CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Oni Gozen

Japanese noble lady and Onna-bugeisha from the Sengoku period

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 15, 2025
Entity authorityQ96742265
Source-derived summary

Oni Gozen (鬼御前) (fl. 16th century) was a Japanese noble lady and onna-musha from the Sengoku period. She was the wife of Hoashi Akinao (帆足鑑直) the retainer of Ōtomo clan. She is documented on "Yama no Shiro Kassen no Ki"(山の城合戦之記), written in 1782, 200 years after the time she lived by 帆足正周. She was a military commander who actively participated in the Kyushu campaign of 1586–1587, helping to repel the Shimazu army from the Ōtomo clan.

She was nicknamed Oni (Ogre or Demon) because she proved to be a fierce and brave warrior. She received the honorific suffix ''Gozen'', a Japanese term; that means "young lady" or ''honorable''.

Biography

She was born Aiko No kyōki , the daughter of Kogo Settu no Kami (古後摂津守).. There are no details about her early life. She entered a political marriage with Hoashi Akinao, a samurai warlord, and became a retainer of Otomo Sorin, the leader of the Otomo clan.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Oni Gozen” as japanese noble lady and Onna-bugeisha from the Sengoku period. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gozen, Japanese and noble.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1782, 1586, 1587—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Gozen, Japanese and noble providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Oni Gozen”, the useful work is to connect “japanese noble lady and Onna-bugeisha from the Sengoku period” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q96742265. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1782, 1586 and 1587.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Oni Gozen”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Oni Gozen primary sources, Oni Gozen archive and Gozen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Oni Gozen”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Oni Gozen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.