#who; by that point; was also just as alone as Naotora; so they became even More attached to each other than they already were

[yeonban]

Thinking about the grand generals as kids and every time I remember how close Soma and Tatsuomi used to be I become :') bc they're so distant now... they were already starting to slowly drift apart at 14 / a few weeks after the soul test, but afterwards the difference in strength must've been as obvious as Akihiro's and Haruhisa's was bc from then on we saw in extras that Tatsuomi wasn't even able to put a dent on boulders while every red soul shattered them to smithereens, and considering the context (post-war, the five of them becoming captains and having no one to lean on other than themselves)... as terrible as it sounds, I doubt Soma felt he could afford to waste his time training with Tatsuomi any longer when it was obvious that'd get him nowhere

#muse: date soma. #* date soma. / development. #I'd say that was the period they shifted apart enough for them to never go back to the way they used to be #Shishikado canonly left them all first. He never allied the Hojo w any of them and kept a constant distance from the 4 #Soma was in love w Tsubasa and she was /weak/ at the time so obviously he allied the Date w the Tokugawa to make sure she'd survive #Soma's a very... 'feels everything intensely' kinda person so there's no way he'd just stop /caring/ about the rest of them #but they all had a Lot on their plates and Tatsuomi had a red soul (Naoe) to back him up so Soma wasn't worried about him dying #which is why he stopped hanging out w Tatsuomi for a while until he finished anchoring himself as the leader of his own band #but by the time he was done with that... Naotora and Tatsuomi became even Closer than before #bc Naotora was in the same boat as Tsubasa (weak and scared) and the only person he had left to lean on was Tatsuomi #who; by that point; was also just as alone as Naotora; so they became even More attached to each other than they already were #Soma and Naotora never got along. they still don't. I doubt they ever will. and with him being Tatsuomi's best friend.. #/and with Tatsuomi's mindset shifting more towards Naotora's/... they no longer had anything to talk about or do together #their opinions differed. their friends differed. there was such a gap in their abilities that sparring or training wasn't even a question

[samuraifacts]

Uesugi Kenshin, Goddess of war?

  Alright. This is going to be my second of three posts this weekend talking about infamous rumors pertaining to Japan’s Sengoku Era. The point of these posts talking about famous rumors isn’t really to pick a side about if I believe them or not, but simply to lay out some info in regards to them. Also, like the previous and following posts, I am going to add a rumors hashtag to this one to be a bit more clear about it’s place in this blog. I’m also adding the Sengoku Basara tag since the series plays with this legend quite a bit.   In recent years in pop culture media, especially games based around “If the generals of the Sengoku Era became females” and “Which warlord would you date?” and even in series like “Sengoku Basara” and a few of the “Nobunaga’s ambition” titles it has become popular to have Uesugi Kenshin as either sexually androgynous or giving an option to have Kenshin be a man or a woman. While this is fun and kind of a quirky thing to add to games it raises a key question. Why Uesugi Kenshin? We are talking about the famous Dragon of Echigo, the War God Incarnate, and arguably one of the most feared figures in Japanese history! So how do we end up with this notion that Uesugi Kenshin may have been female?   While it is tempting to write out a long biography about one of my favorite Sengoku Daimyo I will leave that to you all to research. Instead I will just post a brief summary. Kenshin was a well known Daimyo of the Sengoku Jidai famous for several things. First being his devotion to Buddhism. Second being his infamous four clashes with his rival Takeda Shingen and the battles of Kawanakajima. Third being his severe drinking problem. Then finally being his ability as a capable military leader. Kenshin took control of Echigo after a rather violent conflict and turned his forces into some of the most feared in Japan. In fact, he was so feared that rumors exist to this day that after news of his death spread across Japan rival warlords not only mourned the passing of such a great man but actually refused to attack his now weakened clan out of concern that Kenshin may still be alive and rumors of his death nothing more than a trick to lure in and murder his enemies.   Back to the topic at hand. Why do people think such Kenshin was a woman and how did this thinking come about? Some of this thinking can be traced back to the novelist Tomeo Yagiri. Supposedly he found a Spanish report saying that Uesugi Kenshin was actually the aunt of his heir Uesugi Kagekatsu. Though it should be pointed out gender pronouns tend to get lost and confused a lot when translating Japanese to western languages.    Another alleged reason is that the  Kōyō Gunkan suggests Uesugi Kenshin had severe stomach cramps once a month and may have planned his campaign around these stomach cramps. Obviously, those that believe Kenshin was a woman point to this as Kenshin’s period. Some legends also state that once a month Kenshin demanded to be alone for isolated meditation.    Other harder to verify claims that support this argument include legends that Kenshin took an interest in poetry and historical studies focusing on women and love. Another legend is that only his beloved older sister Aya was allowed to see him behind closed doors or without any clothing. Kenshin also, supposedly, didn’t have sex. It is also alleged that at his funeral, his corpse was dressed in surprisingly thick robes for a dead samurai lord.   Now that we have the rumors out of the way lets try looking at things we do know about Kenshin that people have interpreted as signs of his being a woman. One fact is that in spite of being a Daimyo he never married or had children. Most daimyo had a wife, or three, and several concubines. Yet Kenshin had none and chose his sister Aya’s son to be the next lord of the Uesugi. In terms of typical warlord behavior, this has been something that has always seemed difficult to explain.   Kenshin also had a seve alcohol addiction.  So much so he even spoke of alcohol in his death poem. While this isn’t unusual per say some people point to alcoholism as a sign of deeper problems.Problems which if you are a supporter of this theory include hiding your gender for 45 years.   While I won’t give my personal opinion on this rumor I would like to point out something. This rumor leave us with a key question in regards to Kenshin supposedly hiding his gender. The question is why? If Kenshin was a woman why cover it up? Other female leaders existed such as Tachibana Genchiyo, Yodo-dono  and Ii Naotora. To which these arguments all seem to circle back to an issue of fear and respect. Would things have been different if the Uesugi clan was commanded by a woman? Would kenshin have then been forced by retainers to have a husband who would become the clan head similar to Tachibana Genchiyo? Would they have overthrown Kenshin? Sadly we have no way to really know.     To end this rumor I would like to add one more thing. It is a small, and over all kind of silly argument but it is part of this legend and so I want to include it here. Some people who argue against Kenshin being female point out that in artwork of Uesugi Kenshin he is shown with facial hair. Sometimes a thick beard or mustache. So how could he be a woman? One of the counter arguments I often hear for this include the obvious fact that women can grow facial hair as well. The other one I hear is that a lot of artistic commissions of historical figures tend to be made to please the person the art is made for. Poems of famous warlords such as Nobunaga and some Roman leaders often flattered them because the poet didn’t want to be beheaded. Paintings often made historic leaders look stronger and braver than they actually appeared. The famous samurai Date Masamune lost his eye as a child but we see some paintings show him having both eyes in order to look more natural and some would argue “stronger”. If one of the deadliest men in Japan told you “give me a proper mustache” even if they didn’t have one and after they gave you quite a bit of money would you dare defy them?    Well that is all for this post. I would love to read your thoughts on this legend. So feel free to reply and post what you think about the “evidence” and if you think its possible that Kenshin was female or not. In the meantime I will wish you all a great weekend and see you next time.

#rumors #sengoku #Sengoku Era #sengoku jidai #sengoku basara #uesugi #uesugi kenshin #kenshin uesugi #uesugi clan #samurai facts #samurai fun facts

[yeonban]

This  hurts  to  read

#tbd. #muse: takeda naotora. #Shiro and Naotora are WORLDS apart in their viewpoints but to an extent they're on the same wavelength on this take #Shiro is strong on his own so he can't see the point of fighting together with someone when he can just fight on his own #Naotora on the other hand... wants revenge on the obsidian eight to the point the crybaby who hated fighting became #the strongest bushi in the entire hi no moto when it comes to fighting human enemies; and he even created a whole technique #on his own that has little to do w oni slaying; specifically to kiII the obsidian eight - and Shiro in particular #and what hurts the most is... No One knows Naotora has this weapon on his sleeve. He /is/ fighting together with others when it comes to oni #but he's fighting alone when it comes to the obsidian eight </3 it's no wonder that Shiro got such a strong interest in him #ALSO THE DIFFERENCE IN PHRASING. Naotora keeps saying 'we' and 'us' whenever he's talking about oni slaying #but he's saying 'I' and 'me' when he's talking about taking down the obsidian eight... yikes