View source for Yamato Nadeshiko

{{trope}}
[[File:Kimono Girl Sitting.jpg|right|frame|A 'traditional' upper/middle-class Japanese girl (artistic license taken).]]

{{quote|''"I am a true Japanese woman, kind and graceful!"''
|'''[[Ms. Fanservice|Mai Shiranui]]'''|''[[Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium]]''}}

A complicated Japanese aesthetic and cultural concept. Breaking the expression down: "Yamato" is one of the older (and thus fancier) names for Japan and the Japanese culture; "Nadeshiko" is Japanese for ''Dianthus superbus'', otherwise known as the carnation, a wildflower native to the Japanese highlands.

Broadly speaking, a '''Yamato Nadeshiko''' is the "flower of Japanese womanhood", a woman with attributes that were traditionally desirable in Japan from the perspective of male-dominated society; generally ascribed to people with traditional upbringings. Basically it revolves around acting for the benefit of the family and obeying and assisting authority figures (father, husband, sometimes father-in-law or older brothers, as well as older females of similar personality traits). Virtues include loyalty, [[Feminine Women Can Cook|domestic ability]], wisdom, maturity, and humility.

This sounds like an [[Extreme Doormat]], especially to [[Values Dissonance|modern Westerners]], but [[More Than Meets the Eye|don't be fooled]]; the nadeshiko is a ''wild''flower, after all. A properly done ''yamato nadeshiko'' will show a [[Silk Hiding Steel|subtle, but definitely present, touch of iron]], in that she is unwilling to let circumstances [[Mama Bear|hurt the ones she cares about]] or [[Determinator|distract her from her goals or missions]]. (Conversely, in poorly done cases this can come across as a forced attempt at trying to convince the audience that the ''nadeshiko'' in question isn't just a doormat with no personality.) This is often accomplished ''so'' subtly that the target isn't quite certain ''how'' things got redirected—a kind of influence judo, if you will. Older ''yamato nadeshiko'' are better at this, while a younger one will make up for it in determination—especially when it comes to the man she loves, because that trumps ''everything'' else. Remember: this is just a trope, and all [[Tropes Are Tools]].

A poorly done ''Yamato Nadeshiko'' will turn out like an [[Extreme Doormat]]. They are silent and submissive without the inner strength of a true ''Yamato Nadeshiko''. This is a common stereotype of East Asian women in Western fiction and is often referred to derisively as the [[wikipedia:Stereotypes of East Asians in the Western world#.22China doll.22 stereotype|China Doll]] stereotype.

With some notable exceptions, physically ''yamato nadeshiko'' will be of medium height, willowy, modestly endowed, and [[Sliding Scale of Beauty|good-looking without being too beautiful or too cute]]; they will have pale skin and [[Long Hair Is Feminine|long]], [[Shiny Midnight Black|dark hair]] with [[Hime Cut|full, straight bangs and side-bangs]]. They'll dress in feminine fashions: skirts, blouses, low-heeled shoes, lace, ribbons and simple hair ornaments. The other option is impeccable lady-like style for adults. A [[Kimono Is Traditional]] is never a bad choice and is likely to be worn by ''nadeshiko'' brought up in the good old Kyoto style. Some may use jewelry and make-up, but not to the extreme. Their voices will often be gentle, calm, and warm as melted butter. [[Tareme Eyes|Large rounded eyes]] are always a good bet. It is not unusual for [[geisha]]s to be ''Yamato Nadeshiko''.

Sometimes, these seemingly ultra peaceful ladies will also [[Action Girl|handle at least the basics of self-defense]], even if [[Technical Pacifist|they would rather not fight]] [[Martial Pacifist|unless it can't be helped]]. This makes sense, since many ''nadeshiko'' came from samurai clans and thus were trained in fighting so they could defend their homes whenever the males were absent. If that's the case, [[Lady of War|they'll be very graceful and effective in the battlefield]], and they're likely to be [[White Magician Girl]]s or [[Barrier Warrior]]s. If they're neither, they'll likely use [[Blade on a Stick|polearms, lances]] (specifically naginata which daughters of samurai families were traditionally trained in and were more than once included in a ''yamato nadeshiko'''s dowry) or [[The Archer|bow/arrows]], and maybe even [[Knife Nut|small tantou daggers]] [[Hidden Weapons|that may be hidden in their clothes]].

''Yamato nadeshiko'' characters pop up a lot in [[Magical Girlfriend]] series (usually as the one who will [[First Girl Wins|win the male lead's heart]]) and as the "Betty" in [[Betty and Veronica]] [[Love Triangle]]s. They tend to be very sympathetic, but their passive, reactionary nature puts them in danger of becoming [[Satellite Character]]s for more "interesting" people, as well as target of [[The Scrappy|bashing]] from fans who prefer either [[Action Girl]] or [[Tsundere]] types (and not all of them being [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses|"so-called feminists"]]). The ''yamato nadeshiko'' is much [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff|more popular in Japan]] for [[Values Dissonance|obvious reasons]].

Expect her name to end in "-ko" [子] or "-mi" [美], which mean "child" and "beauty", respectively. (Protip: "-ko" in words is analogous to the Western suffix "-ette"/"-elle"/"-ine", making any name feminine.)

You will sometimes find ''[[Gender Flip|males]]'' who fit in the ''yamato nadeshiko'' role pretty well, personality and/or looks-wise (like Japan in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', obviously), but this is still rare.

More information on this concept can be found in the [http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/yamatonadeshiko.html sci.lang.japan FAQ]. Compare [[Stepford Smiler]] for a critical take, and [[Yandere]] for a girl who ''seems'' to be a ''yamato nadeshiko'' but hides a far more unstable psyche, as a [[Deconstruction]] of this [[Trope]]. Her sort-of early Western equivalent is the [[Determined Widow]]. A more passive Victorian era Western equivalent is the [http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/thackeray/angel.html "angel in the house."] Or as we call it, [[Proper Lady]]. An attempt to take this [[trope]]'s appealing traits [[Up to Eleven]] while still playing it straight runs the risk of producing a [[Purity Sue]].

This trope is commonly used in the portrayal of a [[Patient Childhood Love Interest]] character's personality.

Compare [[Proper Lady]], [[Silk Hiding Steel]], [[Spirited Young Lady]], [[Princess Classic]], [[Southern Belle]], [[The Ingenue]].

Unusually, our page goes into far more detail than [[The Other Wiki]]'s [[w:Yamato nadeshiko|page]] does.
'''Note''': This trope is for the Japanese Ideal in particular, or Eastern Asian Ideal in general. For the western/European ideal see [[Proper Lady]]. For a general 'proper on the outside, powerful on the inside' woman use [[Silk Hiding Steel]]. For tropes describing homemakers and housewives in general, use [[Housewife]]. To describe 'innocence' or 'gentleness' use [[The Ingenue]]. Polite or friendliness can be covered by [[Nice Girl]].

{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* This is the standard portrayal of the [[OS-tan]] version of Windows 3.1.

== Anime and Manga ==
* Shizuka Minamoto from ''[[Doraemon]]'' is the prime example for Japanese's anime & manga society. She's a soft spoken, nature loving, and caring girly girl who addresses the [[Failure Hero]] Nobita using honorific. She's shown to be pretty good at almost everything except [[Dreadful Musician|violin.]]
* Belldandy in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'', which pretty much standardizes [[Kikuko Inoue]]'s typecasting. Though the in story reason for her being a ''yamato nadeshiko'' is that if she wasn't, [[Beware the Nice Ones|the universe would be in serious danger]]. She presents an interesting case in that she so deliberately invokes this [[Trope]] personality-wise but actually doesn't fit many of the above-defined physical descriptions, not to mention the fact that she's a ''Norse goddess'' who would have no reason to have ever even ''heard'' of Japan, let alone, take on their ideal of femininity. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 1
* Yukiko from ''[[Gun X Sword]]'' is one. Both before and after becoming part of Van's crew.
* Mercedes Herrera / de Morcerf in ''[[Gankutsuou]]'' also fits the role to a very large extent. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 2
* Hisui from ''[[Wish]]'' is one of this in the CD drama. Only... uh, Hisui is genderless. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 3
* [[Shrinking Violet|Hinata Hyuuga]] of ''[[Naruto]]'', who is exceptionally kind, polite, soft-spoken and devoted to [[The Messiah|Naruto]] and her friends.
** Haku is a rare male case of this trope. He's a kind, soft-spoken, [[Bishonen|androgynous]] ([[Dude Looks Like a Lady|if not outright feminine-looking]]) boy who probably has some significant domestic ability aside from that which we see onscreen (the herb-picking). He bows to Zabuza's authority but retains that hint of steel the article talks about...when it comes to ''protecting'' Zabuza.
** Mikoto Uchiha. A [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[Hot Mom]] who cares very much for her sons, Itachi and Sasuke, and tries to keep the peace between them alongside praising Sasuke in front of her husband Fugaku. Along with Kushina Uzamaki, she was an extremely powerful kunoichi and held in high regards. She is fiercely loyal to Fugaku and it's hinted that she played a part in the {{spoiler|Uchiha's plan to take over Konoha.}}.
* Despite being much older than most of the other examples here at 29, Haruka Shitow of ''[[RahXephon]]'' is a perfect example of this. She's sweet, fun, wise, and respects authority, but that doesn't stop her from being quite the [[Badass]].
* Kasumi Tendo in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is this trope incarnate, being the responsible eldest sister, and when Mrs Tendo died, [[Promotion to Parent|she became]] [[Team Mom|the house's mother figure]]. She even has a traditional view on sex and marriage, chastising Ranma and Akane [[It Makes Sense in Context|when she thinks they've been sneaking around having sex]]. She adopted a public face of ''yamato nadeshiko'', but allowed her own selfish and snarky (though always feminine and polite) side to show at home. Later on, she was [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] to follow this trope unto the point of parody. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 4
** Note that Kasumi's [[Tsundere]] younger sister, Akane, actually ''wants'' to grow up into a ''yamato nadeshiko'' (even going so far as to using the very feminine "atashi" to refer to herself), while still being a martial artist. But she's such a [[Tomboy]] [[Tsundere|spitfire]] that she just... can't.
** There were also two characters in the manga that tried to get revenge on Shampoo for beating them up as kids by using some [[Applied Phlebotinum|weird flowers]] that turned whoever wore them into a ''yamato nadeshiko'', even if they were male.
** Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother, is the very image of the ''yamato nadeshiko''. But then she hears how someone is menacing Akane or Ranko and she gets out her sword... Even if she's actually clumsy with it, there's a ''reason'' [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]] Genma calls her a "formidable woman." She's [[Dojikko|clumsy with the sword]], but she doesn't let that get in the way of being lethal with it; it may even be her lack of skill that makes her worthy of such fear. Something in a similar vein to [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]], only without the transition. She is a ''quantum'' version of the trope.
** In a filler episode in the anime, Ranma himself becomes [[Character Exaggeration|a caricature/parody]] of a ''yamato nadeshiko'' when he hits his head and becomes perhaps even more girly than Kasumi, to the point where [[Loss of Identity|"she" squeals in disgust at having to wash his boxers]], faints when Akane accidentally cuts her finger, and upon instinctively punching [[Loveable Sex Maniac|Happosai]] offers to strip naked and let him grope her all he likes just to make up for it.
** Akari Unryuu is occasionally derided as a [[Relationship Sue]] because she plays this trope perfectly straight, without any 'little quirks' like the aforementioned characters have. [[Rumiko Takahashi]] [[Word of God|saying]] she created her for the explicit purpose of giving Ryoga a happy ending after he became something of an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] didn't really help.
** Let's not forget Satsuki, Sentarou's girlfriend via [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage]]. For added hilarity, she and Kasumi gets along so well that [[Silent Bob|Kasumi can perfectly understand her almost non-existent speech.]]
** Konatsu is a "genius" kunoichi (female [[Ninja]]) and a ''yamato nadeshiko''. Of course, since this is Ranma ½, [[Wholesome Crossdresser|Konatsu is male]].
** Rather interestingly played with in another iller episode. We meet a guy who wants Ranma to marry his daughter Kaori, and she seems to be pretty much the perfect one: always in a [[Woman in White|bridal kimono]], chaste, humble, almost an [[Extreme Doormat]]. But when she, Akane and Ranko enter a race to see what to do... Kaori [[Flung Clothing|shreds her bridal clothes]] an rises to the challenge, and we see that she's a [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[Cute Bruiser]] who [[Combat Pragmatist|will do anything in her power]] to win Ranma's "hand in marriage".
* One of the rare ''villainous'' versions of the ''yamato nadeshiko'' archetype: [[White-Haired Pretty Girl|Reiko]] [[Affably Evil|Aya]] [[Dark Magical Girl|aka Sailor Aluminium Siren]] from ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 5
** Somewhat subverted by Usagi's [[Hot Mom]] Ikuko, who more often than not acts like this but is also [[Education Mama|more nagging than the standard]] (specially in the anime) and is hinted to have Usagi's dad quite whipped.
** Michiru Kaiou is mainly [[The Ojou]], but she also shows strong YN vibes - specially in her devotion to [[Les Yay|her girlfriend Haruka]] [[Plucky Girl|and their Outer Senshi mission]].
* Aoi Sakuraba in ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' is a textbook example of this trope, to the point where other characters actually use the term in discussing her. She always wears a kimono, which is rare even for a ''yamato nadeshiko''; although there is a bit of justification given in that her family business ''is'' making kimonos, and it wouldn't do for her to be seen wearing something other than her family's product. It's also justified in that she wants to be a ''perfect'' ''yamato nadeshiko'' for Kaoru in every way, and has been practicing at it since childhood. Since she comes from a ''very'' traditional family, you would expect her to be a very traditional example. This makes her devotion to Kaoru specifically all the more significant, since brazenly defying family for the sake of love is ''emphatically'' non-traditional.
* Oddly, English-born Christine "Chris" Robbins from ''[[Itazura na Kiss]]'' acts more like a Yamoto Nadeshiko than any other girl in the series. She's beautiful, domestic, submissive, and graceful. She also makes delicious Japanese food and [[media:itazura-162.jpg|wears a kimono regularly]]. To top it all off, she even admits in episode 19 [[Genre Savvy|that she had read a book about the concept of ''yamato nadeshiko''.]]
* Midori in ''[[Midori no Hibi]]'', though she is also a [[Genki Girl]] at the same time, rather than the usual calm ''yamato nadeshiko'' style. She's also ''much more'' open minded than this trope requires.
* Nanase in ''[[Yumeria]]''. Voiced by ... [[Kikuko Inoue|guess who]]? [[Gag Boobs|Not "modestly endowed"]], however. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 6
* An entire episode centered on this idea in ''[[Steel Angel Kurumi]]: Encore'', which went so far as to have a character actually ''named'' "Nadeshiko". She, of course, exemplified this concept, and much humor resulted in the [[Genki Girl]] main character trying to imitate her.
* Megumi is challenged to a "''Yamato Nadeshiko'' Cup" in ''[[Tenshi na Konamaiki]]''.
* The plot of ''[[The Wallflower|''yamato nadeshiko'' Shichi Henge]]'' aka ''The Wallflower'' aka ''Perfect Girl Evolution'' is to transform the leading lady into this archetype. She has the domestic skills and looks (when she isn't drawn chibi-style); she's just made the conscious decision to let all the ''other'' traits slide, becoming a withdrawn and very creepy [[Strange Girl|Strange]] [[Dark Action Girl]].
* Chitose from the ''[[Galaxy Angel (video game)|Galaxy Angel]]'' gameverse is played straight as a ''yamato nadeshiko''. Like everyone else in the [[Galaxy Angel (anime)|the anime]], her game self is parodied quite a bit, with her trying to be perfect but usually failing to even be tolerable.
* Yakumo Tsukamoto, Tenma's little sister, in ''[[School Rumble]]'', is sort of a [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstruction]] of this concept. Her seeming perfection hides her inability to interact with others (the manga shows that she has trouble making friends), her [[Heavy Sleeper]] tendence gets in the way of housework, and her devotion to Tenma and Harima causes her to ignore her own emotional needs.
** That said, she is kind, good-hearted, a good cook, helpful to her sister (and Harima), and [[Tall Dark and Bishojo]] (well, more so than Tenma)
* The name of the titular ship in ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' is a reference to this term, as it [[Wave Motion Gun|resembles]] the Yamato from ''[[Uchuu Senkan Yamato]]''.
* Cherry from ''[[Saber Marionette J]]'' is a ''yamato nadeshiko'' by virtue of her [[The Three Faces of Eve|"motherly" role]], but this is often overridden by her [[Tsundere]] and [[Covert Pervert]] traits.
* The Mysterious Thief Freyr in ''[[Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok|Matanei Loki Ragnarok]]'' refers to Mayura Daidouji as "Yamato Nadeshiko", although she doesn't ''quite'' fit the standards for this trope.
* Lena in [[Shamanic Princess]] quilifies, despite having more or less a European theme to her.
* Hikari Horaki in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Despite being a minor character, she appears in a lot of Japanese market pictures and figure sets. Such is the power of the ''yamato nadeshiko'' slash mother figure (when the best mother figure is a 14 year old girl, you KNOW the world is messed up [see ''[[Eureka Seven]]'']).
** At least in the anime, Hikari comes across as a Type B [[Tsundere]] who seems deredere because of the contrast with [[Jerkass|her best friend Asuka]]. Maybe people remember Hikari as a ''yamato nadeshiko'' mostly because of how [[Break the Cutie|her story arc]] [[It Got Worse|ends]]? (It's actually discussed whether Hikari is a Type B [[Tsundere]] or a YN who happens to be friends with two kids (Asuka and Touji) who are [[Jerkass|THAT good at irritating people]].)
** Rei II has shades of this after she [[Defrosting Ice Queen|defrosts]], particulary in [[Rebuild of Evangelion|Rebuild]] where she tries to get her love intrest and his father who also happens to be the closest she herself had for a father to get along by inviting them to a home cooked dinner. She is also quiet, serious, would die for any of those two at any given moment and reacts with a [[Luminescent Blush]] to being told that she'd make a good housewife.
* Parodied in ''[[Muteki Kanban Musume]]'' when Miki Onimaru (normally a [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|mean]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|cranky]] waitress) [[In Vino Veritas|got drunk]] and started to act like one, even to the point of loathing violence and acting submissively.
* Misae Ikari from ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' uses most of episode 11, "No Entry", exemplifying this concept. It's something of an ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''-style [[Deconstruction]] of the trope, as much of her "selfless" behavior appears to be the result of unusually realistically-depicted clinical depression.
* Momoko from ''[[Sumomomo Momomo]]'' takes the entire series to demonstrate the concept, going from stalker to devoted companion, {{spoiler|willing to follow her man even into the next world}}.
* Parodied in ''[[Tenjho Tenge]]'', where Aya Natsume in the very first chapter becomes an obnoxious, ridiculously over-the-top [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] mixed with ''yamato nadeshiko'' because of a family tradition: any woman from the Natsume clan must give their lives to [[Naked First Impression|the first one who sees their naked skin]], and Souichirou had the tough luck of being thrown into the dressing room while Aya was showering inside.
* Sakura's dead mother, Nadeshiko, in ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. [[Meaningful Name|Oh look, another one.]] However, she was a rather atypical YN lady, because of her utter [[Cloudcuckoolander|cluelessness]] and [[Dojikko|clumsiness]] when she was young. She '''only''' [[Older and Wiser|started resembling the trope]] after getting married to...
** Sakura and Touya's [[Hot Shoujo Dad|father]] Fujitaka. He is a perfect example, though male.
** Among Sakura's friends, the one who embodies the trope more closely is Rika Sasaki. Sakura thinks that Rika's very beautiful and mature, if not more than the other girls. Tomoyo also follows the torpe to a degree, but she's more [[The Ojou]].
** Maki Matsumoto, the beautiful and sweet owner of the local pawn and toy shop.
** Sakura herself kinda takes up some of the traits of the trope as the series advances.
** Another male example would be Yukito Tsukishiro, Touya's best friend and Sakura's crush  {{spoiler|and the embodiment of the less YN-ish Yue.}}. In fact, Yukito's kindness and YN traits were so strong that  {{spoiler|Sakura's [[Precocious Crush]] on him was based on how similar he was to her father Fujitaka. When Sakura confesses to him, he gently confronts her on such a fact and turns her down just as sweetly.}}
** And last but not least, Kaho Mizuki is a YN too, and specially in the anime where she's more quiet and aloof than in the manga.
* Nadeshiko Fujisaki from ''[[Shugo Chara]]'' would definitely be this (it's even right there on her name) if she wasn't, [[Unsettling Gender Reveal|well...]]
** Her Shugo Chara also applies...except that she's [[Axe Crazy|well...]]
* Subverted in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'': Tamaki often imagines Haruhi, who is actually a [[Bifauxnen]], as one; before coming to Ouran and cutting her long hair, she resembled one, as well.
** In the ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' manga  {{spoiler|a girl named Kanoya falls for Tamaki. She seems to have all these traits, and also ''very'' closely resembles Tamaki's inner mind version of Haruhi.}}
* Mayl, the love interest for ten-year-old Lan in ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'', clearly aims to be his ''yamato nadeshiko'' when they grow up. In the [[Distant Finale]], she's succeeded.
* Subverted in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', where Tomoe Yukishiro is sweet, hardworking, so calm and collected she looked borderline cold...  {{spoiler|and was actually a spy who wanted to kill Kenshin for murdering her fiance.}} She actually opens up a bit  {{spoiler|and ''does'' fall for Kenshin, "her [[Second Love]]", but ends up dead}}. And several years later, [[Second Love|Kenshin falls for the]] [[Tsundere]] Kaoru,  {{spoiler|who in the infamous ''Seishouhen'' OAV grows up into a ''yamato nadeshiko''. To be fair, she ''also'' has grown into one in the manga epilogue, but it's handled much more subtly.}}
** Played straight with Yahiko's girlfriend Tsubame and her boss/adoptive mother Tae Sekihara.
** And with the two girls from the Oniwabanshuu (Masukami/Omasu and Omime/Okon), when they're off-duty. Sort-of [[Justified Trope]] since they work as waitresses in the Aoiya when not kicking ass alongside the group, while the guys are the cooks of the place.
** Sayo Mutou aka Magdaria is a more cynical version, though [[Defrosting Ice Queen|she defrosts]] with Sanosuke's help.
* The [[Gundam]] meta-series has more than one, too:
** Mirai Yashima from [[Mobile Suit Gundam]] is more this than [[The Ojou]], considering her down-to-Earth behavior and motherly disposition. She's even more of one in the sequels ([[Zeta Gundam]] and [[Chars Counterattack]]) where she's married to Bright Noah and has two children with him.
** [[Anti-Villain|Anti Villainous]] example: Nanai Migeru, Char's second-in-command and lover from [[Chars Counterattack]].
** Queen Dianna Soleil from [[Turn A Gundam|Turn a Gundam]] counts as one too, mixing it with [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]].
* Aina Sakhalin from [[Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team]] is more or less a cross between this trope and [[The Ojou]]. Helps that she's voiced by you know who. Kikuko Inoue count: 7
** ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' has Lacus Clyne (with heavy emphasis on the wisdom), a ''yamato nadeshiko'' who uses her [[Idol Singer]] status to become a political juggernaut because her family business just ''happens'' to be politics  {{spoiler|and her dad, ex PLANT chairman Siegel Clyne, is murdered because of it.}} Slightly subversive in her status as the leader of the [[The Alliance|Three Ships Alliance]]; her ''yamato nadeshiko'' side is decidedly more obvious in ''Gundam SEED Destiny'', particularly the first half where she spends her days as a homemaker/mother figure to a gaggle of orphans. This looks to have been subverted by the ending to ''Destiny'', though, which implies {{spoiler|1=that Lacus is the new leader of the PLANTs. Given that it's the only government of a major power that's still intact (the previous leader of the PLANTs had conquered the Earth Alliance and killed its leaders) and the minor nations had already sided with her beforehand, this particular ''yamato nadeshiko'' effectively now [[Take Over the World|rules the world]].}}
** Special Edition not so much implies, as outright ''states'' it. Though, this very situation ''subverts'' the trope: in Japan traditionally ''yamato nadeshiko'' could and did control things (there were even women Empresses), but did it discreetly and indirectly, as direct control [[Values Dissonance|was considered crass for women]]. So Lacus would come out more as [[The Ojou]]—she has the behavior, but not the mindset and is too much ambitious for classical ''yamato nadeshiko''. Who, in her situation, would be {{spoiler|perfectly prepared to let Kira [[Meaningful Name|Yamato]] take the position and then [[Man Behind the Man|help and control]] ''[[Man Behind the Man|him]]'' [[Man Behind the Man|from the shadows]]}}.
** We shall not forget Kira Yamato's [[Hot Mom]], Caridad Yamato, who was very sweet and soft-spoken aswell as [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]].  {{spoiler|She's actually Kira's ''adoptive'' mother as well as his and Cagalli's aunt, being the little sister of their [[Missing Mom]] Via Hibiki. She showed her will of iron by taking the babies in after the death of Ulen and Via, pretty much running away from the murder site with the babies in her arms; afterwards, Caridad and her husband Haruma raised Kira as their own child, and it's assumed they also contacted Uzumi Nara Attha and his wife and gave them baby Cagalli to raise.}} [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 8
** Anew Returner from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''.  {{spoiler|There's debate about her ''truly'' having a gender, being [[Artificial Human|an Innovator]], but her mannerisms are ''very'' much ''yamato nadeshiko''.}} Subverted later:  {{spoiler|her ''yamato nadeshiko'' side was a façade, since she was a brainwashed [[Manchurian Agent]]. And when her boyfriend tried to give Anew a [[Last Second Chance]] and she was about to take it, her boss mind-controlled her ''and'' the boyfriend's partner had to kill her. OUCH.}}
* In ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', one of [[Genki Girl]] Miyako Inoue's image songs is called ''Yamato Nadeshiko Panic''; the lyrics are about how much she wants to be more of a ''yamato nadeshiko''.  {{spoiler|And in the [[Distant Finale]], she is. Kinda}}. Note that the song was actually released after the finale, along with image songs for the girls from predecessor ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' and successor ''[[Digimon Tamers]]''.
** Toshiko Takenouchi, Sora's very traditional mother (she's the owner of an ikebana school and is seen wearing kimonos in a flashback), combines this with [[Education Mama]] at first. Satoe Tachikawa, Mimi's mom, is this and [[Adult Child]]. And let's not forget Yoshie Izumi, Koushiro's mom...
** Renamon, in spite of being a yellow kitsune, is a [[Lady of War]] completely devoted to her tamer Ruki. She's a very ''furry'' ''yamato nadeshiko'', you might say.
** Ruki's grandmother Seiko is a ''yamato nadeshiko'' too. Specially notorious because of the ''heavy'' emphasis on her wisdom and subtle touch of iron, and no to mention there's an episode in which she dolls up in a kimono and attends a ''kabuki'' performance.  {{spoiler|Also, Seiko-grandma always knew Renamon was there for Ruki, but kept the secret as she believed her to be was her grandchild's guardian spirit.}}
* Saeko Busujima from ''[[Highschool of the Dead]],'' with an [[Heir to the Dojo]] twist. The other twist is {{spoiler|under that polite exterior there's a sadist itching to get out and beat the crap out of everyone. Fortunately for her friends, there's a lot of zombies to kill.}}
** Yuriko Takagi aka Saya's mother. Whenever her husband Souchirou is speaking, Yuriko can be seen maintaining a demure composure...  {{spoiler|Until "They" break into the complex and she and her husband have to fight for their lives. Considering they're a [[Battle Couple]], she manages to kick quite the ass.}}
* Momo Hinamori from ''[[Bleach]]'', to the extent that a Shinigami can be. Meaning, [[Action Girl|she can burn you]] with [[Empathic Weapon|Tobiume's]] [[Playing with Fire|fire blasts]] [[Beware the Nice Ones|if she gets pissed off]]...
** Speaking of Tobiume, in the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler arc, the mainfestation of Momo's weapon seemed to feel she epitomized this concept and took pride on it. While her appearance was spot-on, [[Tsundere|her personality]] left something to be desired.
** A more by-the-book ''yamato nadeshiko'' would be the beautiful, feminine, ultra-polite and graceful Miyako, former 3rd officer of the 13th division and wife of its lieutenant, Kaien Shiba. When remembering her, Rukia Kuchiki says that Miyako was her idol and pretty much her ideal woman. Her voice? [[Sumi Shimamoto]], in one of her rare appearances in the modern times.
** The 4th Captain, Unohana Retsu, counts as well, mixing this with [[Team Mom]] traits. She's what happens to this trope when it grows up some and [[Took a Level in Badass]] on the way to [[Never Mess with Granny]].
** In the flashbacks, Ichigo Kurosaki's [[Missing Mom]] Masaki is mentioned to have always been sweet and gentle, never getting angry towards anyone, and ultimately sacrificing her life to save little Ichigo from a Hollow ( {{spoiler|whom Ichigo would battle and lose to, and then her husband Isshin would kill}}). She might have been a ''yamato nadeshiko'', then, with said traits getting passed onto her youngest daughter Yuzu after her death.  {{spoiler|Until the X-Cution arc, where Yuzu has become a Type-B [[Tsundere]].}}
** A villainous example: Sun Sun, the most feminine and collected of Harribel's all-female fraccion.
**  {{spoiler|After the end of both the Arrancar arc and the last [[Time Skip]], the now [[Older and Wiser]] Ururu Tsugumiya stopped resembling a [[Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl]] and is now growing into a YN as well.}}
* A ''yamato nadeshiko'' from [[Imperial China]] (sort of) is Rangyaku from ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]''. An orphan who works [[Team Mom|as the housekeeper]] [[Team Chef|and cook]] for an old man named Enho and takes care of her brother Keikei, she's the most polite and sweet girl in the kingdom of Kei.  {{spoiler|And she meets a tragic end when some soldiers assault the house, kidnap Enho, injure Keikei and stab her to death.}}
** An older version is Queen Chuukin, the sovereign of the kingdom of Sai. Her ''kirin'' Sairin fits in quite well, too.
* Setsuna Sakurazaki of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' was once described as this by [[Weasel Mascot]] Chamo for being quiet and fair-skinned with raven-black hair (at least [[Cultural Translation|in the original translation]]). Keep in mind, however, that once we actually get to know her, she drops this façade and instead becomes a [[Badass]] [[Implausible Fencing Powers|sword-slinging]] [[Samurai]]-type. Meanwhile, [[Repetitive Name|Konoka Konoe]], being a [[Ojou|Princess]] formerly living in a [[Big Fancy House|Big Fancy Temple Complex]] and heiress to an ancient family who leads a prominent [[The Magocracy|Magical Organization]] seems to approach this quite effectively, especially during her [[Arranged Marriage|Omiai]]s when she wears a kimono. More noticable when she [[Overnight Age-Up|eats the magical aging pills]].
** In ''[[Negima Neo]]'', Setsuna [[She Cleans Up Nicely|gets dolled up as a princess]] by Konoka. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100722023526/http://www.onemanga.com/Negima_Neo/29/23/ And she looks the part quite well.] (And at the same time, Konoka dresses up as a Shinsengumi... oh my, she can pull off a nice [[Bifauxnen]].) This is the reverse of the original, where Setsuna drew [[squee]]s from random passersby with her [[Bifauxnen|"Bishonen swordsman"]] outfit.
** [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|Akira]] [[Cool Big Sis|Okochi]] fits in as well. She's been getting her ''yamato nadeshiko'' points up recently, what with her sisterly concern for her friend Ako Izumi's feelings for Negi  {{spoiler|or more exactly, his "alter ego" Nagi}}
* Sango of ''[[Inuyasha]]'' is an interesting version of the trope, a willowy dark-haired pretty-not-beautiful girl who follows her family tradition... by being a [[Action Girl|demon-slayer.]] Her existence is testament to the idea that the traditional family girl can still be handy to have around in a tight spot.
** Might be inspired by the fact that, in the old Japanese times, the daughters of the samurais were required to know how to defend themselves and their homes in case they were under attack. [[Blade on a Stick|The]] ''[[wikipedia:Naginata|naginata]]'' [[Blade on a Stick|polearm]] is an almost exclusively female [[Weapon of Choice]]; it lets her keep the attackers at bay, using the distance to her advantage and reducing the chance to have the [[Action Girl]] hurt.
** Kikyou was a [[Miko]], yet she acted a lot like a ''yamato nadeshiko''... until her death. After quite the stint as a [[Dark Magical Girl]], she slowly loses her rage against the world and reverts to her original ''yamato nadeshiko'' self.  {{spoiler|And then she dies.}}
* Nunnally and Euphemia in ''[[Code Geass]]'' might be Britannian, but they both ''yamato nadeshiko'' traits. Especially Nunnally, since Euphie is a bit more [[Rebellious Princess|rebellious]].
** Kallen's biological mother, Mrs. Kouzuki, ''apparently'' fits in the mold, but she's actually a ''[[Deconstruction]]''. She ''is'' devoted to her daughter and her dead son, but the war left her psychologically damaged and she was addicted to a drug that makes you relive happier times. Kallen also thought her mother was still devoted to her biological ''father'', who basically just used her, not realizing her true reasons until she witnessed the depth of her mom's psychological damage.  {{spoiler|Though after the [[Grand Finale]], she's clearly no longer imprisoned, it's shown that she's still bedridden thanks to the extreme side effects of her drug use.}}
** Another Britannian one is Cecile Croomy, Count Lloyd Asplund's [[Hot Scientist|beautiful lab assistant]]. She'd be the perfect ''yamato nadeshiko'' if not for two things: her status as a Britannian... and her [[Foreign Queasine|''creative'' cooking]]. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 9
** The Black Knights have Nagisa Chiba. She's a [[Lady of War]] [[Action Girl]] when in her Knightmare, is [[Subordinate Excuse|in love with her commander and friend]] Todou, and can wear a beautiful kimono with ease  {{spoiler|(like in Ougi and Viletta's wedding)}}
** Let's not forget Sayoko Shinozaki, the sweet maid who takes care of Nunnally and Lelouch in Ashford.  {{spoiler|It overlaps with [[Ninja Maid]], though.}}
* Aiko from ''[[Hime-chan no Ribon|Himechan no Ribon]]'' fits this personality, even though nobody else in her family shows a personality like this. Her younger sister, Hime-chan, wished she was more like her but over time she realises she should be herself.
* In ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'' manga and [[OAV]]s, [[Shrinking Violet|Sakuno]] [[Dojikko|Ryuzaki]] is portrayed as more mature and less klutzy, fitting the ''yamato nadeshiko'' mold pretty well. The anime series also gives us Narumi Iijyuin, whose twin younger sister Kurumi is a [[Shorttank]].
** Choutarou Ohtori is a ''male'' ''yamato nadeshiko'', especially in the anime. Tall? Check. Polite? Check. [[Wise Beyond Their Years]]? Check. Focused on his goals? Check. Very competent in his "mission"? Check. ''Very'' devoted to his partner Shishido? [[Ho Yay|Oh baby]], [[Check, Please!]].
** Shuuichiro Oishi is the very ''incarnation'' of a [[Gender Flip]]ped ''yamato nadeshiko'', considering he's a male [[Team Mom]] who's extremely devoted to Tezuka and Eiji and later makes ''many'' sacrifices for the team.  {{spoiler|Especially when he forfeits his regular position to let Tezuka (manga) or Ryoma (anime) make use of it.}}
** The mothers of the players, logically, also are like this: special mention goes to Kaidoh's mother Hazuki, Tezuka's [[Hot Mom]] Ayana and Fuji's mother Yoshiko (sho ''is'' called one in manga canon).
*** Ryoma's mother Rinko is somewhat of an exception. She was a rather fiery Type B [[Tsundere]] when young, but even when she's much more mild now, she still doesn't give Nanjirou the whole control of their relationship and is hinted to be the main breadwinner of the household (he's a lazy monk, she's a lawyer).
** Genderflipped ''and'' very much toyed with in regards to Seiichi Yukimura. The local [[Ill Boy]] ''looks'' and acts the part eerily well with his long-ish and wavy [[Shiny Midnight Black|black-blue hair]], [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette|pale skin]], [[Honorifics|very polite speech patterns]], [[Cross-Dressing Voices|extremely soft voice]] and quiet off-courts behavior... but he's a [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Determinator]] in regards to tennis. Not to mention that his ''very'' stern [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man|and masculine-looking]] [[The Lancer|sub-captain]] Genichirou Sanada, who looks and often acts [[Samurai|like the archetypical Japanese male]], actually defers to ''him'' quite a bit.
** Takashi Kawamura's normal self (as in, not [[Split Personality|Burning Taka]]) has many personality traits belonging to the ''yamato nadeshiko'' archetype. Soft-spoken, devoted to his friends and his goals, domestic, an excellent chef, close to his father, etc...
** Nanako Meino, Ryoma's [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[Cool Big Sis|Cool Cousin]]. She's a bit of a subversion, though: while certainly sweet and compliant, she's not afraid to tell her uncle Nanjirou what she thinks of him. ''Very'' politely, mind you.
* Depending on which series you are watching and [[Alternate Character Interpretation|how you watch it]] a decent number of the cast of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' characters fall in this category. Sasami, Ayeka and Kiyone all can be considered this, although the last two often fall out of this [[Executive Meddling|due to]] [[Writer on Board|excessive]] [[Flanderization]]. Interestingly, the same influences often cause Sasami to become ''more'' of one.
** What might be oddest is in that in one or two spots, this looks like what ''Ryoko'' wants to be. For someone whose personality seems to be a laundry list of what a ''yamato nadeshiko'' is ''not''...
* Subverted/Deconstructed with Kaede Fuyou in ''[[SHUFFLE!]]'': She ''seems'' to be this at the start, being unfailingly gentle and subservient, but when her love interest Rin starts falling for someone else aka their common friend and sempai Asa Shigure, [[Yandere|well...]]
** Note that Kaede is actually [[Playing with a Trope|quite a spin]] in both ''yamato nadeshiko'' ''and'' [[Yandere]], since her madness does not ''only'' come from Rin falling for Asa.  {{spoiler|Kaede ''was'' [[Broken Bird|already psychologically damaged from years ago]], and even was horribly ''abusive'' to Rin because [[You Killed My Father|she blamed him for her mother's death in an accident]], to the point of [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|marking his face with a knife]] and destroying his handmade ships in the anime series. Her ''yamato nadeshiko'' side was born out of [[The Atoner|her guilt]] over finding out he was ''not'' to blame: she became his YN to pay off the debt she had with him.}}
** Also, Kaede was a Yandere in the ''anime''. The original games have her as a more or less normal ''yamato nadeshiko''... though one of the sequels, which sheds more light on her past, has a few touches from the anime.
* Inverted with Sumire Kanou from ''[[Toradora!]]''. She is described as having the looks and elegance of a ''yamato nadeshiko'', and [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|is]] the [[Student Council President]]. [[Badass Normal|However, don't judge a book by its cover.]] Has black hair in the light novels, but [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|has blue hair in the anime]].
* To the public eye, Yukimura Tokine from ''[[Kekkaishi]]'' is a picture-perfect embodiment of this trope. However, those who know of her secret work as a kekkaishi know that she is a scarily competent and rather ruthless [[Action Girl]] who not only has the tendency to hit allies who annoy her over the head and [[Silk Hiding Steel|but also cold-heartedly executes enemies.]]
** Regarding cooking (or in this case baking), Yoshimori is more proficient than her...
* Akira Sakou in ''[[Girls Saurus]]'' is [[The Ojou]] who lives in a [[Big Fancy House]] and is an extremely traditional ''yamato nadeshiko'' (and is explicitly described as resembling and behaving like Nadeshiko herself)... however, she subverts this by being a hardcore [[Bokukko]] with very complicated gender identity issues outside of home, and it's implied that her attraction to Shingo is out of a strange inversion of [[Situational Sexuality]], because he's the only boy who (she thinks) thinks of her as a boy.
* Anezaki Mamori of ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' is a girl with loyalty, domestic ability, wisdom, maturity, and humility... and is ''definitely'' [[Plucky Girl|a force to be reckoned with]], [[Mama Bear|protecting her surrogate siblings and standing up to badass football players]]. This only seems to ''elevate'' her standing in the eyes of other characters.
** Also, played with in regards to Karin Koizumi. The best quarterback in the whole country is... a sweet girl who adores piano playing and shoujo manga and was pretty much forcefully recruited by the Teikoku Alexanders.
* Iono from ''[[Iono the Fanatics]]'' is a queen from a foreign country who, on the surface, is very much a ''yamato nadeshiko'', and she's even described as such by two government officials. However, her weak spot for black-haired girls also prompts her security officer to nickname her "horny queen", [[Lovable Sex Maniac|which is much more fitting]].
* Tohru Honda of ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' fits this trope ''almost'' perfectly. She's just more... [[Dojikko|clumsy]], [[The Ingenue|naive]] and [[Stepford Smiler|more prone to hide things]] (in the manga) than the standard.
** Subverted by her mother Kyouko. After marrying Katsuya, she is happy to be a loving mother and housekeeper and finally experience living in a happy family, which she couldn't due to her [[Abusive Parents]]... and then, in Uotani's backstory, we see that [[Action Mom|she beats the tar out of a group of delinquents]] [[Mama Bear|to save Arisa.]] In  {{spoiler|Yuki}}'s flashback to when little Tohru went missing, we also see her threaten to "rain death upon [the police's] miserable souls" if they don't find her baby.
* Yuki in ''[[No Bra]]'' is an example of this. She's a biological male who looks, acts, and identifies as female; however, the term transsexual has yet to be said, and everyone besides her love interest Masato believes her to be biologically female. She's friendly, domestic, and defers to Masato. Even when he told her to get her hair cut, something she didn't want to do, she did it with little complaint.
* Miyuki Kobayakawa in ''[[You're Under Arrest]]''. When she's not working at her traditionally male job (cop, if you hadn't guessed by the title) or [[Wrench Wench|up to her elbows in the engine compartment of either her]] patrol car or her personal vintage Toyota S800.
** Parodied with Miyuki's coworker and friend Aoi Futaba, a [[Wholesome Crossdresser]] who looks and acts the part ''so damn well'' that Yoriko says she's ''more'' feminine than any of the girls in Bokuto station at one point. Also noticeable because Aoi is one of the few (if not the only) ''yamato nadeshiko'' roles played by [[Rica Matsumoto]], making her a huge case of [[Playing Against Type]].
* In ''[[Ikki Tousen]]'' ''Great Guardians'', there's Hakufu's sweet and polite "adoptive sister", Sonken Chuubou (Sun Quan)  {{spoiler|or to be exact, Shoukyou (Xiao Qiao).}}
** This trope is also parodied in the last episode of ''Dragon Destiny'', where  {{spoiler|[[Lady of War]] Chou'un Shiryuu}} dresses up in a formal kimono, takes up ''ikebana'' flower arrangment... and utterly ''fails''.
* [[Moe Anthropomorphism|Windows 95-tan]] is often depicted this way, being the oldest of the 32-bit Windows operating systems.
* Jun Fudo of ''[[Devilman Lady]]'' tries desperately to embody this trope, due to [[Heroic Self-Deprecation|her self-esteem problems]] and her [[Abusive Parents]]. It backfires massively when she starts turning into a ''demon''.
* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' plays with the trope quite a bit:
** '''Japan''' is the character who [[Zig-Zagging Trope|plays with this trope the most]], to such an extent that it's not completely clear if he's more of a straight than subverted/parodic example or the other way around. On one hand, he's polite, soft-spoken, humble, mature (especially when compared to the rest of the cast), usually wears a kimono or yukata, is shown to have domestic abilities (and not to mention he puts on a female kimono ''and'' apron when he plays house), ''and'' [[Word of God]] actually uses the term "Yamato Nadeshiko" to describe what he would have been like as a female. On the other hand, he's also a [[Hikikomori|socially awkward]] [[Inscrutable Oriental]] who [[Kick the Dog|once turned against his family]] (which is his political commentary), and his YN traits are used for humor/parody as often as they're played straight (e.g. he can be too polite for his own good or doesn't let his politeness get in the way of him being a touch passive-aggressive). Possibly the best way to describe him is as a blend of ''both'' [[Inscrutable Oriental]] and ''yamato nadeshiko'', with the latter being more obvious when he's with people/nations he feels comfortable around.
*** And that's not even getting into all the different ways fanfics play with this trope in regards to him. Some of them play his ''yamato nadeshiko'' traits fairly straight (especially when he's paired with [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]] Greece), but others present him as a [[Stepford Smiler]] who either snapped under the pressure of trying to maintain [[The Dutiful Son|the "perfect, obedient son"]] role in his family (which is where the [[Yandere]] came from) or used his YN exterior to mask a [[Cute and Psycho|dark interior]], others depict him as having [[Character Development|developed]] into a YN over time and especially after the trauma of [[Imperial Japan]] and [[World War II]] (which, ironically, made the ''yamato nadeshiko'' archetype known and popular), and '''still''' others show him as an [[Extreme Doormat]] version of the trope in regards to a [[Bastard Boyfriend]] (most likely pirate!England).
*** Subverted very discreetly, however, seeing as in the manga and CD drama ("The World's Pervert Ambassador") Japan lays bare his [[Otaku]] side and proudly proclaims that ''everybody'' should turn to the 2D "Moe" universe because it wouldn't soil the body (although it will soil the heart, just a tiny bit). This prompted the fandom (speculated to be made mostly of fangirls) to assume that Japan spends his free time reading/drawing manga, doujinshi, and snapping pictures of the Hetalia pairings during the World Meetings (referring to his tendency to always carry a camera while touring other countries). The Japanese fandom is the most affected - doujinshis that depict fanon (or practically canon, in Hetalia's case) pairings sometimes have Japan going out of his way to get them together so he would have more material to sell to Hungary-san/his own doujinshi works. YN's of either gender are definitely not allowed to reveal their carnal desires, especially of the fujoshi variety...
*** A good example of the above would be the fan game "JOKER" (Jones/Kirkland...we already know what we're getting into) where Japan is usually his normal composed, mature self. As the game goes on, and numerous elements of affection between America and England get more explicit by the scene (and also as they continue to meet various past selves of England throughout the game), his calm demeanor breaks down even more frequently. In several scenes he is even shown actually ''working'' on a doujinshi. The other characters have by now gotten over the shock of having a potential pedobear/voyeur among their midst, and ridicule him in appropriate times (when chibi!England is around), although Hong Kong has recently taken up the habit of knocking Japan unconscious if his ramblings venture into dangerous waters for the rating.
** Taiwan seemed to be another good candidate to be a ''yamato nadeshiko'', being dainty-looking and dressing rather girlishly. But both the "East Asia" sketches and her speaking part in China's CD's drama track characterize her as a [[Plucky Girl|Plucky]] [[Genki Girl]] instead, who isn't shy about making fun of her older brother China's "hipness" or telling him to leave Japan alone. So yeah, it ''looked'' like she would be a second YN, but it was systematically [[Jossed]].
** Hungary, who appeared to do most of the housework with Chibitalia in the past scenes, and is depicted as the kind elder sister for HRE and Chibitalia, as well as practically married (and divorced, but still) to Austria, was the epitome of a YN for the most part of the series. Then we found out that she used to think she was male, hung around with Prussia and got into scuffles, and, as [[Word of God]] says, is essentially the most manly out of ''all'' the characters in APH, despite keeping a rather girlish outlook with her long hair. Also, she's a closet fujoshi.
*** Ironically? ''Austria'', Hungary's husband, can be easily seen as a [[Rare Male Example]]. He's a stern, serious, and ''very'' traditional [[Princely Young Man]] with [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] looks who acts as the [[Team Dad]] for several European nations, is seen needing Hungary's [[Action Girl]] protection, and sometimes acts as her [[Mission Control]].
** The most straight up example, in the end, would be the [[Youkai|Zashiki Warashi]], a [[Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl]] who lives in Japan's [[Big Fancy House]].
*** Although, a Zashiki Warashi is a spirit who enjoys playing innocent pranks on residents of an old house, and being a young girl she wouldn't be happy sitting still and patiently as a YN is supposed to. That is, if anyone can get her to, seeing as she's an energetic ''ghost''.
** The prefectures of Akita, Iwate and Yamagata ([http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1070.html the second, third and last in the chibi round, respectively)] are female and have the YN looks.
*** So does [http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd391/cvicchen/jp_kyouto.jpg the prefecture of Kyoto], but she seems to be more about [[Lady of War|the poise and the will of iron]] than the kindness. [[Justified Trope]] [[wikipedia:Kyoto#History|because Kyoto was the former capital of Japan]]; since it's one of the bastions of Japanese tradition and culture despite its growth and evolution, it makes sense that its [[Moe Anthropomorphism]] has the looks and likely the personality of a ''yamato nadeshiko''.
** In Nyotalia, the female interpretation of Japan acts exactly like a YN. She has straight bangs, wears flowers in her hair, is usually seen in a kimono or a black, more feminine version of Japan's military uniform, and is described by Estonia as "quiet-looking". However, given the flip side of her male counterpart's nature...
** Liechtenstein is probably the only character to be played straight with this trope in APH. She used to have long, braided pigtails, but she cut them so that ''she could be more like her brother''. She is quiet and dainty, uses a formal speech which is reserved for women of high standing/respectful house. There are no hints of the Otaku elements that are seen in Japan and Hungary as of yet, although she does get excited over cute things, like her brother's drawings and Kugel Mugel (who is actually a boy, but she thinks is a girl). Even her Mochi self is gentle, loving and innocent - much too so, for Estonia eventually decides that she would be happier staying in Mochiland when he thinks about the "kids" back at home (specifically Mochimerica, who enjoys swearing, beating up the other kids, eating fatty food and so on) the kindly Scottish lady who once fed [[Mochi America]] too many snacks and made him so fat he took up a whole room, and Mochirussia, (who comes to "play" with Mochimerica sometimes...) even though he ''really'' wants to adopt her. He decides to search for a tougher, more resilient but still cute Mochi to take home, and winds up with Mochispain.
* In ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'', Karako likes to claim that she is one. Everyone else [[Action Girl|disagrees]], though.
* Kaede Kimura in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'' tries to be a true ''yamato nadeshiko'' to [[The Eeyore|Itoshiki Nozomu]] (she actually uses the term). But her years spent overseas, as well as a mental breakdown she suffered when she returned to Japan, have left her with a second, more dominant personality: Kae'''r'''e, who has a stereotypical [[Eagle Land|aggressive foreigner]] attitude. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
** Also parodied with Matoi Tsunetsuki, who wears a kimono and acts like a parody of the trope in regards to Itoshiki-sensei. Then again, she also combines and parodies this with the [[Stalker with a Crush]] trope.
* Tsubaki from ''[[Soul Eater]]''. How else would she be able to put up with ''[[Large Ham|Black Star]]''?
** Forget ''him''. Her 'touch of iron' is shown for the first time when she confronts her big brother Masamune, in a pair of chapters/episodes which refer to both aspects of the trope.
* Shamal from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's]]'', as it fits to her "role" as "the mother" in [[The Three Faces of Eve]] Wolkenritters. [[Lethal Chef|Except that she can't cook.]]
** Heck, when off-duty, ''Nanoha'' herself is very much a ''yamato nadeshiko''. If she's [[Badass Adorable|working]], though, expect some serious [[Defeat Means Friendship|"befriending"]]... and once that's done, she'll be back to her YN self.
*** [[It Runs in The Family]], considering her [[Hot Mom]] Momoko.
* Francoise/003, and  {{spoiler|Lina the Psychic Assassin (when off-duty, that is)}} in ''[[Cyborg 009]]''.
* Hermione from ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]'', with the exception of her stress-triggered [[Yandere]] [[Freak-Out]] in one episode.
** Also Romeo's [[Hot Mom]], Portia. Juliet's best friend Cordelia is a borderline case, though towards {{spoiler|her later-husband Benvolio}} she's a bit of a Type B [[Tsundere]].
* Sakura-chan's four older sisters from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''. Satsuki (Jolteon), Sumomo (Vaporeon), Tamao (Umbreon) and Koume (Flareon) can wear fancy headgear and kimonos gracefully, serve you the most delicious green tea, play the shamisen beautifully and arrange flowers like pros... and kick your ass [[Lady of War|in style]] with their Mons. Little Sakura is still too young to fully qualify, but she and her Eevee/Espeon are definitely getting there.
** {{spoiler|Dawn's Togekiss}} was originally trained by a princess. Bonus points for being voiced by you-know-who! Kikuko Inoue count: 10
** Though she isn't seen much, Daisy, Green's older sister, from ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. She's kind, polite, good at nursing Pokémon, brewing tea, and helps her grandfather out in his studies, and later Bill.
** Ash's mom Delia/Hanako, as well as Erika the Gym Leader. The latter gets bonuses for wearing a kimono, too, and beng the sweetest girl until you insult her perfume and Grass Pokémon Gym.
*** Bonus points for Erika, by being a grass gym leader she's associated with FLOWERS.
* Shimako Todou from [[Mariasama ga Miteru]]. Sachiko also shows some traits, though she's more of [[The Ojou]].
* [[Playing with a Trope|Toyed with in]] ''[[G Gundam]]''. When Rain Mikamura gets the Rising Gundam to use in battle, it has a [[Blade on a Stick|heat naginata polearm]] that can become [[The Archer|a bow with heat arrows]] as its main weapon, following the example of the ''yamato nadeshiko'' who's trained in weapon handling to defend herself and her household. Rain has many traits, personality wise: she is extremely devoted to [[Battle Couple|Domon]], to her [[The Professor|Professor]] father and their mission, but is also quite more [[Hot Scientist|fanservicy]], [[Plucky Girl|stubborn]] and [[Tsundere|outspoken]] than the standard.
* Parodied in ''[[Hamtaro]]'' with Charlotte/Sakura, Philip/Ichiro's girlfriend  {{spoiler|and later wife}}. She can play the part well when needed and has been raised as one by her ''very'' [[Overprotective Dad]]... but you'd never know it if you met her outside her [[Big Fancy House]], since she's a [[Genki Girl]] bordering on [[Wild Child]] whenever she gets out.
* Ren Mikihara from ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]? Fumoffu'', a minor addition to the side-story cast, along with student body president Atsunobu Hayashimizu, whom she clings to.
** It might be worth noting that briefly in one episode Kaname dresses up as and acts like an archetypical YN and [[Clark Kenting|goes unrecognized by other characters who know her]]. She lampshaded it herself, saying that she always wanted to be "more classy", but this position in their family was already taken by [[The Ojou|her older sister]], so she had to become a [[Tsundere]] instead.
* In ''[[Slam Dunk]]'', we have two highschool-aged examples: Oda's girlfriend Youko Shimamura and Akane Mizusawa from the fourth OAV. Female lead Haruko Akagi would count as well (and Youhei ''does'' describe her as a ''yamato nadeshiko'' in the beginning) if she was less [[Dojikko|accident-prone]] and [[Oblivious to Love]], but she's likely to grow up into one. Let's give her a few years.
** A grown-up example is Anzai-sensei's wife, who even dresses up in a kimono.
** Kiminobu Kogure can be seen as one of the very rare ''male'' examples.
* [[Moe Moe|Mikuru Asahina]] from ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' is this trope mixed with all-too-generous portions of [[Extreme Doormat]]. Her seiyuu, [[Yūko Gotō]], is known for voicing these types of characters (though not to the extent of, say, [[Kikuko Inoue]] or [[Sayaka Ohara]]), though she ([[Biker Babe|definitely]]) isn't one herself and does not appreciate people treating her like she is.
** Yuki Nagato also has more than her share of ''yamato nadeshiko'' traits (quiet, humble, calm, defers to Kyon quite a bit), but she's also a mix of at least a half dozen other character types.
* Twilight Suzuka from ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' is something of a hybrid. She is half this trope, and half [[Hot Chick with a Sword]].
* Princess Freya from the Asgard saga in ''[[Saint Seiya]]''. Also [[Chinese Girl]] Shunrei, Seiya's childhood friend Miho, and to a smaller degree, Saori herself after her [[Character Development]].
** Andromeda Shun is a male example, being a soft-spoken [[Adorably Precocious Child]] who fits ''eerily'' well personality-wise.
** A harsher example is Mermaid Thetys, who is very polite and devoted to Poseidon as well as a skilled [[Dark Action Girl]] who manages to fight on even terms with the [[High Heel Face Turn|High Heel face Turned]] Shaina and force her into a draw.
* Hiromi Yuasa from ''[[True Tears]]'' is an obvious textbook example of this trope.
* ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'' has Kenichi's little sister Honoka, who's a ''yamato nadeshiko'' in progress. She's pretty much the only girl in the series (other than [[Hot Mom|Kenichi's mom]], who also qualifies) who isn't an [[Action Girl]].
* Mako from ''[[Initial D]]'' acts a LOT like one, bar her very [[Fan Service|fanservicey]] clothing... [[Let's Get Dangerous|until she gets into her car]].
* Isumi of ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' has most of the traits, and those she doesn't can be attributed to her age. Plus she's a [[Barrier Warrior]] capable of fighting the [[Big Bad]] / [[The Dragon|Dragon]] to a stalemate.
* Played with in ''[[D.Gray-man]]'', where the pale and dark-haired girl who loves serving coffee around and is a total sweetie towards her friends...is also a fearless [[Kick Chick]] [[Action Girl]] and [[Ms. Fanservice]] [[She's Got Legs|with a REALLY nice set of legs.]] Ladies and gentlemen, here's Lenalee Lee!
* While Otae has the mild mannerisms, warm smile and naginata in ''[[Gintama]]'', [[Tsundere|she's a total subversion of a ''yamato nadeshiko'']]. Hinowa fits the description better.
* Sawako Kuronuma from ''[[Kimi ni Todoke]]''. Not only does she fit the looks of the trope with her long, dark hair, she also has a penchant for skirts and girly clothing. And let's not forget the domestic traits. She takes turns cooking for her family, makes cookies to thank others for small favors and makes all of her own Christmas gifts by hand.
* Both Mirei and her mother from the ''[[Tokyo Babylon]]'' OAV, with [[Psychic Powers]] as a bonus.  {{spoiler|Mirei's mom even pulls an [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to help her daughter and Subaru catch a [[Serial Killer]] who had targeted her.}}
** Subaru and Hokuto's grandmother is an older and harsher version, too.
** Miyazaki from the OAV is another male example - and possibly the one who was the basic design [[Expy|for Fujitaka and Aoki]], considering his looks and behavior.  {{spoiler|No wonder he and Mirei not only have the same powers, but they end up together.}}
* In the ''[[Vampire Princess Miyu]]'' manga, Ranka is one of these. In the anime, she's less YN-ish but she can still make herself look like one ''real'' well.  {{spoiler|In fact, she meets her lover [[Chick Magnet|Kei]] when she's walking around clad in a kimono.}}
** And then there's Miyu's mother, whose devotion to her daughter and wish to give her a normal life leads her to either  {{spoiler|defy the higher-ups and try running away with little Miyu, then giving her her own blood when her powers awake anyway (OAV) or attempt to kill the girl with her own [[Weapon of Choice]] (manga)}} to free her from the terrible and lifelong duty of being the Guardian.
* Miya Alice from ''[[Dangaioh]]'' is this when not [[Action Girl|in]] [[Psychic Powers|action.]] [[Justified Trope]] since it turns out she ''is'' a Japanese schoolgirl kidnapped and made into a [[Super Soldier]] due to her latent [[Psychic Powers]].
* Kana Ushiro from ''[[Bokurano]]'' is a YN in training. Takami "Komo" Komoda has some whiffs of it (and is voiced by [[Mamiko Noto]]), but she's more of [[The Ojou]].
* Yukio Washimine from ''[[Black Lagoon]]'' is a [[Deconstruction]]. At the tender age of 17, she's the heiress of the [[Yakuza|Washimine Clan]] and is fully willing to take it over as it's the family tradition. [[It Gets Worse]] for her, needless to say.
* Rihoko from ''[[Witchblade (anime)|Witchblade]]'' combines this skillset with a [[Cheerful Child]] persona, which makes the people around her melt. She's ''very'' good at steering her [[Adult Child]] mom, Masane.
* Cake baking, clothes mending, soft toy making, and cute bento lunch cook Asuka from ''[[Otomen]]'' is quite close to this this trope. The one big exception is that [[Gender Flip|he's a guy]].
** However, he almost wins a ''yamato nadeshiko'' competition on behalf of the girl he loves (who is anything but a ''yamato nadeshiko'').
* Megumi Ouka from ''[[Voltes V]]'' is this and an [[Affirmative Action Girl]] with [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]. Then again, she ''was'' trained in Japanese virtues by her mother parallel to her [[Training from Hell]] with her dad...
* Yamamoto-sensei in ''[[Hanamaru Kindergarten]]''...[[Oblivious to Love|shame she's so dense]]. Hinagiku is a 5 year old version of this, skillfully commanding her ''mafia don father'' when he gets a bit scary.
* Kotori Monou from ''[[X 1999]]''. Voiced in the TV series by [[Mamiko Noto]], too.
** Seiichirou Aoki is a male example, specially considering that Fujitaka from CCS is basically his [[Expy]]. They're voiced by [[Hideyuki Tanaka|the same guy]], for fer's sake! ([[Toshiyuki Morikawa|if we don't count the TV series, yeah]])
* Horrifyingly subverted with {{spoiler|Tsubaki Kasugano aka the Sixth}} from ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'', who plays the part and kinda looks like one, but  {{spoiler|is a ''very'' [[Manipulative Bitch]] [[Cute Psycho]], priestess of a [[Religion of Evil]], ''and'' the local [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]].}}
** On the other hand,  {{spoiler|the Tsubaki we see in ''[[Alternate Universe|Paradox]]'' and in chapter 58 of the original series '''IS''' a ''yamato nadeshiko'' to the core, with special emphasis on wisdom and selflessness. Though it's hinted that Paradox!Tsubaki, who has the same backstory of abuse of the original one [[For Want of a Nail|save the loss of her]] [[Tragic Keepsake]], could potentially snap if the right circumstances are met...}}
* Miya Asama from ''[[Sekirei]]'' is a more iron-willed yet perfectly graceful example. She will have her way and make you ''like'' it.
* Tiffa Addil from ''[[After War Gundam X|Gundam X]]'' grows from a [[Shrinking Violet]] into this, as a part of her [[Character Development]].
* Altenna from ''[[Noir]]'' is one of the rare villainous examples. She's very beautiful, motherly, soft-spoken, sincere about what she believes in - but considering ''what'' she's so dedicated to, she's also creepy as hell.
* Anju Kitahara and Ryouko Momoi from ''[[Marmalade Boy]]''. [[Kikuko Inoue|Three guesses as to who voices Anju, and the two first don't count!]] Kikuko Inoue count: 13.
* Haruka of ''[[Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu]]'' shows shades of this trope, but its her mother who takes the cake. When her husband charges into a random house armed with a sword and [[Badass Crew|his own personal army]], she calmly walks in and manages to convince him to leave their daughter alone, and give his blessing for her hobby. Also notable as one of the few uses of [[Battle Aura]] and [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] where the person in question is just standing there calmly.
* Ruka Souen from ''[[Vampire Knight]]''. There's also a ''villainous'' example in Shizuka Hio.
* Sara from [[Shokojo Sera]] is one in training. She was voiced by, [[Sumi Shimamoto|well...]]
* ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'': Kimura-sensei's wife. Or better said, [[Memetic Mutation|"his waifu".]]
* Very cruelly deconstructed in ''[[Sakura Gari]]''. When Masataka stops by Dr. Katsuragi's house, he meets his beautiful, polite and soft-spoken wife Asayo, who seems to be the perfect example of the trope. Then, Masataka notices [[Domestic Abuse|the bruises on her neck and wrists]], and the deal becomes [[Stepford Smiler|a LOT more unsettling.]] [[It Gets Worse]] later, when one of the servants rubs medicinal ointments on [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|Asayo's horrible bruises]] and [[The Woobie|she]] quietly and softly says [[Tear Jerker|it's her own fault for upsetting him.]]  {{spoiler|And where's Katsuragi, you'll ask? He's too busy raping and torturing Masataka to care.}}
** And later?  {{spoiler|After being seduced by Souma before he deals Katsuragi a huge [[Humiliation Conga]], Asayo [[Yandere|finally snaps]] and burns Katsuragi to death.}}
* Mu-Yoen of ''[[Pig Bride]]'' is very much the Korean equivalent of this trope.
* Manami, the eldest Kasuga twin in ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]''. In her gentlest moments, the [[Tsundere]] Madoka strongly resembles one too.
** Akemi, the Kasuga's deceased mother, also was one. Most exemplified in her and Takashi's backstory,  {{spoiler|when Akemi goes against her parents's [[Parental Marriage Veto]] by secretly helping Takashi with the task they gave him as condition to date her.}}
* Nicely subverted by ''[[Kino's Journey]]''. There are two characters named Kino, and it's the  {{spoiler|male}} one who fits this trope. The  {{spoiler|female}}... eh, [[Bokukko|not so much]].
* In an episode of ''[[Detective Conan]]'' in which Ran and Sonoko get fortunes at a rooster festival telling them what their boyfriends' "ideal type" is, Ran's tells her to be this. The words "yamato nadeshiko" can be heard in the dialogue. {{spoiler|(It turns out this was actually Sonoko's fortune; she switched it with Ran's ''real'' one that just said "be yourself" because she didn't like it.)}}
** Many female characters (whether more or less around or only peripheral) invoke the trope in different ways, like Heiji Hattori's [[Hot Mom]] Shizuka who wears kimonos with ease and [[Lady of War|is not to be trifled with.]] Even more than one female [[Sympathetic Murderer]] falls into this, like  {{spoiler|[[Innocent Flower Girl]] Midori Nozaki, whose devotion to [[Dead Little Sister|her dead older sister]] makes her go out for ''blood''.}}
** And we also have a [[Rare Male Example]] in the soft-spoken, naive, [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] Dr. Tomoaki Araide.
* Lady Kendappa from ''[[RG Veda]]'' is willowy, dark-haired, gentle, artsy and ladylike.  {{spoiler|And she subverts it by also being [[The Mole]].}}
* Head maid Mariel in ''[[Hanaukyo Maid Tai]]'', particularly in the first season. Although she's always obedient to Taro's wishes, she can usually get him to do what she wants anyway. The best example is in episode 10, where she gets him to do his chores by by saying she'll have to lay off maids if he doesn't.
* Invoked and discussed in ''[[Haikara-san ga Tooru]]'', where main character Benio Hanamura has the looks and even wears traditional clothes... but does ''not'' want to become one and thus stop being [[The Ladette]], no matter what her very traditional father says. She starts taking up ''some'' of the traits (more going by [[Plucky Girl|the will of iron]]) as she gets involved in a [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage]] with [[Nice Guy]] Shinobu Iijyuin, though.
** Benio's love rival, Larissa, is quite more of a ''yamato nadeshiko''.  {{spoiler|And an [[Ill Girl]] who is not too far from dying}}.
** And the most straight-up YN in the series is Miss Kichiji. [[Justified Trope]]: she's a [[Geisha]], so being a ''yamato nadeshiko'' is her main work gig.
* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]''. Grandis acts like a ''yamato nadeshiko'' around [[The Captain|Captain Nemo]] to get his attention. This makes [[Those Two Guys|Samson and Hanson]] very jealous.
** Arguably, Electra has more than one whiff of the trope. [[Kikuko Inoue|Yeah, she's voiced by her.]] Kikuko Inoue count: 14.
* If you can see through her [[Ms. Fanservice]] traits, you'll notice that with her kindness, dedication and humble personality, Iori Yoshizuki from ''[[I''s]]'' fits fairly well in the trope. Voiced by [[Kumi Sakuma]], even!
* ''[[Saiyuki]]'' has a male example in Cho Hakkai, complete with [[Politeness Judo]]: watch the group's antics carefully, and you'll see that while Sanzo is nominally in charge, if Hakkai wants something done, it happens. He'll also break your arm [[Stepford Smiler|without ever losing his smile]]...but only if you're threatening innocents or his [[True Companions]].
** For some, [[Shy Blue-Haired Girl|Yaone]] might fit just as well, if not better.
* Slightly parodied in ''[[Yaiba]]'' with the beautiful [[Lady of War]] "Nadeshiko Yamato", a one-shot character.
* Hitomi Shizuki from ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]''. She's very ladylike, soft-spoken, determined when she has a goal (which isn't necessarily good, as shown by  {{spoiler|her telling Sayaka that if she doesn't confess to Kamijou, she'll confess... which it's all but stated that she does}}), and good at very traditionally Japanese things like Japanese dance, tea ceremonies and piano playing. She even attends [[Cram School|after-school classes]] for them, feeling that she should learn them even if it means less time for school duty.
** Madoka's father, [[House Husband|Tomohisa]], is a [[Rare Male Example]]. He's soft-spoken, homey, and a [[Supreme Chef]] who takes care of the home while his [[Hot Mom]] wife Junko is the breadwinner.
** Mami also fits this trope. She's feminine, polite, good at cooking, acts like a mother figure towards the other girls, and has a [[Lady of War|graceful fighting style]]. In one scene, she calmly sips tea immediately after a battle.
* The protagonist of ''[[Wandering Son]]'', Shuichi Nitori. He's a soft-spoken, docile boy who's good at baking and is quite feminine. He says what he feels, and has spoken up for his friends at times. Nitori wants [[Transsexualism|to be a girl]], thus making him fit the trope. Noticeably, he's at a sharp contrast to basically every other character; as none of them act like him. In recent chapters, he's begun to break more out of this trope but still fits.
* Anri Sonohara from ''[[Durarara!!]]''. She has a passive, soft-spoken and gentle personality, although she won't let others push her around all the time. To seal the deal, she wears yukata on occasion.
** Considering her role  {{spoiler|as Saika's motherblade}} this could be questioned considerably. Then again, considering that she is  {{spoiler|the ''only'' person who can handle Saika without being controlled by her}}, maybe not ''that'' much. This ''is'' ''[[Durarara!!]]'', after all, and almost nobody is what they seem.
* Grandma Sakae from ''[[Summer Wars]]''. Not only does she fit the build, running her extended family by traditional values, but she also wields a naginata with skill.
* In ''[[Black Butler]]'', Soma's [[Battle Butler]] Agni is seen as a [[Rare Male Example]].
* Played with in ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'', where Kyoko Otonashi acts the part, but is really a [[Tsundere]], leaning towards the ''deredere'' part.
* Ui Hirasawa from ''[[K-On!]]!'' fits this trope to a T. Everything she works for being for the good of the family? Check. Loyal? Check. Really good at cooking and cleaning? Check. Mature? Check. Arguably moreso than any other character on the show. Polite? A given.
* ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'' has ''three'' of these. First we have the Takakura matriarch, Chiemi, who fits in here to a T ([[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 16). Then we have the girl and youngest {{spoiler|adopted}} child of the Takakura family, Himari. And ''then'' we have the youngest Takakura son, Shouma, who is '''such''' a male YN that even ''Himari'' refers to him as such, and so does their older brother Kanba.
** Some [[Image Boards|4chan]] members have referred to Shouma as [[Memetic Mutation|"waifu"]]... something only "reserved" to females, due to him being a male YN and so damn [[Moe]].
* ''[[Sister Princess]]'' has an odd example. Haruka is from ''Germany'' and yet she acts more traditionally japanese than any of the cast. Wearing kimono, conducting tea ceremonies, practicing with a naginata etc.
* Ryougi Shiki of ''[[Kara no Kyoukai:|Kara no Kyoukai]]'' has the looks and always prefers a kimono over casual dress, yet is a [[Badass]] [[Cute and Psycho]] [[Knife Nut]].
* ''[[Happiness! (visual novel)|Happiness!]]'': Saya. Explicitly referred to as such by Hachisuke.
* Nanako Misonoo from ''[[Oniisama e...]]'' is basically one in training, as well as the main character. She likely got it from her [[Hot Mom]], who also is one of these.
* ''[[Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran]]'', being a show about [[Ronin]] in Japan, has a few of these. One of them in particular is a lord's mistress: she's kind, gentle, family / house oriented, looks the part with a fancy kimono and  {{spoiler|has enough inner iron to save her infant son via [[Heroic Sacrifice]].}}
* Cruelly played with in an episode of ''[[Hell Girl]]''. An beautiful orphan girl named Inori seems to be the very incarnation of this ideal, and is offered a nice marriage prospect with the handsome son of the sponsor of her [[Orphanage of Love]]. Except that there's a catch:  {{spoiler|her mother in law, Mrs. Kyokotsu, only wants Inori to be pretty much a "living prop" who will spend her life quietly sitting around in a corner, watching like pass by in front of her - like the dolls that the family makes for a living. Completely alone since her [[Jerkass]] husband takes his mom's side, Inori tries to endure this [[Domestic Abuse]]... but she ends up snapping and, despite Hajime's warnings, she sends the old woman to Hell.}}
* Yune is a cute little girl from ''[[Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth]]''. She goes to Paris from Japan and introduced in a [[Pimped-Out Dress|gorgeous kimono]]. [[Culture Clash]] is half the premise. The other half is proto-feminism, and it [[Anvilicious]]ly points out the problems with this trope.
* Yumi, Mayu's mother in ''[[Morita-san wa Mukuchi]]'', personifies this—aside from her fits of jealousy against her husband.
* Ureshiko in ''[[Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo]]'' is a clear example, rather [[Pigeonholed Voice Actor|predictably]]. ([[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 17)
* Rey of ''[[Saint Beast]]'' is a male example. He's the most typically feminine and domestic member of the team but is perfectly competent in a fight and stronger than he seems.
* Yukari from ''[[Family Compo]]'' fits this trope pretty well.
* Hinako Aikawa from ''[[Bitter Virgin]]'' definitely has a lot of the traits associated with this archetype - she's sweet, humble, and outwardly extremely vulnerable, but she shows plenty of unexpected courage in confronting those who harm her or people she cares about (albeit, understandably, [[Does Not Like Men|usually only if they're female]], [[The Woobie|due to]] [[Rape as Drama|her personal trauma]]).
* Hana Isuzu from ''[[Girls und Panzer]]'' is soft-spoken, kind, attractive, taller than her teammates, looks good in a kimono, and is skilled at flower arranging. When she comes into conflict with her own mother about her taking part in her school's Tankery club, Hana's will of iron comes to the fore.

== Comic Books ==
* The main character in Desire's issue of ''[[The Sandman|Sandman: Endless Nights]]'' seems to fit fairly well into this trope.
* In the [[X-Men]] books, Wolverine was in love with Mariko Yashida for a good portion of Claremont's run after Jean Grey's death, and even [[Back from the Dead|after she came back]], he stayed devoted to Mariko, though by then he was [[Loving From Afar]]. Mariko herself was a perfect example of this, determined to free her family from its underworld ties at any cost...[[Cartwright Curse|and ultimately, any cost was what it took.]]
* Since ''[[Yoko Tsuno]]'' is the daughter of a very traditional Japanese family, her mother Masako is a ''yamato nadeshiko''. The trope ''might'' have been invoked in "The Devil's Organ", when Yoko shows up to a formal party in Germany in a ''kimono'' and [[Kimono Fanservice|leaves everyone starstruck]]... then she quickly subverts it by pointing the Moebius with a rifle  {{spoiler|when Vic is accidentally shot and almost killed.}}

== Fan Works ==
* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', Tsuruya is surprised that her father thinks of her as a wildflower while she's dressing up for the {{spoiler|[[Arranged Marriage]]}}.
* This trope is used in ''[[Cat-Tales]]'' in practice if not by name.{{context|reason=How is it used? 'in practice if not by name' doesn't tell people much.}}
* In the ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' fanfic ''[[Weekend at Hisao's]]'', Shizune's [[Missing Mom|deceased]] [[Deceased Parents Are the Best|mother]] is implied to have been this. Her "touch of iron" comes into play when she argues with her husband over his hiring tutors to make Shizune talk, and gets him to stop.

== Film ==
* [[Audrey Hepburn]] is one of the few Western women ''to this day'' who measures up to Japan's standards of a ''yamato nadeshiko''. In fact, both Relena Peacecraft/Darlian of ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' and Lacus Clyne of ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' were based upon Hepburn's Princess Ann from ''[[Roman Holiday]]'', with Relena's {{spoiler|Queen of the World}} dress being modeled after Princess Ann's royal dress from the film. Also, ''[[Roman Holiday]]'' is mentioned by name by royalty in ''[[Irresponsible Captain Tylor]]'', implying a desired connection between the princess and Audrey Hepburn.
** For the record, Audrey even got a namesake in ''[[Gundam Unicorn]]'' - "Audrey Burne"  {{spoiler|aka Princess Minerva Lao Zabi.}}
* Eve from ''[[Love on the Side]]''.
* [[Damsel in Distress|Tomoe]], the female [[Love Interest|romantic lead]] from ''[[The Twilight Samurai]]'' aka ''[[The Twilight Samurai|Tasogare Seibei]]''. Since the film is set in [[Jidai Geki|nineteenth century Japan]], the [[Justified Trope|trope doesn't seem out of place]]; if anything, [[Plucky Girl|Tomoe is the most "modern" major character in the film]]. Nevertheless, she's a convincing if not outright iconic ''yamato nadeshiko''.
** [[Meaningful Name|Her name]] even includes the word "[[Moe]]." What [[A Worldwide Punomenon|moe]] could you ask for?
* Played completely straight by Xiao Qiao in ''[[Red Cliff]]'', the reason why [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff|Japanese Love Lin Chiling]] (a Taiwanese model-and-first-time actress, known for exhibiting this behavior even in [[Real Life]]).
** In some form of distaff [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] karma, trailers for Lin Chiling's new movie ''Treasure Hunter'' have her wielding a [[Blade on a Stick]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_At5enQ6q8 in her first major fight scene].
* Mutsuta's wife in Akira Kurosawa's ''[[Sanjuro]]''. She never raises her voice, and appears to have two emotions: Happiness at pretty things and serenity at everything else. Yet the rude, badass ronin who appears to have only contempt for her gets totally bossed around by her.
* Lady Kaede from Kurosawa's ''[[Ran]]'' definitely springs to mind, though the character type is certainly played with. Beautiful, gentle, graceful, mature and the perfect lady.  {{spoiler|Also bloodthirsty, cunning, manipulative, and remorseless. She stops at nothing to avenge her family, up to and including destroying the dynasty into which she was forcefully married. Her meddling was so effective that even her own death does not prevent her goal from being completed.}}
* Lyddie in ''[[Saving Sarah Cain]]''.
* Taka in ''[[The Last Samurai]]''
* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in ''[[Mulan]]'': ''"Men want girls with good taste, calm, obedient, who work fast-paced. With good breeding and a tiny waist."''
** ''Mulan'' herself plays with the trope a bit. She has the looks, is extremely devoted to her parents and desperately tries to fit in as a perfectly feminine and demure daughter... without much success. However, when she learns that her already old father will have to go to war, she shows the core of steel part by [[Sweet Polly Oliver|dressing up as a male and taking his place]], not for glory or to rebel against her family but to save her dad's life and the family honor.
* Leah in ''A Stranger Among Us''
* Not so much deconstructed as utterly destroyed in ''[[Audition]]''. Asami Yamazaki appears at first to be the sort of beautiful, demure woman that every Japanese man would love to have for a wife. However, in the last third, we discover that  {{spoiler|due to horrific abuse (among other things)}} her core of steel is made of razor wire and needles, and ''she's a complete psycho''.
* A rare male example in the film ''Gohatto''. The protagonist is a quiet, demure [[Bishonen]] who even wears his hair in a [[Hime Cut]].  {{spoiler|However, he's also a ruthless killer who behaves more like a [[Woman in Black]].}}
* Millie in ''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]]'' is an example in territorial America. She embodies every ideal of femininity at the time: she's not afraid of working hard; she cooks, cleans, and sews for seven men, and yet turns a house of barbarians into a matriarchy through sheer force of personality.

== Literature ==
* Given that the [[Tortall Universe|Yamani Isles]] are a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] for Japan, it is no surprise that Yamani women typically end up being this.
* Adele Ratignolle from Kate Chopin's novel ''The Awakening''. Her submissiveness and devotion to her family and husband make her a foil to the protagonist Edna.
* Mariko Buntaro from ''[[Shogun]]'' almost personifies the trope in her public life, although she subverts it by refusing her husband in private. In the end, she  {{spoiler|throws herself on an explosive while proclaiming that this is her "honorable ''Seppuku''" protesting their imprisonment at Ishido's hands.... [[Thanatos Gambit|forcing Ishido to free his hostages and pave the way for Mariko's lord Toranaga to seize control of the country]].}}
** Hardly surprising, given that Mariko-san is an [[Expy]] of a [[Real Life]] ''yamato nadeshiko'': Tama "Gracia" Hosokawa. See [[Real Life]] below.
* Denise Baudu from Zola's ''[[The Ladies Paradise]]''. Completely selfless, everything she does is for the benefit of her brothers. She also shows humility under extreme provocation, and there is iron at the core of her character: she will not allow her ideals to be compromised, either through threat, hardship, or temptation. Denise is described as 'formidable in her gentleness'.
* [[Older Than Print]]: [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] in ''[[The Tale of Genji]]''. Despite this trope being known as the "perfect Japanese woman," the characters come to the conclusion that a perfect doormat is almost certain to snap eventually, and so it's better for a woman to tactfully but unmistakably bring up grievances with her husband and not simply take any indiscretions on his part lying down.
* Discussed in ''Obasan'' by Joy Kogawa, where Naomi discusses how her female relatives were like that.
* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Despite Yoko Akia referring to herself as Chinese in ''Weekend Warriors'', ''Free Fall'' establishes her as Japanese, so she is definitely this trope. She is mostly polite and soft-spoken. However, make no mistake, this 4 feet 8 inches tall, 90-pound woman can and will engage in ''major'' [[Waif Fu]] if the situation calls for it. In fact, she has never lost a fight (at least that has been shown or told about in this series), and she pinned her future husband Harry Wong to the ground in a sparring match. It is quite telling, because Harry can flatten just about anybody in a fight, and he states afterwards that that was the first time in his life that he had ever been pinned to the ground.

== Live-Action TV ==
* Swan Shiratori, [[Super Sentai|Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger]]'s mechanic, fits this description perfectly, though not being as tall or long-haired as most anime examples.
** The following season ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]'' yields a better example, Ozu Miyuki, literally the mother of the core 5 Rangers. Even her superhero identity is named Magi''Mother''. MagiBlue, Urara is an example-in-training and tall, long-haired, sweet [[Team Dad]] Makito has elements of a male version.
** A subverted example turns up two seasons later in ''Juuken Sentai Gekiranger''. Masashi Miki, a single mother of one and more of a guardian and mentor to the Rangers than the actual grandmaster ShaFu, {{spoiler|was a former Sukeban [[Delinquent]] in her teen years.}}
** Also subverted with Ran, whose mother wants her to become a ''yamato nadeshiko'' and to that end tries to arrange a marriage for her. After the Gekirangers spend the episode trying to foil this plan, Ran finally gives up and just explains that she is too busy saving the world to get married any time soon.
** Explicitly stated as the dream of Mako in ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]'' (she even has a character song about it!) but unfortunately [[Lethal Chef|her cooking skills leave a lot to be desired.]]
** ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]'' has Ren/Go-on Blue, a male example: tall, polite, the most mature and responsible of the bunch, and the one who does all the team's cooking. His teammates even call him "mother."
** ''[[Gekisou Sentai Carranger]]'''s Naoki/Blue Racer is perhaps not a straight-up example of the male variety, due to the comedic nature of the show and the [[Jerkass]] behaviour of the main characters - but he has the modest, polite, calm and domestic side down perfectly.
* Airi Nogami, Ryotaro's older sister in ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]'', who is pretty, caring, an excellent cook, and completely, '''completely''' unflappable. Upon being told that Ryotaro was being held hostage by an armed robber, her immediate reaction was to go back to preparing coffee. When one of her regulars asked how she could be so calm, she muttered "That's right", then went off...to make "Ryo-chan" some special hostage snacks. Cue mass [[Face Fault]].
** The wisdom part comes to play in a rather surprising form: {{spoiler|She's been in the loop the whole time. Airi was actually in on her fiancée's plan from the beginning, and allowed her own memories to be altered in order to protect the Junction Point, their future daughter Hana. And she's known from the start that "Ryo-chan" was Den-O, and that his friend Yuuto is the time-displaced teenage version of her fiancée.}}
* [[Trope Codifier]]: [[wikipedia:Oshin|Oshin]].
* As proof that these types of characters don't have to be [[Extreme Doormat]]s, Matsu of ''[[Toshiie to Matsu]]'' is one of these: a traditional Samurai lady of the house raised in the Sengoku era whose indomitable will very few people are willing to come up against. (Though her husband does get a little bit of ribbing from his co-workers due to her tendency to go very ''[[Tsundere|tsun]]'' on him when she suspects him of infidelity.)
* Played with stunning level of complexity in the 2008 NHK drama ''[[Atsuhime]]''. The title character, Atsuhime (Princess Atsu; later Lady Tenshoin) grows from a tomboyish, adventurous village princess to becoming the consort of the [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] Shogun Iesada. She skillfully and proactively (yet subtly) navigates around the issues and problems of the late-Tokugawa period (although not always successfully), marking her a remarkable exception inside a feudal world where women prefer behind-the-scenes scheming.
* In the Japanese drama series ''Tumbling'', Wataru's mother is a perfect example - but when the going gets tough, [[Beware the Nice Ones|we see where her son gets his fighting spirit from.]]
* Park Myeong-yi, the mother to the main character in [[Dae Jang Geum]], and her husband live as lower caste commoners but she is a wonderful cook for her family as well as very calm but strict with her daughter.
* Alyssa Enrile/White Tiger Ranger ''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]''. Princess Shayla leans more toward [[Silk Hiding Steel]].
* Keiko O'Brian in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.

== Music ==
* mc chris has a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikcuhMQYAe4 song] from his album ''Part Six: Part Two'' called "[[Meido|Japanese Maid]]" about a Japanese [[Me Love You Long Time|mail-order bride]] who, in his words, is [[Extreme Doormat|"[his] wife and [his] slave"]] who "[[Magical Girlfriend|does everything right]]" and is "[[Japanese Politeness|oh so polite]]". Her role, like a good Japanese wife per Confucian ideals, is to keep house and fuck (which she does flawlessly), to the delight of mc chris:
{{quote|''I bought you, I love you,
''I want to subjugate you tonight
''I claim you, I name you,
''Can't wait, you need to do me for life }}
* The [[Deep Purple]] song "Woman From Tokyo".
* Arguably, the girl described in Luis Miguel's "La Incondicional" ("The Unconditional One").
* The Japanese singer Riyu Kosaka has a song called "Yamato Nadeshiko", which fits the trope pretty well, as you would expect.

== Mythology and Religion ==
* [[wikipedia:Kaguya-hime|Kaguya-hime]] of the Japanese folktale ''The Legend of the Bamboo Cutter''. She was sweet, polite, gentle and completely devoted to her adoptive parents. While she ''did'' ask her suitors to do impossible things as the condition to marry any of them (which meant, they all failed and she blew them off), it wasn't because of hate or cruelty, but because  {{spoiler|she had to return to the Moon at some point, to become its Queen}}.

== Theatre ==
* The [["I Want" Song]] "A Quiet Girl" from ''Wonderful Town'' seems to be about this type.
* Cio-Cio San, the main character in Puccini's opera ''Madama Butterfly''. She converts into Christianity, since it is her husband's religion, never mind that it gets her disowned by her relatives. Then he leaves for America, supposedly while she is still pregnant, and is absent for three years: she waits faithfully, even if the matchmaker and the American consul try to convince her that he has abandoned her and that she should remarry. When he returns with a new American wife, a girl named Kate, she gives her small son to her... [[Spurned Into Suicide|and kills herself]] to [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|avoid a scandal]]. Needless to say, the opera has ''huge'' [[Values Dissonance]], probably had already at the time it was written in. The best part? It was [[Based on a True Story]].

== [[Video Games]] ==
* Despite having a Japanese [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] in Wutai, ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' technically does not have a ''yamato nadeshiko'', just [[Ninja|Yuffie]]. Though if [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Aerith]] had been born there she definitely would be because she fulfills the other qualifications: more traditionally feminine than the other girls and occupies the 'comforting, mothering figure' aspect - which she [[Lampshade Hanging|comments on]] in ''Advent Children''). As it stands, she's [[Silk Hiding Steel]].
** For the same reason and despite her appearance, ''Tifa'' from fits this more so than Aerith. She's first seen greeting Cloud after he came back from his mission, is an excellent cook and bartender, and basically fits [[Team Mom]] role all the way to the end.
** Yuna, from [[Final Fantasy X]], can be seen as this if you squint. She's a gentle and feminine girl whose something like a shaman, wears a dress resembling a kimono, and grew up on an island. She loosens up in [[Final Fantasy X-2|the sequel]]
* Nakoruru from ''[[Samurai Shodown]]'' is a [[Cute Bruiser]] and [[The Beast Master]] version of the trope. Also, Haohmaru's lover Oshizu and Ukyou's lady of liege Kei Odagiri.
* It's now normal for ''[[Tales (series)]]'' leads to get [[Moe Couplet|paired with]] a [[Tsundere]] by the story, but in ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'', the tsundere went to [[The Lancer|best friend Chester]], and the main character got Mint, who is such a perfect example of this trope that she basically gets it as a title.
** [[Tales of the Abyss|Fon Master Ion]] is arguably a male example. He's polite and friendly almost to a fault (and is [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|rather feminine looking]]), but you [[Beware the Nice Ones|don't want to get him mad]].
* Believe it or not, [[Stripperiffic|Mai]] Shiranui from ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' and ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' is one. And ''very'' proud of it, since in her own words, she's "the number one Japanese girl". It's quite more evident when she's outside the fighting ring, of course: i.e., in the KOF: KYO game, Mai cheerfully and gladly puts on a ''very'' fancy kimono and [[media:000s8dcq.png|hosts a tea ceremony for Kyo and his girlfriend Yuki]].
** Also Shizuka Kusanagi, Kyo's [[Hot Mom]]. Always in a kimono, uses a ''naginata'', is very sweet and compliant as well as ''extremely'' sneaky and sly. . .
* Yukiko Amagi in ''[[Persona 4]]''. Granted, it kind of comes with her job, being the heiress of a [[wikipedia:Ryokan (Japanese inn)|traditional-style Japanese inn]], but she embodies so much of it that  {{spoiler|her Shadow is everything a ''yamato nadeshiko'' is not; very, very trashy... and not one bit serene}}.
** Interestingly, normal Yukiko also ends up subverting the trope in action, even if appearance-wise she matches the trope to a T (what with being the tallest of the main female cast, the long black hair, etc):  {{spoiler|at first she plans on abandoning the inn ''completely'' in order to find her own path in life and escape her "gilded cage"; later on, she realizes that the inn isn't a cage at all, but it's home with a lot of people she loves and cares for. This means, however, that when she confronts a television crew who want to turn the inn into a laughingstock for cheap ratings, she delivers an ''absolutely brutal'' verbal smackdown on them and sends them packing in a most un-YN-like fashion. She notes, of course, that without the help of the player character, she wouldn't have developed the inner steel to do that.}}
*** She also loses the YN attitude when she's competetive: "I'll destroy you in one blow!"
** [[Shy Blue-Haired Girl|Fuuka]] from ''[[Persona 3]]'' could fit this as well, especially after overcoming her [[Shrinking Violet|shyness]] through [[Character Development]].
* The [[Pokémon]] Gardevoir. It looks vaguely like a pretty human female, and it devotes itself to protecting and serving its trainer, to the extent of sacrificing itself for them.
** On that subject, Froslass. She even looks like she's wearing a kimono! Specially considering she's a [[Youkai|Yuki-Onna]].
** Also, the [http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/7/71/Kimonogirl.png Kimono Girls/Apprentice Geishas]{{Dead link}}. They were the inspiration for the aforementioned Sakura-chan and her sisters, actually.
** And Erika the Gym Leader, including wearing a kimono and practicing ''ikebana'' (floristry).
* In ''[[Street Fighter]]'', Rainbow Mika's tag-team partner is actually [[Meaningful Name|named]] ''yamato nadeshiko'', and she's a short-haired brunette fighter.
** The most straightforward example is Hokuto from the ''[[Street Fighter EX]]'' continuity. She's calm, cool, ''very'' [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] and the [[Onee-Sama]] to her sister Nanase, as well as a [[Lady of War]] when she fights.
* Most of the ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' games have at least one. Interestingly for this [[Trope]], said character is almost never the easiest to marry:
** The original and Magical Melody: Maria—not to be confused with the [[Meganekko]] Mary/Maria, though.
** Back to Nature/Friends of Mineral Town: Elli, the cute nurse with [[Giant Poofy Sleeves]].
** A Wonderful Life/DS: Celia, whose semblance to this trope in the HM series is only topped by...
*** Celia actually became even more of a ''yamato nadeshiko'' in ''DS''.
** Tree of Tranquility/Animal Parade: Anissa, who so epitomizes this it's hard to know what else to say about her. Renee has hints of this as well.
** Islands of Happiness/Sunshine Islands: Actually, it's harder to find a better example in those games. Alisa seems close, but  {{spoiler|you can't marry her.}} Sabrina's also fitting.
* Dawn Star from ''[[Jade Empire]]'' is arguably a Chinese version.
* A Western example, albeit not a [[Love Interest]], is 1st Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Colonel) Mariko "Spirit" Tanaka in ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]''. [[National Stereotypes|She's also the only Japanese character in the first game.]]
* Sayaka Minazuki from the ''[[Fatal Frame|Fatal Frame IV]]''.
* The Seijyun Girls Academy in ''[[Rival Schools]]'' is a high-class all-girls school that pretty much trains its students to become ''yamato nadeshiko''s. Subverted, though: not only it's also the home to an all-female [[Delinquents|gang]] led by Aoi "Zaki" Himezaki, but the girl who suits the archetype the most {{spoiler|is actually Yurika, [[The Mole]] from the Darkside Student Council.}}
* The Boss from ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''. A mother figure to everyone in her [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] and a literal mom to one of them. It is precisely her absolutely unwavering sense of loyalty and duty that compels her- clearly against her own instincts- to sacrifice her own men and ultimately condemn herself to being forever remembered as a traitor- all for the sake of protecting her country, accomplishing her mission, and averting a nuclear holocaust. Her occupation and role in the game are likely the reason we don't see...gentler skills she may have like flower arranging. Guess who does her voice? [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 18
* ''[[Suikoden II]]'' has Yoshino Yamamoto. Softly-spoken, wears a kimono, devoted to her husband Freed; she ticks all the domestic boxes. When you go to recruit her, she's busy with the laundry. Last but not least, she's wields a naginata in battle and is significantly stronger than her husband - ''who is actually in the military''.
** Suikoden III has her daughter Sanae Yamamoto. She is just as capable as her parents and shares the same personality as her mother.
* ''[[Morenatsu]]'', with its nearly all-male [[Cast Full of Gay]], has Kyōji has a male version.
* More [[Chinese Girl|Chinese]] than actual Japanese, but [[BlazBlue|Litchi Faye-Ling]] has a lot of ''yamato nadeshiko'' element. Kind, sensible, soft-spoken, nurturing and pretty much [[Friend to All Children]], as well as being tall, long haired and having [[Hime Cut]] for the ones not in ponytail. Although her dress of choice is kind of skimpy, she tried her best to dress as modest as possible (except her infamous boobies usually get in the way, forcing her to reveal some of her skins). It's no wonder [[Ninja|Bang Shishigami]] fell in love with her. She's not THAT submissive, though, and can fight damn well and [[Lady of War|gracefully]] with her [[Simple Staff|staff]]. [[Word of God]] claimed that she is one of the few Good people in the series, despite {{spoiler|a [[Face Heel Turn]], since to be fair, most of them are caused by [[Complete Monster|Hazama]] toying around with one of her YN aspects: devotion to her lover Lotte Carmine, who's currently corrupted by the Boundary and the reason she fights was because she's looking for the cure.}}
* In an uncommon [[Hentai]] example, there's ''[[Moonlight Lady]]'''s Yuriko Kuraki: graceful, elegant, mysterious... yet not afraid to do what she has to in order to reach her goals (including sleeping with her son-in-law-to-be).
* Tytti Norbuck from ''[[Super Robot Wars Gaiden]]'' exemplifies this quite a bit despite being Finnish and her actual job (an F-1 Racer), she's incredibly loyal, homely, graceful and in La Gias she's more into its politics, as well as being [[Token Wholesome|the most properly and modestly dressed lady while surrounded with a lot of skin-revealing buxom ladies (while she's also buxom herself)]]. Now if only she didn't have a weird sense of taste, thereby guaranteeing anything she cooks will... [[Lethal Chef|suck]]. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 19
* Oichi in her later incarnations in ''[[Samurai Warriors]]''.
* ''[[Touhou]]'': Yuyuko Saigyouji is something of a subversion. She's whimsical and prefers pulling pranks on her servant/guardian, but she can be serious if the time comes.
** Kaguya Houraisan (who is ''the'' Kaguya-hime of legends) can be seen as one, having all the qualities, but like Yuyuko, can be childish and frivolous.
** Fujiwara-no-Mokou might be an inadvertent [[Deconstruction]] of this trope. She has all the get-up to be a ''yamato nadeshiko'', down to being a Fujiwara, the clan who married their daughters to Japanese Emperors to secure their political power. [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|The mess she's in]] was caused by, amongst other things, her desire to uphold her father's honor after the aforementioned Kaguya scorned him. She's now an anti-social white-haired [[Bifauxnen]] who is anything but feminine.
** Ran Yakumo fulfill all the duties expected from a lady of the house (does that make Yukari the husband?), and is also a very good mother-figure for Chen.
* Flora/Nera, one of the potential marriage candidates in ''[[Dragon Quest V]]'', is a Yamato Nadeshiko type. Contrary to the usual, however, she's significantly ''less'' popular than her more tomboyish counterpart Bianca—as evidenced in an episode of ''[[Lucky Star]]'' where this choice is referenced. Kagami's choice of Bianca is treated as being more sympathetic... and Konata's brief discussion of why you might pick Flora is purely about gameplay advantages, not character traits.
* Likely, Guy's fiancèe Rena from [[Final Fight]]. Not only she has the looks, but she also possesses rather polite speech patterns and wears a dark-colored kimono.

=== Visual Novels ===
* Iris from ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Trials and Tribulations''. She dresses and acts the part. On the other hand, {{spoiler|her twin sister Dahlia Hawthorne is [[Cute and Psycho]] to the extreme.}}
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' has Natsuhi Ushiromiya, who tries her hardest to play this trope straight. It helps that she comes from a family of Shinto priests, and was raised in a very traditional Japanese household. Unfortunately she will often let her pride cloud her judgement, and she has too much of a [[Hair-Trigger Temper]] to truly be a Yamato Nadeshiko. [[Meido|Shannon]] fits the archetype better than Natsuhi does, [[Dojikko|clumsiness aside]].  {{spoiler|As we learn more about who Shannon really is, however, it's clear that she doesn't play this trope straight at all.}}
** Virgilia, as well. An elegant witch and Beatrice's mentor who will drop more than a few hints in order help Battler succeed. For a bonus, [[Kikuko Inoue|yep, she's voiced by *her*.]] Kikuko Inoue count: 11.
** One of the complains that Kyrie Ushiromiya had against Asumu, Rudolf's first wife and Battler's mother, was how much she resembled the archetype and how it made her look [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|more desirable to Rudolf than an assertive female like her]].  {{spoiler|However, it looks like she was faking it.}}
* [[Ill Girl|Nagisa Furukawa]] and her mother [[Hot Mom|Sanae]] from ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]''. Sanae-san's main flaw as a ''yamato nadeshiko'' is that she's a [[Lethal Chef|Lethal Baker]]. [[Kikuko Inoue]] count: 12
** Mei Sunohara, the kid sister of Tomoya's friend Youhei, is a ''yamato nadeshiko'' crossed with [[Cheerful Child]]. Whenever she visits Youhei, the first thing she does is clean his [[Trash of the Titans|(truly filthy)]] room.
* Uraha in ''[[AIR]]'' is an interesting take of this trope. It helps that she's voiced by... [[Kikuko Inoue|well, just guess.]] Kikuko Inoue count: 15
* Sakura Matou from ''[[Fate/stay night]]''. However, it turns out that her ''yamato nadeshiko'' persona [[Stepford Smiler|was a role she adopted]] as a way to {{spoiler|cope with her [[Break the Cutie|horrific home life]] and}} make herself appeal to Shirou.
** Her mother, [[Fate/Zero|Aoi]], however, wants to and tries to fit this trope to a T, being ''entirely'' unwilling to argue with her husband's decisions, {{spoiler|even when he decided to give Sakura, her youngest daughter, away to the Matou family}}. However, she [[Extreme Doormat|lacks the "iron core"]]. And it really, REALLY doesn't end up well for her either.
* Lilly Satou from ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'' has some elements of this, even though [[But Not Too Foreign|she's only half Japanese]].
** The "touch of iron" part is most evident when she has to deal with [[Manipulative Bastard|Shizune]].
** Actually, [[Playing with a Trope|she's a rather...]] [[Deconstructed Trope|interesting spin on the trope.]]  {{spoiler|Her being this is why Hisao often has a difficult time reading her emotions. Furthermore, [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|she annoys him with her pity.]] (And Hanako too, but that's something else.) She [[Stepford Smiler|represses her emotions]] to the point where Hisao has to get a severe heart murmur before she can confess to him. Near the end of Act IV, she can't reject her parents' wishes for her to return permanently to Scotland despite how unhappy it will make her. In the Good Ending, Hisao [[Heart Trauma|has to give himself a heart attack chasing her]] before Lilly can follow her heart and choose to stay with Hisao.}}
* Meredith Baker from the ''[[Bliss Stage: Love Is Your Weapon|Bliss Stage]]'' [[Visual Novel]] is exactly this... except that she's [[Black and Nerdy|black]].
* Touko in ''[[Suika]]'' intentionally takes on this role. Her passivity and devotion is actually somewhat ''disturbing'' to Yoshikazu, her boyfriend.
* Yukari in ''[[Kara no Shoujo]]'' fits this extremely well. She even wears traditional Japanese clothing around the house. However, she's also a slight cloud cuckoolander and has some rather questionable taste, which rather detracts from the impression, or rather puts it in a comical light.

== Web Comics ==
* Ronin Galaxy: Ai is a pretty direct example of this trope. She goes from being a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120718032952/http://www.roningalaxy.com/comics/chapter-1/page-41/ naginata-wielding home defender one second,] to a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120715005547/http://www.roningalaxy.com/comics/chapter-1/page-43/ proper, tea pouring geisha-type the next.]

== Web Original ==
* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' example: Generator's late mother, who was even first-generation Japanese. Generator would like to become this, and is trying to learn how to cook. She's already a great babysitter and wants to become a mother some day  {{spoiler|despite the fact that she was born a boy}}. But right now she's more of a [[Yandere]] and is regarded by most of the [[Super-Hero School]] as a loony.
* The YN of [[Contemplating Reiko]] is the mother of the protagonist: Fumiko. She's the demon world version of this trope: a doting mother and [[Housewife]] whose hobbies include flower arranging, caligraphy, tea ceremony, katana wielding, drinking booze, and bounty hunting.

== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'' there's Yori, who crushed on Ron in Season 2 and 3 is very submissive and deferrent despite her [[Action Girl|impressive martial-arts skills]] (as a female [[Heir to the Dojo]]). When [[Action Girl|Kim]] and Ron finally hook up in season four, Yori [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|calmly accepts it]] (to Ron's dismay), claiming it to be [[You Can't Fight Fate|destiny]]. (Which saves her from the [[Die for Our Ship]] that a ''yamato nadeshiko'' love interest usually goes through.)
* The ill-fated Tang Shen, as described in Leonardo's "Tale of Master Yoshi" in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]''.
* Fluttershy from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' has a lot of elements of a ''yamato nadeshiko''. In addition to being very soft spoken, she is easily the most maternal of the main characters and possesses pretty much all of the domestic skills traditionally admired by men. However, despite being very reserved, she does have moments of true bravery and assertiveness when her friends are depending on her. She shouted a dragon into submission, as well as a Cockatrice in a separate incident (her [[Death Glare]] was able to overpower its petrifying gaze).
* Toph from [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]] can do this perfectly, and in fact she looks a LOT like one when she shows up in a white dress in her parents's home - except she really, ''really'' dislikes it. She'd prefer to punch a rock into your face, instead.
** Mai could potentially fill in the ''yamato nadeshiko'' shoes rather well, though she's much more deadpan than the standard.
** Princess Ursa, Zuko's mother, also could pull this rather well. She's softspoken, beautiful, calm and very proper, teaching Zuko about small things in the ways of life and wondering what's wrong with Azula when she's in full [[Creepy Child]] mode. And she shows the core of iron via  {{spoiler|actually ''killing her father-in-law'' [[Mama Bear|to protect young Zuko]]}}.

== Real Life ==
* This term likely originated with the Chiran Nadeshiko Unit of WWII, a group of middle-school girls who provided comfort and companionship to Kamikaze pilots while serving as a subtle reminder of [[I Will Definitely Protect You|what they were sacrificing themselves to protect.]] The program was highly publicized [[Imperial Japan|for propaganda purposes]], but befriending successive waves of airmen (most of them little more than teens themselves) [[Her Heart Will Go On|only to watch them sent off to die]] [[Break the Cutie|inflicted a severe psychological toll on]] [[The Woobie|the girls]]. The program finally ended after repeated air raids convinced the authorities that the airfield had become [[Harmful to Minors|far too dangerous for children.]] Some surmise that the modern concept of ''yamato nadeshiko'' in general stems from wartime propaganda intended to buck up the home front.
* This concept is present in Indian/Hindu culture as well. In Telugu it goes by the name of ''Bharatiya Nari'' ("Indian woman").
* [[wikipedia:Gracia Hosokawa|Tama "Gracia" Hosokawa]], daughter of [[Akechi Mitsuhide]]. Converted to Christianity by her handmaid, she chose to die (according to some sources, she [[Seppuku|killed herself]]; to others, she was murdered and her killers made it look like suicide) rather than renouncing her ideas and her family honor. In fact, the aforementioned Mariko from ''[[Shogun]]'' is an [[Expy]] of Gracia.
* The term was the reason the Japanese female soccer team gained the [[Fan Nickname]] "Nadeshiko Japan". After winning [[The World Cup]] in 2011, the girls totally justified it!

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[[Category:Harem Genre]]
[[Category:An Index of Ladies and Gentlemen]]
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[[Category:Purity Personified]]
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[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
[[Category:Wish Fulfillment]]
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