Her dates are uncertain, but she was celebrated as the most beautiful woman in the capital in late Heian times and served at court as a lady-in-waiting to the consort of Emperor Konoe. She became a consort of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and bore him three sons: Imawaka (later Ano Zensho), Otowaka (later Enbutsu), and Ushiwaka (later Minamoto no Yoshitsune). When Yoshitomo was defeated and killed in the Heiji Rebellion (1159), Tokiwa fled through the midwinter cold with her three small children. The Taira captured her mother as a hostage, and to save her children she surrendered herself to Taira no Kiyomori. Captivated by her extraordinary beauty, Kiyomori reportedly spared the children—and made Tokiwa his concubine. After a period as Kiyomori's consort, she later remarried Ichijo Naganari. Of her three sons, Yoshitsune was sent to Kurama-dera at age 7 and grew into one of Japan's most celebrated warriors; Zensho became a monk and later joined Yoritomo's cause. The circumstances of Tokiwa's own death remain uncertain.

A legendary beauty who sacrificed herself to protect her children. Her decision to surrender to Kiyomori demonstrated a mother's ultimate resolve.

A tragic heroine repeatedly depicted in "Gikeiki," Noh, and Kabuki. The scene of her tearfully begging Kiyomori for her children's lives is deeply embedded in Japanese culture.