Ginchiyo Tachibana

Ginchiyo Tachibana is argued to have been the tenth head of the Tachibana clan. She allegedly claimed the right of the clan after her father's demise. In various Edo period folklore, Ginchiyo is considered an obstinate woman who had the heart and will as strong as any famed warrior of the era. She is Muneshige's wife who did not bear him any children.

Her relation with Muneshige was not initially clarified in the Samurai Warriors series. The following spin-off titles mentions that they are married to one another. In Gamecity's Sengoku Musou 3: Empires character popularity poll, fans voted her to twenty-fourth place. For the Samurai Warriors 4 poll, she placed thirty-fourth.

Her Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence counterpart is also a downloadable soul in Toukiden: The Age of Demons. She is also thirtieth place in Gamecity's character popularity ranking for 2015.

Role in Games
"So this is the modern woman..."
 * Da Qiao; Warriors Orochi

Samurai Warriors
With the Shimazu conquering the majority of her family territory in Kyūshū, Ginchiyo and her clansmen struggle in several conflicts with their foes and are on the brink of annihilation. With time, Hideyoshi appears and offers aid to her cause. Hoping to avenge her losses and her father, she enters the fray. Once the island is conquered, Hideyoshi greatly praised her efforts and the Tachibana's reputation grew. Unsuccessful in obtaining her vengeance, Ginchiyo decides to follow the path she thinks is most just by fulfilling her obligations to Hideyoshi. After the eastern siege of Odawara Castle, Hideyoshi unites the land but passes away soon after. Like her hated enemy, Ginchiyo decides to stay loyal to the Toyotomi family. Though fighting for the same cause, she reminds Yoshihiro in these battles that she will never accept him as her true ally.

After the Western army wins Kusegawa, Ieyasu's army retreats and threatens Hideyori's position by marching towards Osaka Castle. Mitsunari pursues and both armies confront one another at Sekigahara. Insulted and baffled by Mitsunari's actions, many officers in the Western army are discontent by the current state of affairs. Yoshihiro is among the many who are unsatisfied with their leader and refuses to move during the conflict. Realizing that it maybe necessary to have him join the battle, Ginchiyo personally provokes him to move and they are able to turn the tides of battle. Their victory causes Ieyasu to flee for his life back to Edo. Yoshihiro, wanting to settle their grudge once and for all in an all-or-nothing gamble, joins forces with other loyal Toyotomi officers and defects. They continue to march for Hideyori, intent to crush both Mitsunari and Ieyasu at once. Wanting the chance to defeat Yoshihiro, Ginchiyo aids the pursuit at Yamazaki. Slaying her adversary with utmost respect, she swears to honor his wishes to place the Shimazu in her good care.

Her dream stage is an epilogue to the Western army's victory at Sekigahara, in which they continue to pursue Ieyasu at Edo Castle.

Ginchiyo makes her first appearance in Samurai Warriors: Katana as one of the player's last adversaries during the Ascendancy scenario. She and her nemesis Yoshihiro team up to resist Nobunaga at Sekigahara, though only one of them can be fought against. In the Swordsman scenario, both the Tachibana and Shimazu are attacked by the Toyotomi forces. Ginchiyo is able to repel Mitsunari and take Tsuruga Castle thanks to the protagonist's aid. She returns the favor by helping him sneak into the enemy's main camp and defeat Hideyoshi. With the Toyotomi forced to leave Kyūshū, the female warlord bashfully expresses her gratitude to the player and shares rumors of Musashi's fame to him.

The Savior scenario has Ginchiyo resume conflict against the Shimazu. Although the Saika mercenaries come to her assistance, she is too focused on the battle at hand to acknowledge their presence until they foil all of the ambush units at Tsuruga Castle. Believing that the impostor she had bested was truly Yoshihiro, Ginchiyo quarrels with Magoichi over it to the point where it boils down to a duel versus the protagonist. She ends up losing the fight and is convinced by the mercenary pair to stay in their village for additional training. As time passes by, she and the other women there come to blows over who is the most beautiful woman of the land. To assuage their bickering, a series of trials is held to decide who among them deserves that title. Ginchiyo challenges the player to avoid her traps and may be chosen as the winner of the contest.

During Trial Mode, she is the Pine Room's strongest inhabitant. Revealed to be the anonymous sender of a love letter to the player, the swordswoman clumsily expresses her love for him by demanding a fight. Enamored even more by his victory, she rewards her opponent with a large sum of gold before departing.

In Samurai Warriors 3, her story starts in a similar manner except that she now fights together with Muneshige. His biological father, Jōun Takahashi, was her father's good friend and was also killed by the Shimazu. As Jōun's death caused a noticeable collapse for their family, the two youths work together to retain what is left of their home. Able to defeat their enemy with Hideyoshi's reinforcements, they subjugate the Hōjō at Odawara Castle with fellow Toyotomi forces. Opposing Ieyasu, the Tachibana continue to serve the Toyotomi after Hideyoshi's death. As representatives of the same clan, Ginchiyo and Muneshige part ways to better assist the Western army campaigns. While saying their farewells to one another, Ginchiyo acts as though she is pleased with facing death and states that Muneshige is a thorn in her side. Muneshige calmly responds that he wants to see her live past the wars, making her visibly distraught.

She joins the siege at Fushimi Castle, intent to show her own strength for once. Although she performs well in her campaigns, it isn't until that she fights at Kusegawa that the idea of being alone makes her falter. Motochika, who sees past her tough front, gets to the point and tells her to only care about the things truly important to her. Therefore, when the Western army loses Sekigahara and they flee for their lives, he joins her in defending her family at Ishigakibaru. Desiring to protect her home, even against the impossible odds they face, she regroups with Muneshige to defeat Kanbei's army. Even after his defeat, Kanbei retorts that they have already fallen into his trap and the Eastern army continues their march inward. Surrounded, Muneshige chivalrously reaffirms his wishes for her to live and forces her to flee from horseback. Ginchiyo, who finally decides to be honest with herself, tearfully rides back to his side and admits that she can't lead the Tachibana by herself. She orders him to realize that they will fight and live together from now on.

Sengoku Musou 3: Empires has her appear in Yoshihiro's scenario where she faithfully serves the Ōtomo despite their shortcomings. Taught by Dōsetsu to respect their comrades, Ginchiyo is understandably outraged when Yoshimune Ōtomo decides to abandon his less useful followers to save himself. She and Muneshige intend to avenge their fathers' deaths on Yoshihiro, though they decline to do so outside the battlefield after seeing Jōun's corpse being treated with dignity. As war rages on between the Toyotomi and Shimazu, the Ōtomo lose Hideyoshi's favor and go further into decline. Ginchiyo accepts her husband's bold suggestion to side with their sworn enemies to demonstrate their clan's might over numbers. Once the Toyotomi forces retreat, she and Yoshihiro bond over their shared love of cats.

In Motochika's story, Ginchiyo becomes one of Gracia's traveling companions during the latter's search for Mitsuhide. She is often flustered by the young maiden's tears and her own attempts to provide emotional comfort. However, the two of them come to trust one another as friends. After locating Mitsuhide, the group finds themselves victim of a conspiracy meant to pin the Akechi as culprits of Nobunaga's murder. They heed Motonari's advice to leave the land as scapegoats; only Ginchiyo is left behind when Gracia refuses to ruin her friend's integrity. Much to everyone's surprise and amusement, she angrily follows them by using a wooden box to tail their ship.

Ginchiyo resumes her duties as a Tachibana in Samurai Warriors 4, often seen beside Muneshige in battle. They coordinate their tactics underneath their fathers, Ginchiyo especially admiring Jōun as though he were her own flesh-and-blood. She loses her composure in grief and anger when he dies against Yoshihiro's forces at Iwaya Castle in contrast to Muneshige's seemingly detached focus to duty.

To repay the Toyotomi for helping them defeat the Shimazu, Ginchiyo joins their cause at Odawara Castle and Sekigahara. She fights in the main battle and shares friendly banter with Yoshihiro the night before the first charge. Depending on the scenario selected, Ginchiyo is defeated within the Western army's second wave or fights until the main camp falls. Mitsunari's defeat in either scenario leads to her early retreat to Kyushu, reaching her home, Yanagawa, before Muneshige or Yoshihiro. They resist Ieyasu's subjugation forces together until Yanagawa's position is abolished. A flustered Ginchiyo is last seen accompanying Muneshige in his journey abroad. She dies off-screen years later. Muneshige believes her spirit would never forgive or know rest if he were to abandon the Tachibana name, fighting for her sake at Osaka Castle.

During Chronicles 3, she and the other officers from Kyūshu are given a what-if scenario where Yoshihiro aids the Tachibana at Yanagawa castle and Toyohisa survives Sekigahara and returns to his uncle. The four are able to beat the Tokugawa forces out of the province and swear to keep on fighting to uphold their way of life.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Ginchiyo is under attack by Cao Ren's forces and leads a lone resistance against the Orochi forces. She is saved by the fleeing Yoshihiro, Zhao Yun, and Xing Cai. Tied by honor, she agrees to help their cause.

Okuni drags her into Wu in the sequel. It is here where she follows through with her debt and helps Wu with their cause. She notably works with Zhu Rong to push back the Wei army invading Nanzhong. In one of the game's dream modes, she forms an unlikely alliance with Xing Cai and Yoshimoto. With Yue Ying and Hideyoshi's help, they go to rescue Yuan Shao's struggling army at Chen Cang. Ginchiyo elaborates on Yoshimoto's history with the young maiden and they heroically encourage the isolated generals to fight -including Dong Zhuo.

During Musou OROCHI Z, she is part of the female army at Shizugatake in their battle to prove their worth to the men of the world.

During the original timeline in Warriors Orochi 3, Ginchiyo and Muneshige fought to protect Kyushu from the serpent army. When they suffered defeat, she was separated from him during their chaotic escape. Banding with Jia Xu and company to eradicate the serpent army, they mistake the defense at Dongkou as an Orochi outpost. Their misjudgment cost them and other warriors their lives as they fell to the invading serpent army. When a future Hanbei returns to revert the past, he stalls Ginchiyo and her party long enough for them to realize their error. To repay the debt, Ginchiyo joins the alliance from the future.

As a member of the coalition, she helps rescue the defenders at Odawara Castle and joins the chase for Da Ji within her distorted homeland. With Xiaoqiao's help, she eventually finds Muneshige again at Mt. Xingshi.

In the updated versions of the game, Ginchiyo joins Wang Yuanji and Kaguya during their investigation of a seemingly desolate Ueda Castle. After being attacked by mysterious beings, she recognizes their creator as Seimei Abe, an onmyouji whose history she is familiar with.

In Ultimate, she joins Zhurong in returning to Yuan Shao's past where he first met the demons that deceived him. Although unenthusiastic, she is pushed by Zhurong to continue helping Yuan Shao. After reminding Yuan Shao to not fall for the Hammerjaw's flattery, she betrays the demon army, and helps Yuan Shao defeat them.

Ginchiyo was traveling the new world in Warriors Orochi 4 with Muneshige when they are robbed by Hisahide. Hisahide pins the blame on Guan Yinping and Ma Chao's party, who were also robbed, and the two parties fight one another at Luoyang for Hisahide's pleasure. Once the misunderstanding is cleared they capture the mastermind, but Sun Wukong's forces are lured in by the conflict and begin attacking all the humans in the city. After repelling him, the Tachibana forces join the Coalition, promising to keep an eye out on Hisahide in their stead.

Ginchiyo later accompanies Cao Cao and Xun Yu to Nagashino in the hopes of recruiting the two heroes in the area. To her surprise, she finds that one of the heroes is Yoshihiro, who is fighting off members of Pang De's army. Yoshihiro and Guo Jia later join the Coalition after pushing the Olympian back.

Pokémon Conquest
Ginchiyo is Violight's Warlord in Pokémon Conquest. Uninterested with the thought of conquest, she instead takes pride in her clan's expertise with Electric Pokémon and fights only to protect her clan's pride. Ginchiyo genuinely accepts her defeat to the protagonist's army and willingly gives her castle away as per the condition of her loss. When Muneshige asks if her failure bothers her, she affirms that staying true to her family's creed of honor holds greater importance to her.

Her personal episode has her defend her home against the other women characters. Ginchiyo personally regards their competition for the "Queen of Ransei" to be ridiculous, yet she desires to use this opportunity to unify seven castles under her command. Since men are forbidden from entering, Muneshige gladly takes a vacation so she can participate. When the castles are unified in her family's name, Ginchiyo feels her victory is a hollow one since she still needs to conquer ten other castles. Muneshige returns from his trip to congratulate her, and his direct remark about missing her cuts through her brooding. Having overheard Ginchiyo's worries, Muneshige swears to fight to make her dream a reality.

Kessen
Ginchiyo can be recruited in Kessen III if Kicho rides out in battle to meet her. She is actually a fan of Kicho and acts as a rather sweet maiden. In some ways, she mirrors her idol's abilities. She is an capable frontline warrior affiliated with mounted naginata unit. Her supporting and offensive spells abilities are lacking, though.

Nobunaga's Ambition
Guruguru Dungeon Nobunyaga has Ginchiyo star in the Tachibanya event. Newly wed and indignant, Ginchiyo believes her husband is too careless as the new lord of her family. If it weren't for her respecting her father's wishes, she would have ruled the clan by herself. She is outraged when he is deaf to Dōsetsu's passing before realizing that he is concentrating on saving the Tachibanya from the immediate Siamazu invasion. Appreciating his concern to duty, she gradually softens and empathizes with her husband when they are too late to save Shōun. Reconciling her differences with him, they proudly swear to protect the clan together.

Development
Quite simply, Ginchiyo was created to be the first woman in the cast to wield a sword. Originally, she was going to resemble a Valkyrie with wings, but this was discarded to better fit with the setting of the Warring States. To reflect her strength and to reference her father surviving a lightning strike during a snowstorm, she was given a lightning bolt motif. They specifically cite that she carries her father's Raikiri with her weapons, a legendary sword he had used to cut down a thunder god during a violent rainstorm. The director states that the idea to include her in the game initially puzzled the development team.

The design team caved in and gave her a valkyrie design for the third title. To contrast that expectation, her fourth design was made to be like male knight. They made her cape attached to her arm so it wouldn't interfere with her sword swings. They believe she has a "strong and smart image" for this entry.

Personality
Ginchiyo is a tough and sometimes callous woman who lives with a samurai's code of honor. As Dōsetsu's daughter, she wields his sword in combat and is very proud of her father's legacy. She is so proud that she often replaces any first person pronouns for herself with "Tachibana" in Japanese. A headstrong person of action, Ginchiyo berates cowardly tactics and believes that all battles should be won with pure integrity. Her chivalry and bravery easily gains the respect of her allies, but her sharp tongue and brutally honest nature sometimes leads to minor disagreements. She has a difficult time showing her faults to others, often bashful when she displays any form of weakness or fondness for something she finds adorable (such as cats or Yoshimoto's innocuous and chubby face).

She admires Ina's earnest nature and praises the younger woman, even when they're enemies. In her second appearance, she has a strong fancy for Muneshige. While she does treasure his dreams for the family and appreciates his company, she usually can't find the right words to express herself to him due to her warrior upbringing. She usually settles for a form of formal yet commending compliment whilst in battle. Although it is clear that they love one another deeply, Ginchiyo represses declarations of love in order to sustain her tough, warrior image.

In the Warriors Orochi series, she respects hardened and skilled individuals such as Xing Cai, Xiahou Yuan, Zhu Rong, Daqiao, and Zhou Tai. Ginchiyo has friendly conversations with Xiaoqiao and Jia Xu, as well as humbled and honored Seimei for being a legendary onmyo hero in the third installment. Sun Shangxiang and Xiaoqiao both enjoy teasing her over her relationship with Muneshige in the third title. In the fourth title, she admires Huang Gai's strength in spite of his age and urges him to be more careful. She and Pang De hold occasional conversations over the differences and traits of their respective armor.

One of her strongest motivations for entering battles in her debut is finishing the score with her hated enemies, the Shimazu. She despises Yoshihiro in particular and is disgusted by his brutish "devil" lifestyle. He is also responsible for causing the death of her father and clansmen. As she fights with him, however, she begrudgingly admits that she understands his methods and respects her adversary over time. This factor is more apparent in the Warriors Orochi series, where the two are able put off their conflict to be able to work together against the demons.

The fourth title has her openly admire Toyohisa's headstrong nature and youthful immaturity in spite of their antagonistic ties. She enjoys observing him mature into a promising warrior, hoping to clash blades with him whenever the war permits. Once she learns of his death, Ginchiyo has nothing but respect for the lad and drops any pretenses of coldness towards the uncle while expressing her condolences. Since he resembles her father, Ginchiyo also shares a minor rivalry with Tadakatsu and wants to prove her worth to him. Both of these relationships are abated to a smaller extent in her third appearance.

Character Symbolism
In the Samurai Warriors series, she's symbolized by the words "swift" (迅) and "thunder" (雷) and by scattered flower petals and leaves. Her particle effect is related to her Japanese quote for her musou attack, which is to "scatter a flower". The two kanji combine to be a term for a thunderclap, along with "raimei" (雷鳴) being another term for it. To follow the weather naming theme, her third weapon uses characters for the idiom "quick as lightning" in Japanese. Attached with the imagery of a giant bird's claw, it implies the weapon allows her to be a master of the weather. A hawk and falcon join the third weapon's imagery in the third title, which continue the synonyms for speed.

Her second rare weapon in the third title expansion is named "Raijin Narukami" (lit. Thunder Blade Crying God) in ode to the aforementioned motifs, though the naming is a pun on two Japanese thunder gods: Raijin, the Shintō god of thunder, and Narukami, the Thunder God from the classic Kabuki play of the same name.

Ginchiyo's titles in Samurai Warriors 2 are "Dōsetsu's Heiress", "Brave Princess", "Southern Fury", "Queen of Valor", "Kyūshū's Finest", "Lady of Thunder", and "Lightning Queen" (in the Xtreme Legends expansion).

Her fourth weapon is named after one of Susanoo's daughters in Japanese mythology, Suseribime. She is also known as the first wife of Ōnamochi, better known as the lord of Izumo, Ōkuninushi. When she and her father fled from the eighty gods from Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, she met Ōnamochi. Falling in love with him at first sight, they eloped at once. When she returned to introduce her lover to her father, Susanoo ordered Ōnamochi to fall asleep in a room with a snake, hornet, and centipede to test his worth. Suseribime used her cunning to save her lover from peril in each room, giving him items or secretly intervening to disable the dangers of each room. When Ōnamochi was kidnapped during his tests by three other gods, Suseribime pursued them to rescue her lover. Thanks to her, Ōnamochi succeeded to be named his title and she became his first wife.

Iwanagahime forms the namesake for Ginchiyo's fifth and her rare weapon in the third title.

Dōsetsu's "heirlooms", her personal item in Warriors Orochi, is his helmet and set of armor according to the original name. The term to include all of these articles is gunzo.

Voice Actors

 * Freya Ravensbergen - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Cindy Robinson - Samurai Warriors 3, Warriors Orochi series; first and second games only (English-uncredited)
 * Naomi Shindō - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Umeka Shōji - Nobunaga's Ambition Online
 * Masumi Asano - Toukiden: The Age of Demons
 * Shizuka Itō - Nioh
 * Yukari Ishii - Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi
 * Matsuri Mizuguchi - Shin Nobunaga no Yabou

Quotes

 * See also: Ginchiyo Tachibana/Quotes


 * "Onward...from the depths of the heart..."
 * "Even Japan's strongest man is no match for me!"
 * "I have no qualms about giving you the chance to prove such a bold claim!"
 * Ginchiyo and Tadakatsu; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "Principles, material goods... All are as petals in the winds of time. Choose life... give in to your desires."
 * "Your words, Demon King, are very close to my own beliefs. The things men embrace in this world are heavy chains. They bind our souls, and keep us from being truly free."
 * Nobunaga and Ginchiyo; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "...I meant to talk with you about allowing Shimazu to live back in Kyūshū."
 * "I am glad you let him go. The Tachibana do not merely desire the death of all our enemies."
 * "Thank you. I see that you have mercy in your soul."
 * "Mercy!? For that oaf!? Ha! I simply meant that I want the pleasure of killing him myself!"
 * Motochika and Ginchiyo; Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends


 * "Muneshige? I thought you'd died at Sekigahara!"
 * "I thought you'd take my death badly. That you'd... cry, perhaps."
 * "What? I would never cry!"
 * Ginchiyo and Muneshige; Samurai Warriors 3


 * "Little miss, cats are the best. They tell you time during the heat of battle and, when it's peaceful, they can nourish your heart. "
 * "Well, I can't deny that... But, the way you hold a cat is too strange. It's clawing at you everywhere!"
 * "What about it? This is nothing compared to the constant clawing of an adorable feline in the Tachibana."
 * "Ah...! Don't you toy with me, Shimazu!"
 * Yoshihiro and Ginchiyo; Sengoku Musou 3: Empires


 * "Ahhh! You'll make some s-sweet rice cakes for me? Round and cute and... right in front of my eyes?"
 * "I'm great at making sweet things. Don't underestimate my culinary skills, just because I look tough! Right, let's do this! Now, time for some salt..."
 * "Whaaaaat?! You're putting that much salt into a sweet cake? Are you s-s-sure about this? So much!"
 * "What? Of course I'm sure! All finished, here, try it!"
 * "Oh, that's good! Quite a refreshing flavor. Things like salt or like me, that aren't sweet at all, can still be made to taste like this?"
 * Ginchiyo and Kai; Samurai Warriors 4


 * "You are supposed to be a woman... Where is your sense of grace?"
 * "You're supposed to be a warrior. Where's your sense of masculinity?"
 * Zhang He and Ginchiyo; Warriors Orochi


 * "How about I play a little tune you can dance to?"
 * "Dance?! Ha! I am made for war, not the worthless pursuits of the ballroom."
 * Zhen Ji and Ginchiyo; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Why is it that you show me such kindness?"
 * "I, um... I had a father who was quite elderly. When I see you, I think of him..."
 * "Hahaha, that is quite touching, child. Your kindness will give me the energy to keep on fighting!"
 * Huang Gai and Ginchiyo; Warriors Orochi 3

Gameplay

 * See also: Ginchiyo Tachibana/Movesets‎‎



Samurai Warriors 4
Mighty strike is the same as her Deadlock Attack: two quick horizontal cuts before she slices for a definitive third hit. Moveset type is altered to Hyper type. Attacks are reassigned.

Charge Moveset

 * , undefined, (undefined): Ginchiyo slashes up and then stabs the enemy.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined): She slashes on to the enemy, then releases a surrounding lightning attack.
 * ,, , undefined, (undefined): She slashes to the down left, then rushes forward.
 * ,, , , undefined: Ginchiyo summons lightning to attack the enemy.

Hyper Moveset

 * undefined:
 * undefined, : Ginchiyo swings her sword down.
 * undefined, undefined, : Ginchiyo swings her sword right.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, : Ginchiyo jumps into the air sending a wave of energy down.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, :
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, :
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined:


 * Dashing :
 * , undefined:
 * R1:
 * Finisher changes to her slicing four times to her front, unleashing several thunderbolts with each slice.
 * (Ultimate/Kaidan):
 * Rage Attack/Musou Gokui effect:
 * Awakened Skill effect (4-II only):
 * Awakened Skill effect (4-II only):

Mounted Moveset

 * , undefined:
 * ,, undefined:
 * ,, , undefined:

Fighting Style
Her best element is lightning which helps to increase her range, knockback and the number of hits she can produce. Since her musou is stationary it is best used within large crowds or after cornering opponents. She is relatively easy to use and master. Overall, she has the highest dexterity among female characters and one of the fastest. She has a weak defense stat and can easily be overrun by crowds if the player is not careful.

Weapons

 * See also: Ginchiyo Tachibana/Weapons

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Battle of Nagashino - Escort Katsuyori

Historical Information
Tachibana Ginchiyo was "Lightning God" Tachibana Dōsetsu's daughter, a strong and respected warrior. Ginchiyo was personally named by her father with her name roughly meaning, "one who would not listen idly to others". This proved true to some extent as she grew up refusing to believe in her mother's "ladylike" teachings. She practiced many common teachings for boys and is said to have been a stern and strict figure with noteworthy communication skills.

When Dōsetsu was ailing and had lost his other children to illness, he was pleased to see Ginchiyo well and healthy. Despite their suggestion to pass his leadership onto one of his distant relatives, he told his retainers to make Ginchiyo his heir following his death. He died battling the Shimazu clan at Neko'o Castle on November 2, 1585. His wishes were respected and Ginchiyo became the unconventional lord of the Tachibana clan. A woman ruling a clan during the Warring States period was rarely seen or fathomed before then. Feeling under threat of possible invaders, Ginchiyo trained her maids to wield swords at all times, which intimidated many possible suitors. Five years after her rule, she was married to Tachibana Muneshige and he continued to lead the clan. Ginchiyo passed away at the age of 34.

Three tales surround Ginchiyo's life as a samurai. One states that she summoned Toyotomi Hideyoshi to her home and scared him witless by the sight of her heavily armed maids. A second tale states that she was equipped to defend her home with her maids whilst her husband was away. The third takes place after Sekigahara and the Eastern Army reportedly began to march towards her doorstep. She faced them whilst dressed in armor and many of her enemies were said to have felt threatened by the sight. However, there is little historical evidence to validate any of these events and some historians believe that these stories are romanticized fables from the Edo period.

Trivia

 * The Samurai Warriors 2 Ginchiyo was briefly featured in NHK's Rekishi Hiwa Historia's "Ginchiyo and other women" themed episode. Her character voiced a new character message for viewers.

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