Chiyo

Chiyo (千代) was a young Japanese girl living in a village in Iga with her farmer grandfather during the 16th century.^[1]

Biography[edit | edit source]

One day in 1560, while playing in the fields, Chiyo was nearly run over by her grandfather's cart-pulling bull, which had been spooked. Fortunately, she was saved by Fujibayashi Masayasu, who stopped the bull with his bare hands. Impressed and grateful, Chiyo quickly befriended Masayasu and spent time with him as he tended to the fields, until eventually falling asleep on his shoulder.^[1]

Later, Masayasu attempted to defend the village from two samurai demanding tribute, but was overpowered and almost killed until the shinobi Hattori Hanzō came to his rescue. After Hanzō's mentor Momochi Sandayu proposed a duel between Masayasu and Hanzō to test the former's skills, Chiyo watched the fight and became saddened when Masayasu appeared to lose, being knocked down a small cliff by Hanzō. As the shinobi began to gloat about his skills and taunted Masayasu for being a simple farmer, Chiyo interrupted him, asking that he stop insulting Masayasu, who in her eyes was their village's protector.^[1]

An annoyed Hanzō grabbed Chiyo and threatened her by saying that, if they were on the battlefield, he would not hesitate to kill her, as it was not uncommon for innocents to perish during wartime. Terrified, Chiyo began to cry, which motivated Masayasu to come to her aid. Using underhanded tactics, he managed to defeat Hanzō, impressing Sandayu, who decided to train him as a shinobi. Masayasu subsequently bid Chiyo and the other villagers goodbye and left his home to begin his training.^[1]