Lady Eboshi is the great ruler of Iron Town (Tatara Ba
in the original) that doesn't fears neither men or gods.
In the movie her past is not discussed, but it's said that she
was kidnapped still young by pirates and forced to marry their chef. Then, some
night she caught her husband asleep and killed him, taking over the ship. After
that she sold everything and contracted some skirmishers (or Jigo provided
her with them, because later he will expect a return from her. I'm not really
sure).
At that time Iron Town was a minor town with lots of problems
with the forest gods but someday Lady Eboshi arrived with her men and took down
Lord Nago, the boar god, and after she that never stopped fighting against the
forest. Under the sovereignty of it's ruler the town
prospered and outcast people found there a place where they could work equally.
The Lady, that didn't minded who people were since they
behaved and worked, started buying the contract of each prostitute she found and
setting them free to work on the foot bellows of her town. As for the lepers,
she gave them a place to live and a chance to be useful as blacksmiths.
Lady Eboshi is a practical women whose skills in combat are
amazing (her agility during the scene of the fight with San is great!), having
learned them with the pirates. She's also very different from the other
aristocratic women from that time, wearing pants and other clothes that only men
did wear, as well as ruling, of course.
With the help of her blacksmith lepers, this woman designed a
new type of hand canons, the anterior ones being too heavy for the other women,
the ones she believed would be the best in using them.
At the end, and with less an arm, she seems to became a little
less fierce and a little more disposed to give nature a chance.
Note: Her name can be other than the one she's
known for. Actually eboshi is the Japanese name for that type of red hat
she uses.
Lady Eboshi's poem:
Your heart of steel so fearless.
Your will so fierce.
So kind are you to the weak,
Yet so merciless to your enemies.
Your neck so white,
Your arms so slender,
Your strength so great!
Your chosen path you follow, without
doubt or hesitation.
Earning your follower's adoration.
Far off into the distance you stare.
Is what you see with those eyes the future?
Or do they gaze on some past hell? |