Yodo-dono (淀殿) or Yodogimi (淀君) (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period.

In the efforts to exalt the Tokugawa Shogunate, Yodo-dono was frequently portrayed as a "wicked and wanton" woman who planned the Toyotomis' death.

The surviving accounting books from luxury goods merchants provide insight into the patterns of patronage and tastes amongst the privileged class of women like Yodo-dono and her sisters.

[1] Yodo-dono, also called Chacha (茶々) in her youth, was the eldest of three daughters of the Sengoku period daimyō Azai Nagamasa.

[4] In 1600, news spread that Ishida Mitsunari, one of the former Five Commissioners, along with Otani Yoshitsugu, was planning a rebellion against Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was leading an expedition toward Aizu.

In response to this, Yodo-dono and three commissioners, Masuda Nagamori, Nagatsuka Tadashi, and Maeda Gensaku, sent an urgent letter to Ieyasu to hasten his journey to Kyoto to quell the crisis.

[5] When Mori Terumoto entered Osaka Castle as the overall commander of the Ishida faction (Western Army), supported by the three commissioners, Yodo-dono maintained a stance of vigilance on behalf of the Toyotomi family.

[6] Ieyasu used the letters from Yodo-dono and others as evidence to convince other feudal lords that Ishida and Otani's actions constituted a rebellion.

[9] In 1601, Yodo-dono's "depression" intensified, as she suffered from chest pains, eating disorders, and headaches, for which she was prescribed medicine by Gensaku Makunaose, as documented in "Gensakudo Sanpoyakuroku".

In 1605, on May 8, Ieyasu, through the mediation of Kodai-in (Nene), demanded that Hideyori demonstrate his allegiance to the Tokugawa clan by paying homage.

Yodo-dono, in her efforts to preserve the Toyotomi clan's status, expressed her dissatisfaction about the territorial reductions and declined the meeting.

These temple renovations included the casting of the great bronze bell with the inscriptions that read "May the state be peaceful and prosperous" (国家安康 kokka ankō) and "May noble lord and servants be rich and cheerful" (君臣豊楽 kunshin hōraku).

On the other hand, he imposed severe demands on Katagiri Katsumoto, who represented the moderates and had been petitioning Ieyasu to save the Toyotomi family.

Despite Katagiri Katsumoto's attempts to mediate the situation, Ieyasu found an ideal pretext to take a belligerent stance against Yodo-dono and Hideyori.

The situation worsened in September of that year, when the news reached Edo that a large number of rōnin were grouping in Osaka at Hideyori's invitation.

Suspecting Katsumoto of trying to betray the Toyotomi clan, Yodo-dono finally banished him from Osaka Castle, along with Oda Urakusai and several other servants accused of treason.

When the Tokugawa army bombed her room and killed two of her maids, Yodo-dono emerged from her mansion with a group of armed and armored women.

Following the meeting with Lady Acha, who was accompanied by Honda Masazumi and Ohatsu (Yodo-dono's younger sister), the peace treaty was accepted by both sides.

This contrived protagonist is Lady Ochiba, who dislikes Toranaga (Tokugawa Ieyasu) because he presumably suspects that her son was not fathered by the Taikō (Toyotomi Hideyoshi).

However, she admires and trusts the Taikō's widow, Yodoko (Nene), who urges both her and Toranaga to marry so that Japan would remain united and the heir, Yaemon (Toyotomi Hideyori), would safely take control upon coming of age.

In James Clavell's later novels, it is revealed that, just as in real history, Toranaga eventually besieged Ochiba and Yaemon in their castle, prompting them to commit suicide.