When Tomoe Gozen was about 28 years old, she fought in the Gempei War (1180–1185). In the Battle of Awazu (February 1184), Minamoto no Yoshinaka was killed by his cousin Yoritomo. Tomoe's reaction to this is not really known. Some people have theories about what might have happened to her. Some think she may have fled from the Gempei War or she may have continued fighting after his death. She also might have been asked to go by Yoshinaka (who believed that his honor would be destroyed if he was killed by a woman) when he realized he would be killed.