encyclopedia-amazonica: Nakazawa Koto - Valiant swordswoman (There is little information available a

encyclopedia-amazonica: Nakazawa Koto - Valiant swordswoman (There is little information available about this woman in English. I tried to back it up with Japanese sources. Feel free to correct me if you spot a mistake or if you have additional information) Nakazawa Koto (1839-1927) was a Japanese swordsman who fought for the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War.  Koto was born in Kōzuke Province. She was taught martial arts during her childhood and was skilled in Kenjutsu. In 1863, she accompanied her brother Sadamasa to Kyoto. Dressed as a man, Koto enlisted with him in the Rōshigumi, a group protecting the Tokugawa shogun. Koto was tall for a woman, she was 5'7"(170 cm), something that contributed to her successful disguise. It was said that “when Koto dresses as a man, many women fall in love with her. When Koto dresses as a woman, many men fall in love with her.“ The Boshin war broke out in 1868 between the shogunate’s supporters and those of the imperial court. Koto fought for the shogunate. During a battle, she found herself surrounded by the enemy and managed to escape, defending herself with her katana.  Koto survived the war and saw the Meiji restoration (the restoration of imperial rule in Japan) as well as the beginning of the Showa era. She died in 1927. Koto seems to have stayed celibate her whole life. She reportedly said that she would only marry a man who could defeat her in a sword fight so perhaps she didn’t find her match. Koto is slowly coming back under the spotlight, a monument has been erected close to her grave. In 2017, she got her own TV movie: Koto Nakazawa: The Beautiful Swordswoman. You can watch a part of it in Japanese here.  References: “中沢琴”, Japanese sword virtual museum “群馬「男装の剣士」中澤琴に静かな注目　子孫が墓建立”, from the Japanese newspaper Asahi Nakazawa Koto’s page on Wikipedia  -- source link

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