Nakano Takeko – Courageous Female Samurai Who Died Tragically While Defending The Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle

Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Nakano Takeko had a choice. She could marry or die in battle. She chose the latter.

Having the heart and spirit of a true female Samurai, Nakano Takeko was determined not to be taken alive by the enemy. She led her Samurai women straight into the fire of the imperial army’s modern rifles. She wielded her naginata like a true martial arts master, but how can a sword fight a rifle bullet.

When she understood the end was inevitable, she asked her sister for one last favor. It was a horrible act few siblings could commit, but Takeko’s sister knew this had to be done no matter how hard it was. Nakano Takeko was braver than many of the men who fought along with her. Yet, despite her tremendous courage, her death poem reveals how modest this heroic female Samurai was until the end.

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