Hosokawa Gracia was one of the highest esteemed ladies of her time who converted to Christianity. The future Gracia began as the young Tama, the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. In 1578 at 15 years old she was married to Hosokawa Tadaoki. When Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga and forced the latter to commit suicide in 1582, Tadaoki repudiated his young wife; however, Hideyoshi forced Tadaoki to take her back because she had nothing to do with her father's betrayal.
In 1587, Tama converted to Christianity and was baptized taking the Christian name Gracia. She also had her children baptized, which angered her husband who wanted her to renounce her actions. This was, however, in vain. Gracia was considered very pious and Tadaoki had to resign himself to his wife's faith.
In 1600, Gracia’s life changed. Her husband fought on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu but she fell into the hands of her clan's opponents, men in the service of Ishida Mitsunari. He wanted to make her a hostage, probably to neutralize Tadaoki. She was ordered to leave her residence in Osaka to go to the castle, but she refused and then disappeared. Was she murdered? Or, did she commit suicide rather than obey her enemies? Or, was she killed on her own orders by one of the men who escorted her?
There are very few first-hand historical documents concerning her. Even her name is uncertain. What is certain is that she was the third daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide and was named Tamako or Tama. She signed her letters Ta (for Tama?). She came into contact with a missionary named Cosme who wrote that "he had never seen a Japanese woman capable of making such clear and bold decisions." Tama attended church clandestinely and Cosme never knew who he had converted. Later in Osaka, she took the name Grazia or Gratia which historians have "normalized" to Gracia. In Japan she remains a favorite character in novels and films that address this period. She inspired the character of Mariko in the novel Shōgun by James Clavell, adapted to the screen in 2024.