Ame Tomoe
| Tomoe Ame | |
|---|---|
| Cover of Usagi Yojimbo vol. 3 #81 with Tomoe Ame mounted. Cover of Usagi Yojimbo vol. 3 #81 with Tomoe Ame mounted. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| First appearance | ALBEDO Volume 1, Issue 3, April 1985 |
| Created by | Stan Sakai |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tomoe Ame |
| Team affiliations | Geishu Clan |
| Abilities | Expert Swordswoman |
Tomoe Ame is an important supporting character in the anthropomorphic comic book, Usagi Yojimbo loosely based on the famous female samurai, Tomoe Gozen.
She is a samurai of the Geishu clan and serves as Lord Noriyuki's personal bodyguard and closest advisor.
Character History
Tomoe's father, Tatsutaro, was a master of the "Falling Rain" style, and the head of a prestigious fencing school in the capital city of the Geishu province. As a kitten, Tomoe was trained by her father out of admiration for her extraordinary skill with the sword, even knowing that, as a woman, she could not succeed him as head of the school. That position would go to her younger brother, Tajima.
In fact, the young Tomoe had an early altercation in her youth with Miyamoto Usagi, whom she ran into (literally) while he and his sensei Katsuichi were on their way to watch a fencing tournament. The young Usagi childishly picked a fight and paid for it when she defeated him soundly. Many spectators applauded, saying it was the best fight they'd seen all day. Tomoe and Usagi never learned each other's names, though Tomoe would later confess to her father, "he was kind of cute."
When she was older, Tomoe was devastated to be told that she could not succeed Tatsutaro as head of the school, though she was Tajima's superior in skill. Instead, her father planned to place her in the court of his daimyo, Lord Mataichi, to keep watch on the politics there. Her father also told her she could no longer spar with Tajima in public, to avoid embarrassing him. Tomoe found some solace in practicing alone.
In particular, Tatsutaro was wary of Counselor Odo, one of Lord Mataichi's advisors, said to be an agent of Lord Hikiji. This suspicion was well-founded, as on the day of Tomoe's presentation to the court, Odo advised that she instead be assigned to the ladies wing. Once assigned, Tomoe proved ill-suited to the traditional servant tasks, infuriating her superior with clumsy accidents.
One day, while practicing with her sword, she was discovered by the Lady and the housekeeper. The housekeeper ordered her to stop, but the Lady suggested that Tomoe be made a guard in the ladies wing, allowed to carry a sword and spear.
This proved most fortituous, as shortly afterward Odo let a a company Neko Ninja into the castle to assassinate the Lord and his family. The group sent to the ladies wing attacked Tomoe's unit, killing her comrades, but Tomoe proved more than a match for them. Rushing to the Lady's chambers, she found the Lady and her young son, Noriyuki, besieged by ninja and about to be overwhelmed. With a battlecry, Tomoe attacked the assailants and defeated them with a fury that left the Lady awestruck. She immediately appointed Tomoe personal bodyguard to her son, a privileged position she still holds.
Meeting with Usagi
When Lord Mataichi died, Noriyuki was to travel to Edo to be formally appointed his successor. On the way, the young panda lord's escort was attacked by the Neko Ninja, with only Tomoe surviving. Together, she and her lord fled and eventually met Miyamoto Usagi for the first time, and he was instrumental in helping the pair to their destination safely. This adventure was the first of many adventures Tomoe and Usagi would have together in which a strong friendship developed.
Tomoe and Usagi have had at least two friendly duels; the first was a draw, the outcome of the second was not revealed. It is therefore fair to say that Tomoe and Usagi as adults are closely, if not equally, matched.
Recently, the pair has started to share fleeting moments that suggest a deeper love that both are only now willing to admit. In particular in Vol. 3, #89, Tomoe, after some disturbing dreams, requests Usagi's company for the remainder of the night although the exact nature of that company is not revealed. Furthermore, Stan Sakai noted the stories in the early Fantagraphics Books color specials, in which Usagi and Tomoe shared adventures together were to be chronically placed between #89 and #90.
However at present, Lord Noriyuki has been persuaded by a hostile advisor to arrange for Tomoe to be married, despite the fact that she expressed no such desire to him. Tomoe's initial reaction to this imposition, and Usagi's, has not been depicted yet. However, in #93, the pair partake in a traditional tea ceremony ritual that ends with the pair obviously gripped with a quietly bleak attitude as Usagi departs the Geishu province with a quiet farewell from a distance to Tomoe. As Sakai revealed that the marriage arrangements to a neighboring and unsightly lord will be an underlying plot thread for the future, the question of whether Tomoe will be freed from this painful obligation remains unresolved for now.
Trivia
- Tomoe Ame's name is unusual in that it is the only one in the series that is given name first-family name last. In keeping with Japanese custom, it would normally be read as "Ame Tomoe"; however, Stan Sakai named the character after a candy he once liked as a child called "Tomoe Ame" (similar to Botan Rice Candy).
- Tomoe Ame also appeared in the 2003 TMNT cartoon, in the episode The Real World, Part 1.
- Tomoe is one of the most popular characters with fans of the book with many requesting she and Usagi become romantically involved. Stan Sakai has been largely non-committal on this request, but has teased readers with suggestions of such a relationship developing.