was a Japanese woman of the late Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 who lived into the 20th century. Yaeko was the daughter of Yamamoto Gonpachi, one of the Aizu

Aizu

is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...

 domain's official gunnery instructors. She herself was skilled in gunnery, and took part in the defense of Aizu during the Boshin War

Boshin War

The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

. After the war, Yaeko went to Kyoto to care for her brother Yamamoto Kakuma

Yamamoto Kakuma

was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went on to become an educator and politician in the Meiji era.-Biography:A native of Aizu, Yamamoto claimed descent from the famed military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke. A child prodigy, he could read at age four, and recite Chinese Jueju poetry at...

, who had been a prisoner of war in Satsuma custody. She remained in Kyoto, and became a Christian in the 1870s. Soon after, she married Rev. Joseph Hardy Neesima

Joseph Hardy Neesima

was a Japanese educator of the Meiji era, the founder of Doshisha University and Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts.Neesima was born in Edo , the son of a retainer of the Itakura clan of Annaka...

 and, together with Neesima and Kakuma, played an integral role in the founding of Doshisha University

Doshisha University

, or is a prestigious private university in Kyoto, Japan. The university has approximately 27,000 students on three campuses, in faculties of theology, letters, law, commerce, economics, policy, and engineering...

.

Yaeko was also a tea master of the Urasenke

Urasenke

is the name of one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. It is one of the san-Senke ; the other two are Omotesenke and Mushakōjisenke....

 tradition, with the nom de plume of .

She also served as a nurse during the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 and Sino-Japanese War

First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

.

Her family claimed descent from the Takeda clan's retainer Yamamoto Kansuke

Yamamoto Kansuke

was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century who was one of Takeda Shingen's most trusted Twenty-Four Generals. Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki . He was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to victory in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima against Uesugi...

.

Yaeko in Fiction

Yamamoto Yaeko appeared in the 2007 TV drama Byakkotai, where she was portrayed by Nakagoshi Noriko

Noriko Nakagoshi

is a Japanese actress.-Biography:Nakagoshi, first debuted as a model for ViVi magazine in 1999. She began acting the same year, making her acting debut as Midori Sato in the show Tengoku no Kiss. Her acting attracted her great attention and from there, she moved onto bigger roles...

.