Historical Persons in Japan and in Latvia

Tomoe Gozen (1157-1247)
Was a female samurai warrior during the time of the Gempei War. Many Japanese women knew how to fight and defend their homes, but Tomoe was special in that she was a high-level samurai, skilled in riding, archery and kenjutsu. The Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike) describes her as "especially beautiful with white skin, long hair and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot."

Vaira Vīķe Freiberga (1937)
President of the Republic of Latvia, was elected on 17 June 1999 by the Parliament for a four-year term and has been re-elected for a second term in 2003. She was named Special envoy on the reform of the United Nations in 2005 and was an official candidate of the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) for the position of Secretary General in 2006. She was the first woman to head a postcommunist eastern European country.
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