OTHER SITES
The Battle Site of Takeko Nakano
At the Aizu war in 1868, Takeko Nakano, a twenty-year-old master of the naginata and daughter of a samurai, formed the Joushitai to defend Aizu. Their primary mission was to protect Princess Teru, the adopted sister of Matsudaira Katamori, from being captured.
On 25 August, Takeko Nakano and her squad fought against enemy riflemen at Yanagibayashi. She was shot in the forehead. To prevent the enemy from taking her head as a trophy, an immense dishonour and humiliation to the squad, her younger sister Yūko Nakano cut off her head and continued to fight, carrying it with her.
After the war, to commemorate the heroic sacrifice of Takeko Nakano and the Jōshitai, a memorial statue of hers was erected by Nakano family and the locals in 1938, and the battle site was developed into a memorial park. It stands today as a place where later generations can reflect on a female warrior who gave her life in defense of her beliefs.
This tragic and stirring episode of history was later brought back to public attention through the NHK taiga drama Yae no Sakura.
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