Origin
Tomoe Ame is an onna bugeisha, a lady samurai of the Geishu Clan. Her most notable position within the clan is that of Lord Noriyuki‘s personal bodyguard and one of his most trusted retainers.
Creation
Tomoe was created by Stan Sakai. The character of Tomoe Ame was inspired by the historical figure, Tomoe Gozen, a famous onna-bugeisha from Japanese history. While historians debate on whether or not she was actually real or fictional in nature, she was one of the most revered and famous of the onna-bugeisha warriors during the feudal era of Japan, and is noted for having fought in the Gunpei Wars during the 1100’s. Like most onna-bugeisha, her weapon of choice was the naginata, and yumi bow and arrows. In fact, most schools in modern day Japan that teach naginatajutsu have her as their inspiration.
Character Development
Tomoe grew up under a father who was a samurai like herself. Her first encounter with Usagi was when they were both children, training to become samurai warriors. It all started with a tournament long ago, to which Usagi’s teacher, Katsuichi, took him to watch the matches. Excited, Usagi ran up ahead and bumped into Tomoe. The two were both too proud to say sorry to one another began a duel, both evenly matched until Tomoe was able to eventually overpower young Usagi and win. Defeated, the young Usagi went home with his teacher, both embarrassed and angry, vowing to someday meet her again and beat her in a duel. Tomoe later talk spoke to her father about the rude Usagi. she then comments that she did think he was kind of cute.
As time would have it, neither of the two would remember this childhood duel. Tomoe grew up to become an incredibly skilled samurai, and a renowned warrior. Her skill and prowess in battle was what drew the attention of the Geishu clan’s young lord, Noriyuki, who sought the onna bugeisha to be his personal bodyguard, eventually promoting her to a position as one of his retainers for her courage, skill, integrity, and her sense of honor. In a highly male-dominated society, this was a bold move on his part, since the role of retainer was vary rarely given to a woman, if ever in any point of history.
Tomoe would eventually travel with Usagi and Gen on many adventures on various errands for her clan, at times seeking his aide in protecting her young lord. During the period where Usagi would find that he had a son, Jotaro, Tomoe and Usagi are shown to have a very close relationship with each other, eventually becoming lovers. However, their long-distance relationship, due in part to Usagi’s journey and status as a Ronin, and her upcoming arranged marriage have put a damper on their relationship, and has unforeseen consequences for their future together.
It has recently been revealed that Tomoe has a very cruel cousin, Noriko, who would later reveal herself as a half sister. Noriko is everything Tomoe is not, her exact opposite in every way. While Tomoe is gentle and honorable, Noriko is cold and enjoys inflicting pain upon others. The two do face off, with Tomoe eventually defeating her sister. However, Noriko uses her tricks to get away, but is trapped in a collapsing cave. Tomoe would later have a dream of Noriko escaping the collapsed cave and swearing vengeance. it has not been revealed whether this is true or not.
Powers and Abilities
Tomoe has demonstrated that she is exceptionally skilled with the sword. She has often been shown to be able to defeat large groups of enemies with ease. She has also shown exceptional leadership skills as well; probably due to her experience as the personal bodyguard and a retainer to the lord of her clan.