Chacha

Chacha (茶々) is Hideyoshi's noble concubine and Hideyori's mother. Her mother is Oichi and her father is Nagamasa Azai. She is also known as Yodo-gimi, Azai Chacha, or Azai Kikuko. After Hideyoshi's death, Chacha became de facto head of Osaka castle. Due to her incredible political influence, she was a potential enemy for the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Before being made playable in the Samurai Warriors series, she was originally mentioned by name in the second game and later appeared in certain titles as an NPC.

She is 30 years old in Saihai no Yukue and her height is 168 cm (5'6"). Her hobbies include appreciating and watching flowers and her favorite food is kamaboko.

Samurai Warriors

 * If you had really abandoned all hope, you could have escaped, or surrendered to Master Ieyasu. But you did not. I believe you have the conviction to fight until the very last, to cling steadfastly to hope. The strength to never give up on life... That is what you desired wasn't it, my lady?
 * Yukimura Sanada; Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada

She is briefly mentioned by Hideyoshi during Nene's story in Samurai Warriors 2. In a letter, he doesn't want to burden his wife with the journey to the battlefield and requests her to send Chacha instead. Keeping an eye on him, Nene instead makes the trip and prevents the two from meeting. In the English script, she states that she fired all of his courtesans during her ending cinematic. This most likely includes Chacha as well. The Japanese version instead has Nene chide her husband to not cheat on her, making it clear that she disapproves of Hideyoshi and Chacha being together.

Chacha appears in one of Nagamasa's events in Samurai Warriors Chronicles. She, or one of her sisters, can accept Nagamasa's rosette after Oichi's death at Shizugatake. Upon receiving the heirloom, she weeps bitterly for her parents and swears to make her father's dream a reality.

In Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, she is first introduced as a child being escorted away from the burning Odani Castle by Hideyoshi's men. Although Hideyoshi attempts to bring Chacha away, she refuses the offer, watching her father's demise first-hand. After Nagamasa's death, she takes residence at Azuchi, where she meets the young Yukimura Sanada. Her stay at Azuchi remains a short one, however, as Mitsuhide assassinates Nobunaga at Honnōji and Akechi troops swarm the castle, killing civilians and soldiers alike. Thanks to the timely arrival of both Sasuke and Kunoichi, she is able to escape, and she and Yukimura return back to their respective families.

Chacha's time with her mother would be cut short when Hideyoshi defeats the Shibata at Shizugatake, leading to Oichi's death. Feeling guilty for his part in the deaths of her parents, Hideyoshi takes custody of Chacha, giving her a sheltered life in the company of former Azai retainers, Yoshitsugu and Takatora. Despite this, she participates in the Shikoku campaign by her own will, and befriends Gracia, who had lost her father to Hideyoshi's forces at Yamazaki.

When the Tenshō-Jingō conflict between the Hōjō and the Tokugawa leads to the surprising rise of the Sanada, Chacha's attention becomes piqued into the battles. Once Masayuki submits to Hideyoshi, Yukimura is sent to Ōsaka and he and Chacha reunite. Chacha later explains the circumstances that eventually led to her staying with the Toyotomi.

Though most of the daimyō have been pacified, the Hōjō have stubbornly refused to listen to Hideyoshi's negotiations, and a sudden attack on Sanada territory by Hōjō soldiers leads to a full declaration of war. Chacha works alongside siege of Oshi Castle, and she takes in the defeated Kai after Ujimasa and the Hōjō family are wiped out at Odawara.

Despite her previous animosities against the Toyotomi, she begins showing concern over Hideyoshi and Toshiie's declining health. Her fears are aggravated further when Mitsunari falls out with Kiyomasa and Masanori over whether to support Ieyasu or not. Although she pleads for Nene to take control and have the three make up with each other, Nene refuses, wishing her children to do what they believe is right. Knowing the pain that she may suffer, Nene offers for Chacha to accompany her and become a nun, but Chacha decides to stay with Hideyoshi's remaining family.

Thanks to the large power vacuum left by Hideyoshi and Toshiie, the government soon becomes split between those that believe the Tokugawa to be a threat to the Toyotomi, and those that believe that the Tokugawa is needed for the Toyotomi's survival. Though unable to prevent eventual war between both Mitsunari and Ieyasu, Chacha is compelled to remain with the remaining Toyotomi family at Ōsaka.

Before setting off, Mitsunari attempts to eliminate the remaining families of the Eastern Army within Ōsaka. Although Chacha agrees, she privately confides with Yoshitsugu to spare Gracia from harm. The two friends meet before Gracia fakes her death, and they promise to meet once again when peace is brought back to the land.

While Mitsunari and Yoshitsugu leave for Sekigahara, Chacha remains at Ōsaka to watch over the Toyotomi. To her horror, Takatora arrives; reporting that Mitsunari and Yoshitsugu are killed at Sekigahara, but she and the Toyotomi are spared from any blame, with the responsibility falling squarely on Mitsunari. When she inquires of the state of the Sanada, Takatora simply deduces that Yukimura and Masayuki will be put to death for preventing Hidetada's reinforcements from arriving at Sekigahara. Upon hearing this, she dismisses Takatora. In spite of his pleas for her to strive to survive and join the Tokugawa, Chacha thanks Takatora for his service to her parents and implores him to begin living for himself.

With the resumption of conflict only being a matter of time, Chacha begins calling upon the remaining Toyotomi loyalists to come to Ōsaka in preparation for the incoming fight against the Tokugawa. Yukimura, much to her delight, escapes exile to join her in the fight.

During the harsh winter siege of Ōsaka, Yukimura surprises everyone by not only defeating Masamune's massive army at the Sanada Ward, but also piercing through the battle lines, and making a line leading straight to Ieyasu. Their last hope of victory is dashed when Ieyasu is barely able to escape their grasp. Witnessing the severe damage that Ōsaka Castle suffered thanks to cannon fire, and being reminded of her own father's demise, Chacha sues for peace, which leads to the dismantling of many of Ōsaka's defenses, including the Sanada Ward.

Hoping to keep Yukimura from the Toyotomi's inevitable fall, she sends him to meet his brother in secret to try and keep him away from the future battle. To her shock, Yukimura returns anyway, declaring that he will protect Chacha until the end. Eventually, Ōsaka finally falls during the summer siege. Having felt a great sense of satisfaction mirroring her father's, Chacha simply smiles as she perishes within the castle's crumbling debris.

In the epilogue, she is remembered by Kai and Gracia, who have since taken residence in Ōsaka; the latter, refusing to believe she died without fulfilling their promise to meet once more.

Pokémon Conquest
She appears under the name Chacha in Pokémon Conquest as a subordinate to Oichi in Aurora during some character's stories, when Oichi serves as Aurora's Warlord in the protagonist's absence. Chacha's initial Pokémon partner is a Bidoof.

Kessen
Lady Yodo acts as the figurative head of the Toyotomi family in Kessen. In the Japanese version, she is officially named Yodo-gimi. Using her womanly charms, she pleads several warlords to defend her home. These men include Mitsunari, Josui, and Yukimura. An over-protective mother, she forbids her son from fighting at Osaka Castle. If the Tokugawa forces win the battle, both she and Hideyori will commit suicide. Should the Toyotomi remain in power and gain a valuable seat in the court, she will congratulate the army's leader (either Mitsunari or Yukimura) on a job well done.

She is Oichi's only daughter during Kessen III and is a child who happily plays in the background during cutscenes. Hideyoshi comments that she looks "just like her mother".

Nobunaga's Ambition
Throughout the series her character is named Chacha Azai. Her crowning traits are her political and charismatic stats; the rest of her stats are below average. She is best used in assisting domestic affairs as a result. If need be she can act as a supporting general for the infantry. During earlier titles of the series, her character replicated a scheming Yodo-gimi persona with a maximized ambition stat. Her character quotes were sly and reproachable. Chacha's current portrayal in the series is far more positive.

When the live action film dedicated to her historical figure came out in Japan, it received a special tie-in collaboration campaign in the series's online adaptation.

Saihai no Yukue
In Saihai no Yukue, Lady Yodo and the infant Hideyori act as victims to the conflict at Sekigahara. She pleads with Mitsunari to protect the Toyotomi family and settle the score with Ieyasu in battle. Additionally, she was the one who also suggested to make Garasha Hosokawa a hostage to gain Tadaoki's loyalty. She acts as a weak yet gentle voice of reason.

After Mitsunari wins the battle at Sekigahara, he learns from Ieyasu that Lady Yodo also had an audience with him. She requested for Ieyasu to attack Mitsunari, deeming the loyal subject to be the land's greatest threat. Suspicious of the conflicting stories, Mitsunari confronts Lady Yodo at Osaka Castle. When he corners her, she shows her true colors as a wicked and uncaring woman. She is the one who was responsible for Garasha's death and staged the entire war. In actuality, she doesn't care for Hideyoshi since she blames him for causing her mother's death.

Once he reads her mind, Mitsunari learns that she is merely running away from her sadness and, though she claims to have been suffering the entire time, she is truly happy with Hideyori's birth. Her spirit defeated by Mitsunari's perception, she is abandoned by everyone but her comforting son. In the game's epilogue, she presumably dies when Ieyasu conquers the land three years later and burns Osaka Castle to the ground.

Development
The director remarked that Chacha was one of the female characters he considered adding in future Samurai Warriors titles.

Personality
Proud and dignified, Chacha led an unhappy life after the loss of her parents. Content to seclude herself from others, she holds a high contempt for Hideyoshi for his role in the deaths of her parents and remains anti-social towards him and the rest of his retainers. This perception only changes when Hideyoshi begins dying, however, leaving the work of a united land in threat without him.

The only one to break through this facade, however, is Yukimura Sanada, which was sparked from his honest desire to protect others, even as a child. This later reaches the point where Chacha even attempts to have him secretly leave Ōsaka to keep him from inevitably joining the doomed resistance against the Tokugawa. Gracia is also one of her self-proclaimed friends, who often works to try to add more adventure and happiness to Chacha's life. Though Chacha will quietly and bashfully accept such offers, she remains steadfastly against having the company of Koshōshō, seeing her as a bad influence. Chacha sees sympathy in Kai, having also lost almost everything to the Toyotomi's conquests of the land, and offers the maiden for a place to stay, knowing that she may commit suicide to reunite with her masters.

Unable to understand why her parents accepted death so easily, Chacha accompanied Hideyoshi's campaigns, in search of the same strength that they had. Although she doesn't favor the strength of simply forcing others to submit, she resonates to the stubborn resistance of the Hōjō and the Chōsokabe in their doomed yet inspirational stands against such force.

Due to it being the circumstances where both her parents perished in, Chacha is frightened by burning castles.

Character Symbolism
Chacha is symbolized by the kanji for "ringing" (玲) and "dye" (彩) as well as forget-me-nots. Within the flower language, it represents true love.

Her first rare weapon references Kukurihime, a Shinto goddess of mediation and diplomacy. According to legend, she was said to have intervened during Izanagi's spat with Izanami right after his return from the underworld. For this reason, believers saw Kukurihime as a deity of marriage and later conflated her with Kannon Bosatsu.

Kamu-Oichihime is the namesake of her second rare weapon. Known as the goddess of agriculture and food, she was also a consort of Susano'o who bore him children. This ties in with Chacha's bond to Yukimura whose rare weapon is named after the aforementioned storm god. The weapon's design is an allusion to her mother Oichi who wielded a kendama in previous Samurai Warriors titles.

One of the gifts that will please Chacha in Spirit of Sanada are peonies.

Voice Actors

 * Jayne Patterson - Kessen (English)
 * Mami Koyama - Kessen (Japanese)
 * Marika Kouno - Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada (Japanese)
 * Yui Kano - CR Sengoku no Arashi ~Nobunaga no Shou~ (Japanese)
 * Atsuko Tanaka - Nioh
 * Shizuka Ishigami - Touken Ranbu Warriors

Live Action Performers

 * Selen Kusunoki, Saki Sato - Butai Nobunyaga no Yabou ~ Neko Gungi 2
 * Azurina, Ui Hinagata - Nobunaga no Yabou -Enbu- (2017 version)
 * Waka Tsukiyama, Kazuki Amatsuka - Nobunaga no Yabou -Enbu- (2020 version)
 * Mao Noguchi - Butai Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi Haru no Jin Tenka Fubu ~Kindei no Kubi Hen~
 * Ruka Hashimoto - Butai Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi Fuyu no Jin Oudou Shikkou ~Kiko no Shiroshio Hen~
 * Ami Maeda - Butai Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi Mugen ~Honnoji no Hen~
 * Wakaba Saotome - Butai Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi ~Saishuu Hen~ Gunyuukakkyo Sekigahara

Quotes

 * See also: Chacha/Quotes


 * "I have received my father's dreams and vision for the world. I will continue the proud traditions of my Azai and Oda blood, and never let them die. I will do everything I can to make father's dream a reality."
 * Chacha; Samurai Warriors Chronicles


 * "Tell me. Why have you chosen the path that leads directly to oblivion?"
 * "You are Lady Chacha, yes? Would you ask your own father the same question?"
 * "...Yes, I would. That is why I want to know. I want to know why someone would resist despite having no chance of victory."
 * Chacha and Lady Hayakawa: Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada


 * "For a land without sorrow, we must uphold Lord Hideyoshi's dream at any cost."
 * "To create a land in which everyone smiles, order must be erected."
 * "But... The battles needed for these dreams will only cause more grief."
 * "It can't be helped if we want to take the land. That's proof of these turbulent times..."
 * Chacha and Mitsunari; Hyakuman-nin no Sengoku Musou


 * "But, Mother! It is my responsibility as commander! I must be there to inspire the hearts of my people!"
 * "Leave the fight to Lord Yukimura and his men. Even if you were to go now, you would be of no help to them in battle."
 * "But, Mother! Please!"
 * "Quiet, my son! The lord of the Toyotomis must not be seen like this."
 * Hideyori and Lady Yodo; Kessen

Ground Moveset

 * , undefined, undefined, undefined: Chacha tosses her hairpin, encloses herself in a tornado and then uses her hairpins to project a diagonal cross slash.
 * ,, undefined, undefined, undefined: Chacha slings her hairpins, discharges a wall of energy, and conjures a storm of lightning balls.
 * ,, , undefined, undefined, undefined: Chacha emits an icy mist, a purple energy ball and ends by sending forth an energy wave.
 * ,, , , undefined, undefined, undefined: Chacha slings her hairpin around her, blasts energy balls, then slings ice shards from her hairpin.
 * Chacha does some hopping slashes with her hairpin. She then finishes by spinning her hairpin and encasing herself in an icy mist.
 * (Ultimate/Kaiden): Chacha throws her hairpin out and ignites five pillars of energy.
 * R1: Chacha throws her weapon and envelops herself in a radiant aura, slightly healing nearby allies and gaining Musou in turn.

Hyper Moveset

 * undefined, : Chacha swings one of her hairpins upwards making an icy mist.
 * undefined, undefined, : Chacha throws her hairpins around herself in circles shredding enemies before returning to her.
 * undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined, : Chacha spins around slashing with her hairpins before launching an energy wave at enemies.

Fighting Style
She has low damage output and is rather slow but possesses good range for crowd clearing. Her moveset is a combination of her parents. Her attacks are infused with ice.

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Ōsaka Summer Campaign - Skirmish at Mt. Chausu

Historical Information
Lady Yodo (speculated to have been born on 1569) was Azai Nagamasa's eldest daughter. Her mother was Oichi no Kata, one of Oda Nobunaga's sisters. Her childhood name was Kikuko (菊子) and her given name was Chacha or O-Cha (お茶). She was also known as Yodo no Kata, Ni no Maru-dono and Nishi no Maru-dono. Her other name, Yodo-gimi (淀君), isn't found in historical records and is likely a derogatory alias conceived during the Edo Period. Yodo-gimi was used to describe her as a "wicked and wanton" woman who plotted the death of the Toyotomis.

After her parents' deaths, Chacha was sent to live with Oda Nagamasu at Azuchi Castle. It is believed that she was later transferred to Jurakudai Jurakudai and relied on Kyogoku Maria (Nagamasa's older sister) and Kyogoku Tatsuko (Maria's daughter) for her upbringing. It is said that as she grew older, Chacha bore a striking resemblance to her mother. She was skilled with Waka poetry and was regarded as the highest ranked princess of the Azai family. She treated her sisters and other relatives well though it is said that she was also a passionate speaker regarding the Toyotomi's future.

In 1588, she became Hideyoshi's noble concubine. When she was announced pregnant a year later at Yodoko Castle, Hideyoshi was pleased and officially named her Yodo no Kata. Two years after Hideyoshi's death, she commissioned a shrine to be built to honor her father's kin and her mother's remains. During the Sekigahara Campaign, Lady Yodo didn't take an active part during these events and remained within Osaka Castle. When the castle fell, many accounts assume that she committed suicide with her son. However, there are few personal records regarding her demise, and a few theories state that she fled from the castle with her maids to either Satsuma or Kozuke Province.

Trivia

 * Prior to Marika Kouno moved to Aoni Production, her Japanese voice actress from Samurai Warriors was the first Japanese voice actress to not be affiliated by Aoni Production in Samurai Warriors series.