshin War, that was fought between the feudal, military government, the Tokugawa Shogunate, and those supporting the imperial court. The shogun eventually surrendered to the Western-backed emperor, but his support continued fighting for another year. The region of Aizu continued to rage a battle against the imperial government, and Nakano led this fight.

Nakano's weapon of choice: the naginata

According to thefemalesoldier.com, Nakano and her family led a group of female samurai warriors, the Joshigun, who fought independently because they were not allowed to fight officially with the army. Nakano fought in the front line using a naginata, which many female samurai preferred because its length allows for women to defeat a male opponent, despite their lack of strength. Despite the opposing army having modern guns and vastly outnumbering them, the Joshigun women were committed to the battle and willing to die with honor. According to Diana E. Wright, on October 10th, 1868, the Joshigun women ran directly into the front line, despite their disadvantages. The women were fierce in their fighting and killed many invaders who underestimated them. Diana E. Wright described Nakano, "with her tied-back hair, trousers, and steely eyes, radiated an intense male spirit and engaged the enemy troops, killing five or six." Nakano would have continued to dominate the imperial army, when she was fatally shot through the chest, as described by Jason Porath, the author of rejectedprincesses.com. Nakano wanted to die with honor and demanded her sister decapitate her, in order to prevent a member of the army from taking it as a war prize. Her head was then buried under a tree at the young age of 21. The loss of the Battle of Aizu marked the end of the age of samurai.

The Boshin War marks the end of an era and the beginning of modernism in Japan. The era of samurai was ended with the defeat experienced at the Battle of Aizu. Takeko Nakano was a samurai warrior in every aspect and she represents the ancient values that had been in place for thousands of years. Nakano exhibited the old value system of discipline and was willing to go into a losing battle, in order to defend her lord. Nakano and other samurais valued honor with the utmost authority and, even in death, her final wish was to have honor. 

The monument that commemorates Nakano's achievements

According to ThoughtCo., Takeko Nakano is remembered through a monument that was erected in her honor at the site where her head was buried. A group of young women participate in a procession to commemorate Nakano and the Joshigun, during the Aizu Autumn Festival every year. Although the values of Nakano may feel very ancient and unrelatable for many now, she is still revered for her bravery. I was blown away by Nakano's willingness to give her life for her country, while being only 21 years of age.  The fact that someone who is only a few years older than I am is that willing to fight for what she believes in is incredibly inspiring to me. Tekeko Nakano represents a generation of women that refused to go without a fight.

Works Cited:

“Nakano Takeko.” The Female Soldier, 21 Apr. 2015, thefemalesoldier.com/blog/nakano-takeko.

Porath, Jason. “Takeko Nakano.” Rejected Princesses, Rejected Princesses, www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/takeko-nakano#fnref-13124-4.  

Szczepanski, Kallie. “Meet the Samurai Women of Asian History.” ThoughtCo, 21 July 2017, www.thoughtco.com/images-of-samurai-women-195469.

“The Vicious Sword Female Samurai Favored.” Smithsonian Channel, SNI/SI Networks L.L.C. , www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/the-vicious-sword-female-samurai-favored/37839.

Wright, Diana E. “Female Combatants and Japan’s Meiji Restoration: the case of Aizu.” War in  History, vol. 8, no. 4, 2001, pp. 396–417., doi:10.1177/096834450100800402.