Mochizuki Chiyome
- "Your old life is over. Train with me, and you will have a new one."
- ―Mochizuki Chiyome recruiting a woman in her organisation.[src]
Mochizuki Chiyome (c. 1540 – c. 1582) was a noblewoman who lived during Japan's Sengoku period. She was credited with creating an all-female group of ninja, named kunoichi, for her uncle-in-law, Takeda Shingen. Numbering over a hundred, Chiyome's girls were used as spies and assassins; by posing as couriers, servants and even prostitutes, they created the illusion they were everywere. Despite its legendary status, her kunoichi organization was unable to prevent Hanzō and Honda Tadakatsu from infiltrating Shingen's camp in 1573, after which Shingen was killed.
Chiyome was eventually recruited by the Templars, who had attempted to expand their influence in Japan but found themselves hindered by the constant wars between clans, as well as their hostility toward outsiders. Through Chiyome, the Templar philosophy spread throughout the island, which made her a target for the Assassin Hattori Hanzō. Sometime in the late sixteenth century, he proved successful in assassinating her.
Gallery
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Chiyome with her kunoichi
