A Woman to Know: Tomoe Gozen

She was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. — The Tale of the Heike

(image via Wikimedia Commons)

We don't know much about Tomoe's early life in 12th century Japan: she could've married her husband as a child, or lived as the palace's lead concubine, or worked quietly in court as another nameless female att…