Tokiwa Gozen

Who was Tokiwa Gozen?

Tokiwa Gozen, or Lady Tokiwa, was a Japanese noblewoman of the late Heian period and mother of the great samurai general Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Sources disagree as to whether she was a concubine or wife to Minamoto no Yoshitomo, to whom she bore three sons, of which the youngest was Yoshitsune.

She was later captured by Taira no Kiyomori, whom she served as a concubine in exchange for assurances of the safety of her family. After leaving Kiyomori, Tokiwa married Fujiwara no Naganari.

Lady Tokiwa is primarily associated, in literature and art, with an incident in which she fled through the snow, protecting her three young sons within her robes, during the 1160 Heiji Rebellion.

She is also known as Hotoke Gozen, or Lady Buddha.