Tomoe Gozen (巴 御前, Japanese pronunciation: [tomo.e][5]) was an onna-musha, a female samurai, mentioned in The Tale of the Heike.

[7][8] She served under samurai lord Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the Battle of Awazu,[9] part of the Genpei War in the late Heian period, which led to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.

After defeating the Taira in 1182 and driving them into the western provinces, Yoshinaka took Kyoto and desired to be the leader of the Minamoto clan.

Yoshinaka fought Yoritomo's forces at the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, where Tomoe Gozen took at least one head of the enemy.

When Yoshinaka was defeated there, with only a few of his soldiers standing, he told Tomoe Gozen to flee because he wanted to die with his foster brother .