06/05/2020
Ikeda Sen was a Sengoku period Onna Bugeisha, a woman warrior.
There are many mysteries surrounding the life of Ikeda Sen. It is not clear when she was born or even when she died. What we do know is that Ikeda Sen was born in Owari (Aichi Pref.) as the second child of Ikeda Tsuneoki, a hereditary vassal of the Oda clan. Her older brother Motosuke Ikeda was born in 1559, and her younger brother Terumasa was born in 1565, so by that reasoning, we can assume Ikeda Sen was born around 1563.
Ikeda Sen's grandmother was wet nurse to Oda Nobunaga. Her father, Ikeda Tsuneoki, served Oda Nobuhide, Oda, Nobunaga, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was one of the elders of Kiyosu Castle, and later became the master of Inuyama and Ogaki Castles. Her younger brother, Ikeda Terumasa would become master of Yoshida Castle in Toyohashi City. He would marry the daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and go on to becoming knowbn as the Sh**un of the West having constructed the remaining Himeji Castle. Ikeda Sen's first husband, Mori Nagayoshi, was also a great samurai serving the Oda family. His younger brother was Nobunaga’s closest page, Mori Ranmaru. From this we can assume Ikeda Sen's pedigree and position was high. She was born into a strong samurai family and appears to have been a strong woman.
In May 1584, during the battle of Komaki Nagakute, Ikeda Tsuneoki offered a plan to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, suggesting that; "Tokugawa Ieyasu's army is right in front of us, so there are probably few warriors protecting his Okazaki Castle. If we go around the back of Ieyasu and attack Okazaki Castle, Ieyasu loses!”
The plan was adopted, and the Ikeda army began to move quietly so that their moves would not be noticed, but Ieyasu's army discovered the plot and gave chase. Around where the current Battle of Nagakute Museum stands today, Ikeda Tsuneoki and his army of 6,000 set up a war camp. There, Ieyasu's army engaged them and the Battle of Nagakute broke out.
At that time, Sen Ikeda, who was about 20 or 21 years old, was said to have commanded a female matchlock gun squad of about 200 people.
In the fierce battle, Ikeda Sen's husband, Mori Nagayoshi, her father, Ikeda Tsuneoki, and her brother, Motosuke were killed in action. Ikeda Sen and her younger brother Terumasa survived.
Since her husband was lost in the battle of Nagakute, Sen then married one of the three leading members of the Toyotomi administration, the daimyo Nakamura Kazuuji, said to have been born in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya. That his husband, Kazuuji, died in August of 1600, just before the Battle of Sekigahara, unfortunately, there is no further remaining record of Ikeda Sen. There is no evidence, but according to various sources, it is said that Ikeda Sen had led her matchlock gun corps at other battles that the Ikeda family participated in, including the Battle of Yamazaki, the Battle of Shizugatake, and the Battle of Sekigahara.
According to the early Edo manuscript, the Todaiki or "The Present Chronicles", which recorded the various warlord's kokudaka rice stipend income, Ikeda Sen received 10,000 koku. 10,000 koku is daimyo level! The book was written around 1624 - 1644, so if it was written in 1644, it is possible that Ikeda Sen was alive and about 80 years old.
The few remaining records paint a fascinating picture of a woman warrior, but for now, the truth about Ikeda Sen remains elusive.
