Nakatomi Tomoe
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born in the year 542, Tomoe was the only child born to Nakatomi no Tomokatsu, son of the clan leader Nakatomi no Tomoyoshi. Her mother died only three days after her birth. Having refused to remarry, Tomokatsu raised his daughter as his heir to much protest. A devoted father, after much persuassion he convinced his father to recognise Tomoe as the family heir. He had her raised as if she were a boy and was swift to dismiss or punish those who questioned her intelligence and suitability to lead the clan. This dismissal of the custom of male primogenture caused much debate and outrage in the Ten Provinces, yet the Emperor and close friend of the Nakatomi family, Kinoshita no Akihiko, only laughed and celebrated the decision with a toast at his court. To ease tensions within the nobility of Washu Province, she was engaged to Ishikawa no Kiyokuni.
Tomoe spent much of her youth determined to prove herself to her detractors, and spent many an hour practising with both swords and naginata.
In the year 552, shortly after she turned ten years old, her father was killed in battle in the Tōchihime Pass when surpressing an invasion from the north. Devestated by the loss - and now her grandfather's immediate heir - Tomoe buried herself in her studies. In particular, she became focused on learning military tactics.
In the following years, she spent a great deal of time with Kiyokuni, eventually falling in love with him. When they were fifteen, the two became lovers. Pleased with the blossoming relationship, Tomokatsu arranged for the wedding to take place in the autumn of 556. Tragedy was to visit Tomoe yet again when her grandfather died the night before the wedding admist an outbreak of a deadly fever. The ceremony was delayed until after the mourning period passed and Tomoe was officially named leader of the clan. As the months passed, so too did the fever, but not before it claimed Kiyokuni's life as well.
Despite her endless grief, Tomoe perservered, throwing herself into her duties as the ruler of Washū. Like her father before her, Tomoe swore she would never fall in love again.
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