Ōhōri Tsuruhime

Tsuruhime was born in 1526. At that time the island was under threat from the growing power of Ōuchi Yoshitaka from Yamaguchi on the mainland of Honshu, and fighting took place between the Ōuchi and the Kōno (河野) on Shikoku, under whose jurisdiction the shrine fell. Tsuruhime's two elder brothers were killed in one such conflict, and when Tsuruhime was 15 years old her father died of illness, so she inherited the position of chief priest. She had been trained since childhood in the martial arts, and when the Ōuchi made further moves against Ōmishima she took charge of the military resistance. She led an army into battle and drove the Ōuchi samurai back into the open sea when they raided Ōmishima in 1541.[2]

Four months later the invaders returned, and while an Ōuchi general, Ohara Takakoto, was being entertained on his flagship he came under attack from Tsuruhime in a raid. At first he mocked her presumption, but Tsuruhime cut him down. This was followed by a deluge of hōrokubiya (焙烙火矢; spherical exploding bombs) from Tsuruhime's allies to destroy many ships, which drove the Ōuchi fleet away. Two years later, at the age of 17, she again joined in defensive action against an attack by the Ōuchi. During the fighting, her fiancé was killed in action. According to legend, she committed suicide by drowning, her last words being:

"As Mishima's ocean as my witness, my love shall be engraved with my name."

Though she is romanticized to have died when she was young, there aren't any contemporary records that suggest as such. Her body armor is said to be kept at Ōyamazumi Shrine.