Kyōgoku Maria

Kyōgoku Maria (京極マリア) or Yōfuku-in (養福院) was a Japanese noble lady and religious leader from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period. She was the second daughter of Azai Hisamasa as well as Azai Nagamasa's elder sister and the mother of Kyōgoku Takatsugu and Kyōgoku Takatomo. She was the mostly successful woman catechist with her own assistants as well as Naitō Julia and her women catechists. She faced the rules of samurai governments, staying true to her missionary campaigns even when Christianity was banned in Japan.