The Tomoe Gozen Saga is a fantasy trilogy set in an alternate-reality Japan referred to as Naipon.
The title character is the legendary 12th century lady samurai Tomoe Gozen.
The trilogy's individual titles are:
- Tomoe Gozen (later retitled The Disfavored Hero)
- The Golden Naginata
- Thousand Shrine Warrior
The Tomoe Gozen Saga contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptational Sexuality: Salmonson's Gozen is rather openly bisexual and in love with her liege lady.
- Escaped from Hell: Within the first thirty pages of the first book, Tomoe dies and fights her way back up from Yomi.
- Feminist Fantasy: Salmonson is a noted feminist author, and this was probably the first western-published work to feature a female samurai.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Tomoe is naked as she fights her way out of Yomi.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Averted - Tomoe initially uses Chinese butterfly swords.
- Lady of War: Tomoe.
- Naginatas Are Feminine: Tomoe for a time wields a magical naginata which was in turn originally wielded by another legendary female warrior, was guarded by a female monster, and which she names Inazuma-hime, or Princess Lightning. Though, to be fair, Tomoe also wields many different weapons over the course of the series.
- One-Woman Army: Early in the first book, Tomoe defeats a large force attacking her lord's lands almost single-handedly.
- We Used to Be Friends: In The Golden Naginata, Tomoe is reunited with her former comrade Goro, who has declared revenge, blaming her for his forced retirement.
