Matsudaira Teru Matsudaira Teru ( 松平 照 ) , or Teruhime ( , literally translated , Princess Teru ) , ( December 13 , 1832−February 28 , 1884 ) was an aristocrat in Japan during the late Edo and early Meiji periods . She participated in the siege of Aizuwakamatsu Castle ( Tsuruga Castle ) and was the adoptive sister of Matsudaira Katamori , Military Commissioner of Kyoto and a prominent figure on the Tokugawa Shogunate ' s side during the Meiji Restoration . Early life . Matsudaira Teru was born as the third daughter of Hoshina Masamoto , daimyo of the Iino han in Kazusa . Her name , written in authentic kanji is 熈 ( Teru ) . When she was 10 ( 1842 ) , she was adopted by Matsudaira Katataka , daimyo of the Aizu han . The adoption took place because Katataka had no children ; he had two sons and four daughters at that time , but all had died very young . Katataka took a liking to Teruhime during his frequent visits to the Iino family mansion in Edo . The two hans were closely related to each other , because the first daimyo of the Aizu han and the Iino han were adoptive brothers . Teru was initially adopted to become the wife of the future heir of the Aizu han . However , Katataka ' s fifth daughter , Toshihime was born in 1843 , and although physically weak , grew up , and took over this role . In 1846 , she became the adoptive sister of Matsudaira Katamori , who was adopted by Katataka to marry Toshihime and become the heir of the Aizu han . Teru ' s marriage was delayed for several years , because people feared Toshihime would die young . In 1849 , Teru was finally given in marriage to Okudaira Masamoto , daimyo of the Nakatsu han . Teru and Masamoto divorced in 1854 . Historians have speculated that the divorce may have been related to Masamoto ' s poor health ( he died at a relatively young age ) or the fact they did not have any children , but the true reason is unknown . She returned to live in the Aizu han mansion in Edo after the divorce . The Aizu War and the Siege of Aizuwakamatsu Castle . In 1868 , the Tokugawa Shogunate army was defeated in the battle of Toba Fushimi and the new government subsequently stripped all powers from Matsudaira Katamori and the shogun , Tokugawa Yoshinobu . Katamori advised Tokugawa Yoshinobu to fight , but instead received orders that he would be banned from Yoshinobu ' s castle and Edo . Katamori had no choice but to pull out from Edo and return to Aizuwakamatsu , the capital of the Aizu han . Teru also went to Aizu for her first time . After her arrival , she took the Buddhist tonsure and became a nun . Although Matsudaira Katamori followed the example of the shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu and put himself under house arrest , it soon became evident that the new government had no intentions of seeking a peaceful resolution . This eventually led to the Aizu War and the siege of Aizuwakamatsu Castle ( Tsuruga Castle ) . Women and children worked alongside men during the siege . Although Teru was a new face in the castle , she quickly became the leader of the over six hundred women and children involved in the siege , partly because Toshihime had died in 1861 . The women and children mainly cooked meals , treated the injured , made bullets , and prevented fires when cannonballs were shot into the castle . Additionally , a group of women formed a volunteer infantry called the Aizu Jōshitai to protect Teru . The infantry was led by Nakano Takeko , who learned naginata from Akaoka Daisuke , who also taught Teruhime . Suzuki Shingo was Teru ' s bodyguard during the siege . He had secret orders to assist her suicide if the castle was breached . On a particularly bad day , Shingo panicked under the extreme stress , drew his sword and urged Teru to commit suicide , although the battle was still undecided . He was quickly restrained by onlookers . Teru did not reprimand Shingo for this incident . After the Aizu War . When the Aizu han surrendered after a one - month siege , Teru was put under house arrest in the Myokokuji temple with Katamori and Matsudaira Nobunori , Katamori ' s adoptive son . She was later put under custody of the Kishu han . The Iino han , her blood family , successfully campaigned to obtain her custody . She died in the Hoshina family mansion in Tokyo in 1884 , at the age of 52 , and received the posthumous Buddhist name Shōkei - in . She was first buried in the Jokakuji temple in Tokyo , but now rests in the Matsudaira family grave in the Aizu Matsudaira family ' s graveyard at Aizuwakamatsu City , only a few meters away from where her adoptive brother , Matsudaira Katamori lays . Poetry . Teru was skilled in waka poetry and calligraphy , and instructed Matsudaira Katamori in these arts . Her most famous poem was composed when Kayano Gonbei , fourth karo in the Aizu han , was placed in the care of Hoshina Masaari of Iino han ( Teruhime ' s birth brother ) , and was made to commit seppuku to take responsibility for the Aizu han ' s role in the Aizu War , in place of Katamori and Nobunori . The poem in its entirety was as follows : 夢うつつ 思ひも分ず 惜しむぞよ まことある名は 世に残れども Ah , regret ! Unheeding of emotion , it is even present in dreams ! But true distinction , will remain in the world . The poem was sent to Gonbei with a letter and two pieces of silver . The handwritten letter and poem has been designated as a cultural property by the city of Aizuwakamatsu .