Lady Yodo
From Dynasty Warriors Wiki
Lady Yodo (淀殿, Yodo-dono) is Hideyoshi's noble concubine and Hideyori's mother. Her mother is Oichi and her father is Nagamasa Azai. She is also known as Yodo-gimi, Azai Chacha, or Azai Kikuko.
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[edit] Role in Games
[edit] Samurai Warriors
She is briefly mentioned by Hideyoshi during Nene's story in Samurai Warriors 2. In a letter, he doesn't want to burden his wife with the journey to the battlefield and requests her to send Chacha instead. Keeping an eye on him, Nene instead makes the trip and prevents the two from meeting. In the English script, she states that she fired all of his courtesans. This most likely includes Chacha as well.
The director adds that she is one of the female characters that he considered adding in future Samurai Warriors titles.
[edit] Kessen
Lady Yodo acts as the figurative head of the Toyotomi family in Kessen. In the Japanese version, she is officially named Yodo-gimi. Using her womanly charms, she pleads several warlords to defend her home. These men include Mitsunari Ishida, Josui Kuroda, and Yukimura Sanada. An over-protective mother, she forbids her son from fighting at Osaka Castle. If the Tokugawa forces win the battle, both she and Hideyori will commit suicide. Should the Toyotomi remain in power and gain a valuable seat in the court, she will congratulate the army's leader (either Mitsunari or Yukimura) on a job well done.
She is Oichi's only daughter during Kessen III and is a child who happily plays in the background. Hideyoshi comments that she looks "just like her mother".
[edit] Saihai no Yukue
In Saihai no Yukue, Lady Yodo and the infant Hideyori act as victims to the conflict at Sekigahara. She pleads with Mitsunari to protect the Toyotomi family and settle the score with Ieyasu in battle. Additionally, she was the one who also suggested to make Garasha Hosokawa a hostage to gain Tadaoki's loyalty. She acts as a weak yet gentle voice of reason.
After Mitsunari wins the battle at Sekigahara, he learns from Ieyasu that Lady Yodo also had an audience with him. She requested for Ieyasu to attack Mitsunari, deeming the loyal subject to be the land's greatest threat. Suspicious of the conflicting stories, Mitsunari confronts Lady Yodo at Osaka Castle. When he corners her, she shows her true colors as a wicked and uncaring woman. She was the one who was responsible for Garasha's death and staged the entire war. In actuality, she doesn't care for Hideyoshi since he caused her mother's death. After he reads her mind, Mitsunari learns that she is merely running away from her sadness and, though she claims to have been suffering the entire time, she was truly happy with Hideyori's birth. Defeated, she is abandoned by everyone but her comforting son. In the game's epilogue, she presumably dies when Ieyasu conquers the land three years later.
[edit] Voice Actors
- Jayne Patterson - Kessen (English)
- Mami Koyama - Kessen (Japanese)
[edit] Historical Information
Lady Yodo is believed to have been born sometime in 1569 and was Azai Nagamasa's eldest daughter. Her mother was Oichi no Kata, one of Oda Nobunaga's sisters. Her childhood name was Kikuko (菊子) and her given name was Chacha (茶々) or O-Cha (お茶). She was also known as Yodo no Kata, Ni no Maru-dono and Nishi no Maru-dono. Her other name, Yodo-gimi (淀君), isn't found in historical records and is likely a derogatory alias conceived during the Edo Period. Yodo-gimi was used to describe her as a "wicked and wanton" woman who plotted the death of the Toyotomis.
After her parents' deaths, Chacha was sent to live with Oda Nagamasu at Azuchi Castle. It is believed that she was later transferred to Jurakudai and relied on Kyogoku Maria (Nagamasa's older sister) and Kyogoku Tatsuko (Maria's daughter) for her upbringing. It is said that as she grew older, Chacha bore a striking resemblance to her mother. She was skilled with Waka poetry and was regarded as the highest ranked princess of the Azai family. She treated her sisters and other relatives well though it is said that she was also a passionate speaker regarding the Toyotomi's future.
In 1588, she became Hideyoshi's noble concubine. When she was announced pregnant a year later at Yodoko Castle, Hideyoshi was pleased and officially named her Yodo no Kata. Two years after Hideyoshi's death, she commissioned a shrine to be built to honor her father's kin and her mother's remains. During the Sekigahara Campaign, Lady Yodo didn't take an active part during these events and remained within Osaka Castle. When the castle fell, many accounts assume that she committed suicide with her son. However, there are few personal records regarding her demise, and a few theories state that she fled from the castle with her maids to either Satsuma or Kozuke Province.
[edit] Gallery
 Lady Yodo in Kessen |
 Lady Yodo's evil counterpart in Saihai no Yukue |
