Lady Shirai (白井局 ''Shirai no Tsubone'', d. 1565) was a Japanese noble lady and aristocrat from the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. She was born to the

Nagao clan was a Japanese samurai clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nagao," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 39 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Nagao clan descend fro ...

in Shirai, who were head retainers to the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

in Kantō. She was the wife of Narita Nagayasu, the lord of

Oshi castle file:Oshi Castle 20100723-02.jpg, 270px, Surviving gate of Oshi Castle is a Japanese castle located in Gyōda, Saitama, Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, Oshi Castle was the center of the 100,000 ''koku'' Oshi Domain, but t ...

in Musashi. She is also thought to be either the daughter or granddaughter of Nagao Kageharu. Lady Shirai was a retainer of the Ashikaga Shogunate, fought and died during the Incident of Kyoto in 1565, when

Ashikaga Yoshiteru , also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was the 13th ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Yoshiharu, and his moth ...

was killed.

Life

Lady Shirai was a relative of Nagao Kagetora (the famed Uesugi Kensin). In 1560, Uesugi Kenshin, a warlord of

Echigo province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

, made large expedition to Kanto region against the

Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply , but were called "Later Hōjō" to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan who h ...

. Nagayasu Narita, once belonged to Kenshin, but there arouse a quarrel between Kenshin and Nagayasu and Kenshin insulted him, thus furious Nagayasu left Kenshin and went back to Hojo clan. After that Narita clan had been an important retainer of Hojo clan, and expanded

as a basement of this area. Lady Shirai would divorce her husband once he turned his back on the Uesugi clan, and serve the 13th

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

. At this point, she was over 50 years old, but she was still beautiful, and as she always served in close proximity to Yoshiteru she used the opportunity to talk about Uesugi Kenshin, and build a diplomatic bridge between the two figures. Yoshiteru declared war on

Miyoshi Nagayoshi , or Miyoshi Choukei, the eldest son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' who ruled seven provinces in Kansai. He was considered the most powerful figure during the Sengoku period before the rise of Oda Nobunaga, as Nagayosh ...

because Miyoshi had a great influence in the capital. Nagayoshi continued as the real power in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. In 1565,

Miyoshi Yoshitsugu , adopted son of Nagayoshi, was a samurai of the Sengoku period who was practically the last head of Miyoshi clan, ''daimyō'' of Kawachi Province of Japan. His wife was Ashikaga Yoshiaki's sister. Born to Sogō Kazumasa in 1549, younger broth ...

laid siege against the Ninomaru Palace and Honmaru Palace (currently

Nijō Castle is a flatland Japanese castle, castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area ...

). With no help arriving in time from the ''Daimyōs'' that could have supported him, Yoshiteru and the few troops under him were overrun by the Miyoshi. Lady Shirai took her naginata and fought for the last time. When

Matsunaga Hisahide Matsunaga Danjō Hisahide (松永弾正久秀 1508 – November 19, 1577) was a ''daimyō'' and head of the Yamato Matsunaga clan in Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. He has historical reputation as one of , a nickna ...

entered the Yoshiteru's Palace, the Shogun committed suicide, Lady Shirai continues to resist and ends up dying in battle. It is unclear if she gave birth to Nagayasu's sons. If so, she was the paternal grandmother of

Kaihime ("hime" means lady, princess, woman of noble family), speculated to have been born in April 15, 1572, was a Japanese female warrior, onna-musha from the Sengoku Period. She was a daughter of and granddaughter of Akai Teruko, retainers of the La ...

along with the maternal one,

Akai Teruko Akai Teruko (赤井輝子, November 6, 1514 – December 17, 1594) or Myoin-ni (妙印尼) was a late-Sengoku period Onna-musha warrior. Teruko was a woman trained in Naginatajutsu, ko-naginata, fought in many battles when younger and commanded th ...

References

Women of the Sengoku period 1565 deaths 16th-century Japanese nobility Women in 16th-century warfare 16th-century Japanese women {{Japan-mil-bio-stub