Shizuka Gozen^[1] (静御前) (1165–1211), orLady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was ashirabyōshi (court dancer) of the 12th century, and a mistress ofMinamoto no Yoshitsune. Since she, like many others, are featured largely in theHeike Monogatari (Tale of Heike),Gikeiki (Chronicle of Yoshitsune), and a number of plays of various traditions, her story is quite well known, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction within it.

Her birthplace is generally accepted to have been the Iso (shoreline) district of the town of Aminochō in the historicTango Province, where she is regarded as one of the "seven princesses of Tango". She still has a shrine in the town and represents its principal deity. Her mother, Iso no Zenji,^[2] was ashirabyōshi as well. According to theGikeiki, Shizuka was invited at one point by Retired EmperorGo-Shirakawa, along with 99 other dancers, to dance for rain after the chanting of 100 Buddhist monks failed to bring that same result. Though the 99 dancers likewise failed to bring rain, Shizuka's arrival brought the desired effect. She was then praised by the Emperor, and it was at this time that she met Yoshitsune.

When Yoshitsune fled Kyoto in 1185, after the end of theGenpei War, and following a disagreement with his brother,Yoritomo, the firstKamakura shōgun, Shizuka was left behind inMount Yoshino. The exact details of how far she traveled with Yoshitsune before being sent back, or whether she traveled further than Yoshino at all, differ from one literary work to the next, as do many of the other finer details of her tale. In any case, she was captured byHōjō Tokimasa and forces loyal to Yoritomo, and, according to some versions of the story, forced to dance for the new shōgun atTsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. There, she sang songs of her longing for Yoshitsune, which angered Yoritomo; but Yoritomo's wifeHōjō Masako was sympathetic, and helped assuage his anger.^{[2]: 148–150 [3]}

However, she was by this point pregnant with Yoshitsune's child; Yoritomo declared that if it were a daughter she could live on peacefully, but if it were a son, he would have the child killed. A short time later, when Shizuka was 19, she gave birth to a son;Adachi Kiyotsune tried to take the child, who was instead given to Shizuka's mother. She then traveled back to Kyoto, where she became a Buddhist nun. Shizuka was later killed, however, along with her and Yoshitsune's child, by the order of Yoritomo.

According to some versions of the story, she did not become a nun upon her return, nor was she killed. Alternatively, she returned to Kyoto and was welcomed by Hōjō Masako back into court life, where she remained for a time. She then left the capital once more, committing suicide by drowning herself in a river, though versions differ on where this occurred.^{[citation needed]}

Shizuka features prominently in theNoh playFuna Benkei and thebunraku playYoshitsune Senbon Zakura, both of which were later adapted bykabuki, and in a number of other works of literature and drama, both traditional and modern. She is also celebrated throughout the country in various festivals; many towns across Japan claim to be the location for her religious exile, her death, or other significant events of her life.

• Satomi Ishihara portrays her in her traditional narrative role in the 2005Taiga dramaYoshitsune. The series incorporates the idea that she gave birth to Yoshitsune's son, who was subsequently killed by order of Yoritomo.
• Shizuka is represented in the 2005 video gameGenji: Dawn of the Samurai, as "Gozen Shizuka" (Lady Shizuka), a character who aids the protagonist,Yoshitsune Minamoto and his ally (a former enemy)Saito Musashibo Benkei during the course of the game. She is the survivor who possesses the power ofYosegane, and she returns in the 2006PlayStation 3 sequel,Genji: Days of the Blade as one of playable characters, where she is depicted similarly.
• InMichiyo Akaishi's mangaTen yori mo hoshi yori mo, main character Mio is implied to be the reincarnation of Shizuka. Her love interests Tadaomi and Shou are said to be the reincarnations of Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, respectively.
• Shizuka Gozen is the final boss of the2019 entry in the Samurai Shodown series.
• In Otomate visual novel Birushana Senki, the protagonist Shanaou is loosely based on Shizuka Gozen, whereas her childhood friend and potential love interest Shungen is revealed to be the real Minamoto no Yoshitsune, in Shungen's route, Shanaou had disguised herself as a shirabyōshi dancer, a reference to the original Shizuka Gozen.

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  Shizukano Mai (Tsuruoka Hachimangu), 12 April 2015
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  Dance of Shizuka (Fujisawa City), 13 June 2009
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  Lady Shizuka, in a book illustration byKikuchi Yōsai

Wikimedia Commons has media related toShizuka Gozen.

• Tomoe Gozen

• Some of this article is derived fromthe corresponding article on the Japanese Wikipedia.
• Frederic, Louis (2002).Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts:Harvard University Press.
• Jones, Stanleigh H. Jr. (trans.) (1993).Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees. New York:Columbia University Press.
• McCullough, Helen Craig (trans.) (1988).The Tale of the Heike. Stanford, California:Stanford University Press.

• 1165 births
• 1211 deaths
• 12th-century Japanese women
• 12th-century Japanese people
• 13th-century executions
• 13th-century Japanese women
• 13th-century Japanese people
• 12th-century Buddhist nuns
• 13th-century Buddhist nuns
• Japanese Buddhist nuns
• Executed Japanese women
• Minamoto clan
• People executed by Japan
• Deified Japanese women
• Kabuki characters
• People of the Kamakura period
• People of the Heian period
• People of the Genpei War
• Women of the Kamakura period
• Women of the Heian period

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