A woman of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, born as Chacha, daughter of Azai Nagamasa and Ichi no Kata (Oichi). Her father was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga, and her mother Oichi later died alongside Shibata Katsuie in defeat. Amid these turbulent fortunes, around 1588 she became a concubine of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, bearing his son Hideyori in 1593. After Hideyoshi's death, she remained in Osaka Castle raising and protecting Hideyori, while tensions with Tokugawa Ieyasu mounted. The Hōkōji bell inscription incident of 1614 triggered the Siege of Osaka (winter and summer campaigns). When the Toyotomi clan fell in the Summer Siege of 1615, she died alongside Hideyori as the castle fell, at the age of 47. She is depicted as a tragic figure of the turbulent Sengoku age in countless works of literature and drama.

A woman of proud spirit and fierce will. Despite a tragic childhood, she rose to the pinnacle of power and showed the face of a mother who fought to the last for her son Hideyori. Her refusal to compromise with the Tokugawa was inseparable from her intense attachment to the Toyotomi name.

As the symbolic figure of the Toyotomi regime, she led the course of events leading to the Siege of Osaka. Her tragic end has captivated later generations, and the story of the three Azai sisters—Chacha, Hatsu, and Gō—continues to be beloved as material for kabuki and NHK historical dramas.