So what does it take for one Japanese woman to be compared to these two seemingly polar opposite figures? That, in a nutshell, is how Niijima Yae came to be likened to both the patron saint of France and The Lady with the Lamp. Their marriage is why Yae is often known in historical sources as Niijima Yae. During the age of samurai, Yamamoto Yae was the best samurai that she could be. And thus began the story of Niijima Yae: wartime nurse.