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SARGA.CO - The latest addition to Uma Musume: Pretty Derby’s expanding cast of historical horse-inspired characters reaches back further into Japanese racing history than most. Azuma, introduced in the game’s newest scenario, is inspired by a real Arabian mare born in Japan in 1870, whose maternal line would go on to produce generations of greathorses.

Her story begins with an unusual chapter in Japan’s diplomatic history, when an exchange involving silkworm eggs helped bring Arabian horses from France to the Tokugawa shogunate.

15 decades later, Azuma’s legacy survives not only through her descendants, but also through a grave monument and a new character in one of Japan’s most recognisable horse-racing franchises.

Diplomatically Exchanged Mare

Azuma’s mother, Takasago, is believed to have been among a group of Arabian horses presented by French Emperor Napoleon III to Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shogun of Japan. The exchange was connected to a silkworm crisis that devastated European silk production during the 1850s and 1860s.

In 1865, the Tokugawa shogunate sent silkworm eggs to France. In return, the French government arranged to send Arabian horses, fulfilling a long-standing Japanese interest in acquiring them. Years later, in 1870, Azuma was born at Kijibashi in Tokyo. Historical accounts trace her movements from Tokyo to Shinjuku and later to a farm in Chiba, reflecting the changing locations where horses were bred and kept in the early Meiji era.

Generationally Winning Broodmare

Azuma’s significance came through breeding rather than a documented racing career. She became an influential broodmare, and historical records list 12 offspring. Numerousdaughters carried variations of her name, including Daini Azuma and Dai-san Azuma, helping preserve her identity within the developing family.

The maternal line descended from Azuma became one of the notable families in Japanese horse-racing history. Its descendants produced 13 winners of the Imperial Household Prize races, known as Teishitsu Goshōten. These races preceded the modern Tenno Sho, one of Japan’s major racing prizes.

Her lineage continued to produce distinguished Arabian horses well into the twentieth century. Tatsutomo was selected as Japan’s Best Arabian in 1955, while Hakkodios received the NAR Best Three-Year-Old Arabian award in 1999.

Historical records attribute Azuma’s death on 31 January 1896 to heart paralysis. Her influence, though, did not end with her lifetime. Her descendants carried the family forward through the Meiji, Showa and Heisei eras, preserving a connection to the earliest period of modern Japanese horse breeding.

A Grave Remembered in Literature

Azuma’s story also survives outside pedigree records. In Sanrizuka no Sakura, writer OmachiKeigetsu describes visiting Sanrizuka to view its cherry blossoms and finding a wooden marker beside an old cherry tree, the grave of a mare named Azuma. According to the account, visitors were told that she had produced many fine horses.

Her grave monument was later relocated in connection with the construction of Narita Airport. It now stands at Shibayama Nioson, also known as Kannonkyoji Temple, in Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture.

Many details of Azuma’s life remain difficult to reconstruct, but the monument offers a tangible link to a horse whose importance might otherwise be known only through breeding records.

Azuma in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

In Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Azuma appears as a shrine maiden who presides over the Goshiki Shuntaisai, a festival held once every 12 years. She is knowledgeable about history, particularly the relationship between Umamusume and humankind, and is addressed as “Azuma-sama” by those who revere her.

Her wish is for the bond between Umamusume and humans to endure forever. This emphasis on continuity and the preservation of history gives her a fitting role in a franchise built around the legacy of real horses.

Azuma was introduced in the Tomo, Fumihotoki – Goshiki Shuntaisai scenario, which became the game’s 15th training scenario on 26 October 2026. Her Japanese voice is provided by Kotono Mitsuishi.

The connection between the character and the historical mare is based on their shared name and the community’s identification of the real horse as her likely inspiration; it has not been formally confirmed as an official adaptation. Even so, the parallel is striking.

Legacy From 1870 to 2026

The real Azuma’s legacy endured through generations of descendants, while her Uma counterpart is defined by her desire to preserve the bond between horses and people. From a diplomatic exchange shaped by a European agricultural crisis to a family that produced generations of winners, Azuma’s history offers a glimpse into the foundations of Japanese horse breeding.