| During the Sengoku Period, a female lord of the castle succeeded as the head of the family by taking a male name, paving her own destiny and pitting herself against the turbulent times. She is Ii Naotora. When her father Ii Naomori, the head of the Ii clan of Totomi (present day western Shizuoka), was killed in war, he had no male successors but only one princess. Naomori had no sons with his wife Chika. His only daughter Otowa (later known as Ii Naotora) was betrothed to Kamenojo (later known as Ii Naochika), the eldest son of a branch of the clan and the intention was to make Kamenojo the next head of the family. However, the Ii clan was virtually under the control of the powerful Imagawa Yoshimoto and Kamenojo’s father Ii Naomitsu was suspected by Yoshimoto of plotting an uprising against the Imagawas and was killed. Kamenojo’s life was also targeted. He fled and went missing. It is rumoured that the chief retainer Ono Masanao landed the clan in this predicament because he told the Imagawas about Naomitsu’s plot. Masanao tries to betroth Otowa to his own son Tsurumaru, but she cannot marry anyone and ends up leaving home to keep a promise with Kamenojo. This is how she comes to live as a priest. At a time when the three major powers – the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province, Takeda clan of Kai Province and Tokugawa clan of Mikawa Province – were lying in wait for territory, Naotora’s true worth as the lord was called into question. The only things she could depend on in this place which had scarce resources and military might, were her own intellect and courage. However, the vassals could not hide their dismay. They did not think there was anything a female could do. Naotora joined hands with comrades to run the province, resolutely survived to protect the life of the young heir and laid the foundation for future development. Her motivating force was her single-minded love for her fiance whom she made a promise to in her childhood. |
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