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Jizō, Bodhisattva of the Earth Store (Kshitigarbha), Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333), 14th century. Wood with lacquer, pigment, and cut gold.

"If she was contemporary to Tamenobu, whose dates are 1550 to 1607, we can assume that she lived during the late Muromachi to Azuchi-Momoyama transition. She’s called Fujishiro-gozen– Lady Fujishiro– after her estate, the Fujishiro-tate, which shared its name with Fujishiro village, where it was located. The village is long gone, having been merged into Hirosaki City in the 1950s, but traces of its name remain in the local community center run by the city. And if we assume that Fujishiro-tate was in this area, that puts it about a kilometer from Hirosaki Castle’s west moat, on the opposite side of the Iwaki River.

Now, we can’t be thinking of her in the framing of a daimyo. We have to think further back. This isn’t the Edo period, after all, but just before it– before the era of the fancy castles you probably think of when you hear the word “daimyo.” Lady Fujishiro was an inheritor of the Muromachi system that gave her family the modest measure of local power it possessed. The Muromachi system, in turn, was a development of the earlier Kamakura system.

Jitō. We need to be thinking of jitō in order to get a proper sense of her level of local power.

Jitō are the land stewards of the Kamakura era. They’re the small landholders that were part of how the Kamakura shogunate distributed rewards to its loyal retainers. This is also how some of the families that grew into the later daimyo houses of the late Muromachi and Edo eras first came to their starting level of local power. These aren’t people who would’ve had castles in the fancy Edo period sense, these are people who would’ve lived very close to the land, might’ve actually taken part in farming it themselves, and didn’t measure their incomes in koku but in units like kan instead. This is where some locally influential families like that of Lady Fujishiro originated.

The other thing to note here is that women could be jitō. It was only through the end of the 16th century that women could be daimyo, and only occasionally, and only if there were no men to head their families.

So with that understood, she’d have been a minor landholder, and would’ve been in command of a handful of retainers at best, when she stood up against Tamenobu. The claim is that Tamenobu wanted her as a mistress, but she was heading up her own family and raising a child, and given that this was an era where as we mentioned before on the podcast, Nanbu control in this part of Aomori was slipping, she’d have likely been fiercely guarding her local autonomy. The local history on the topic, the Taisho era Aomoriken Nakatsugarugun Fujishiromura Kyōdoshi, edited by Nakamura Ryōnoshin, says that she shut herself up in Fujishiro-tate with her handful of retainers, and died in battle. It also claims that with her dying breath, she cursed Tamenobu and his descendants to the end of time."

Bakkalian Nyri A., "Lady Fujishiro"

I am once again begging people to realize that AI checker doesn’t work. it’s never worked. it’s notoriously known to have flagged human-made works as AI and AI-generated works as human-made. and by feeding it people’s works, you are feeding more works to AI, because apparently the machine itself is AI.

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Medicine, water, supplies, food, fuel (much of it black market being upsold at egregious prices) — these all cost money and pretty much all Palestinians in Gaza have no source of income now. It’s drops in the bucket compared to ending the siege and occupation but it’s one way to do at least something small to help. Others are in need of money to evacuate when the border opens again (which hopefully is asap…), tuition and supplies for school to continue studies despite it all. Another fund is focused on trying to rebuild farmlands in Gaza to get food again that way.

Peace be upon you, free people of the world and people of merciful hearts.

I send you these words from the heart of the besieged Gaza Strip that is being subjected to genocide.

I send you my words and my heart is filled with pain and sadness for what happened to me and my family.

My name is Kifah from the northern Gaza Strip. My husband Anwar and I were displaced under death and violent bombardment to Deir al-Balah, where we live in tragic and sad conditions.

I speak to you as I live in my beautiful home in the northern Gaza Strip. My home was like a luxurious palace, as my husband and I are from a wealthy family that practices trade and imports. But the war turned me into a poor, miserable woman who has no one to provide for her daily needs after our trade stopped and my home and commercial center in the northern Gaza Strip were destroyed.

I never imagined even once that I would ask for help from anyone, but circumstances forced me to do so, as my life has been turned upside down.

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In a small corner of Gaza, where the lights fade and darkness falls, Mahmoud sat alone, thinking. He was a young man like any other, dreaming of a better future, a safe home, and a job that would provide him and his family with a decent life. But the dream turned into a nightmare, and life into a daily struggle for survival.

Mahmoud's family, which includes 43 members, lived under the burden of siege and war. They lost their homes, and watched their dreams fade before their eyes. Every day was a new challenge, searching for a living amidst the lack of water and electricity, and the fear of bombing that could come at any moment.

"I saw hope in the eyes of my children, but the siege was taking it away from them little by little," Mahmoud says sadly. "They wanted to play in the streets, and go to school, but all that surrounded them was destruction and fear."

Mahmoud's dream now is simple, to get his family out of this hell, and to start a new life in a safe place. But the costs of migration are high, and far beyond their means.

Noha is a story of courage and determination. She reminds us that disability is not a barrier, and that anything is possible if you are determined enough.

“We need your help,” Mahmoud says, his voice trembling. “We need a chance to build a better future for our children.”

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