Niijima Yae | |
|---|---|
新島八重 | |
 | |
| Born | Yamamoto Yae (山本八重) 1 December 1845 |
| Died | 14 June 1932 (aged 86) |
| Resting place | Doshisha Cemetery, Kyoto, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Other names | Yamamoto Yaeko (山本八重子) |
| Occupation(s) | Nurse, former soldier |
| Spouses | |
| Children | none |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Yamamoto Kakuma (brother) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Aizu Domain |
| Years of service | 1868 |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Aizu |
Niijima Yae (新島八重, née Yamamoto (山本); 1 December 1845 – 14 June 1932), also known as Yamamoto Yaeko (山本 八重子), was a Japanese educator, nurse, and scholar during the Bakumatsu and Meiji era.[1] Her samurai family belonged to the Hoshina clan, loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate.[1] Skilled in gunnery, she helped defend the Aizu Domain during the Boshin War, earning her the nicknames “Nightingale of Japan” and “Bakumatsu Joan of Arc”.[1]
Yaeko served as a nurse during the Russo-Japanese War and Sino-Japanese War,[1] and became the first woman outside of Imperial House of Japan after the Meiji Restoration (originated in 1870s) to be decorated for her service to the country.[2] She was famously known as the wife of Joseph Hardy Neesima, the founder of Doshisha English School in 1875, and with a help of American missionary Alice J. Starkweather, they co-founded the Doshisha Girls’ School a year later.
- ^ a b c d Schneider, Michael (2020). "NIIJIMA (geborene YAMAMOTO), Yae (1845–1932)". In Kolling, Hubert (ed.). Biographisches Lexikon zur Pflegegeschichte: Who was who in nursing history (in German). Hungen: Hpsmedia Verlag. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-3-947665-03-7.
- ^ "歴史秘話ヒストリア「明治悪妻伝説 初代"ハンサムウーマン"新島八重の生涯". NHK. April 22, 2009.