Ginchiyo Tachibana

Ginchiyo Tachibana 1st appeared in Samurai Warriors 2.

Samurai Warriors
With the Shimazu conquering the majority of her family territory in Kyush, Ginchiyo and her clansmen struggle in several conflicts with their foes and are on the brink of annihilation. With time, Hideyoshi Toyotomi appears and offers aid to her cause. Hoping to avenge her losses and her father, she enters the fray. Once the island is conquered, Hideyoshi greatly praised her efforts and the Tachibana's reputation grew. Unsuccessful in obtaining her vengeance, Ginchiyo decides to follow the path she thinks is most just by fulfilling her obligations to Hideyoshi. After the western siege of Odawara Castle, Hideyoshi unites the land but passes away soon after. Like her hated enemy, Ginchiyo decides to stay loyal to the Toytomi family. Though fighting for the same cause, she reminds Yoshihiro Shimazu in these battles that she will never accept him as her true ally. After the Western army wins Kuzegawa, Ieyasu's army retreats and threatens Hideyori's position by marching towards Osaka Castle. Mitsunari pursues and both armies confront one another at Sekigahara. Insulted and baffled by Mitsunari's actions, many officers in the Western army are discontent by the current state of affairs. Yoshihiro is among the many who are unsatisfied with their leader and refuses to move during the conflict. Realizing that it maybe necessary to have him join the battle, Ginchiyo personally provokes him to move and they are able to turn the tides of battle. Their victory causes Ieyasu to flee for his life back to Edo. Yoshihiro, wanting to settle their grudge once and for all in an all-or-nothing gamble, joins forces with other loyal Toyotomi officers and defects. They continue to march for Hideyori, intent to crush both Mitsunari and Ieyasu at once. Wanting the chance to defeat Yoshihiro, Ginchiyo aids the pursuit at Yamazaki. Slaying her adversary with utmost respect, she swears to honor his wishes to place the Shimazu in her good care. Her dream stage is an epilogue to the Western army's victory at Sekigahara, in which they continue to pursue Ieyasu at Edo Castle. In Samurai Warriors 3, her story starts in a similar manner except that she now fights together with Muneshige. His biological father, Shōun Takahashi, was her father's good friend and was also killed by the Shimazu. As Shōun's death caused a noticeable collapse for their family, the two youths work together to retain what is left of their home. Able to defeat their enemy with Hideyoshi's reinforcements, they subjugate the Hojo at Odawara Castle with fellow Toyotomi forces. Opposing Ieyasu, the Tachibana continue to serve the Toyotomi after Hideyoshi's death. As representatives of the same clan, Ginchiyo and Muneshige part ways to better assist the Western army campaigns. While saying their farewells to one another, Ginchiyo acts as though she is pleased with facing death and states that Muneshige is a thorn in her side. Muneshige calmly responds that he wants to see her live past the wars, making her visibly distraught. She joins the siege at Fushimi Castle, intent to show her own strength for once. Although she performs well in her campaigns, it isn't until that she fights at Kusegawa that the idea of being alone makes her falter. Motochika Chosokabe, who sees past her tough front, gets to the point and tells her to only care about the things truly important to her. Therefore, when the Western army loses Sekigahara and they flee for their lives, he joins her in defending her family at Ishigakibaru. Desiring to protect her home, even against the impossible odds they face, she regroups with Muneshige to defeat Kanbei's army. Even after his defeat, Kanbei retorts that they have already fallen into his trap and the Eastern army continues their march inwards. Surrounded, Muneshige chivalrously reaffirms his wishes for her to live and forces her to flee from horseback. Ginchiyo, who finally decides to be honest with herself, tearfully rides back to his side and admits that she can't lead the Tachibana by herself. She orders him to realize that they will fight and live together from now on.

Kessen
Ginchiyo can be recruited in Kessen 3 if Kicho rides out in battle to meet her. She is actually a fan of Kicho and acts as a rather sweet maiden. In some ways, she mirrors her idol's abilities.

Voice Actors

 * Freya Ravensbergen - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Naomi Shindô - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

History
Tachibana Ginchiyo was "Lightning God" Tachibana Dosetsu's daughter, a strong and respected warrior. Ginchiyo was personally named by her father with her name roughly meaning, "one who would not listen idly to others". This proved true to some extent as she grew up refusing to believe in her mother's "ladylike" teachings. She practiced many common teachings for boys and is said to have been a stern and strict figure with noteworthy communication skills.

When Dosetsu was ailing and had lost his other children to illness, he was pleased to see Ginchiyo well and healthy. Despite their suggestion to pass his leadership onto one of his distant relatives, he told his retainers to make Ginchiyo his heir following his death. He died battling the Shimazu clan at Neko'o Castle on November 2, 1585. His wishes were respected and Ginchiyo became the unconventional lord of the Tachibana clan. A woman ruling a clan during the Warring States period was rarely seen or fathomed before then. Feeling under threat of possible invaders, Ginchiyo trained her maids to wield swords at all times, which intimidated many possible suitors. Five years after her rule, she was married to Tachibana Muneshige and he continued to lead the clan. Ginchiyo passed away at the age of 34.

Three tales surround Ginchiyo's life as a samurai. One states that she summoned Toyotomi Hideyoshi to her home and scared him witless by the sight of her heavily armed maids. A second tale states that she was equipped to defend her home with her maids whilst her husband was away. The third takes place after Sekigahara and the Eastern Army reportedly began to march towards her doorstep. She faced them whilst dressed in armor and many of her enemies were said to have felt threatened by the sight. However, there is little historical evidence to validate any of these events and some historians believe that these stories are romanticized fables from the Edo period.