Matsudaira Teru

Matsudaira Teru was born as the third daughter of Hoshina Masamoto, daimyō of the Iino han in Kazusa.

Although Matsudaira Katamori followed the example of the shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu and put himself under house arrest, it soon became evident that the new government had no intentions of seeking a peaceful resolution.

Although Teru was a new face in the castle, she quickly became the leader of the over six hundred women and children involved in the siege, partly because Toshihime had died in 1861.

The women and children mainly cooked meals, treated the injured, made bullets, and prevented fires when cannonballs were shot into the castle.

Additionally, a group of women formed a volunteer infantry called the Aizu Jōshitai to protect Teru.

The infantry was led by Nakano Takeko, who learned naginata from Akaoka Daisuke, who also taught Teruhime.

On a particularly bad day, Shingo panicked under the extreme stress, drew his sword and urged Teru to commit suicide, although the battle was still undecided.

She died in the Hoshina family mansion in Tokyo in 1884, at the age of 52, and received the posthumous Buddhist name Shōkei-in.