Yoshishige was a son of Sô Haruyasu and ruled the island of Tsushima in the Korean Straits. He clashed with the Matsuura and in 1587 submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and initiated a failed attempt at negotiations with the Koreans, with whom he had ties through the Sô's trading endeavors. He died while these negotiations, aimed at securing passage for Hideyoshi's armies in an invasion of China, were in progress.
Lord of Tsushima
Tsushima no kami
Yoshitomo was the son of Konishi Yukinaga and succeeded to the Sô house in 1588. He served in the 1st Korean Invasion under Konishi Yukinaga and later sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Sekigahara Campaign (1600), though he took no part in the fighting.
The Sogo of Sanuki Province were related to the Miyoshi and served them until the fall of the latter by 1573. They contested the Chosokabe's drive to conquer all of Shikoku and later served Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
See Miyoshi Kazunari
Miyoshi, Toyotomi retainer
Nagayasu was the son of Miyoshi Yoshikata and was adopted by Sogo Kazumasa, inheriting his Sanuki Province domain. He was defeated at the Battle of Nakatomigawa by Chosokabe Motochika and was later forced to submit. He readily joined the Toyotomi when Hideyoshi ordered the invasion of Shikoku in 1584. He also joined in the expedition to help the Ôtomo defend their capital of Funai against the Shimazu in 1587. He took part in the Battle of Hetsugigawa and was killed in the course of the fighting.
The Sôma of Mutsu Province were descended from Taira Masakado (d.940). They supported Ashikaga Takauji in the early Nambochuko Period and were reasonably powerful in Mutsu at the start of the Sengoku Period. They clashed frequently with the Date clan - perhaps as many as 30 times over the course of 50 or so years, at times allying with other local families. Their last conflict occurred in 1589, and ended with the Sôma defeated by Date Masamune. Nonetheless, the advent of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 allowed the family to maintain their independent status. In 1600 Sôma Yoshitane was slow in responding to Tokugawa Ieyasu's summons to fight the Western forces, and as a result was deprived of his domain. On the occasion of the birth of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1603, however, the Sôma were forgiven and were reinstated as daimyô. They resided at Nakamura in Mutsu until the end of the Edo Period.
Yoshitane was the son of Sôma Moritane (1529-1601) and ruled from Otaka in Mutsu Province. He clashed frequently with the Date family but was soundly defeated by Date Masamune in 1589. The following year he submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was established at Nakamura in Mutsu. In 1600 he did not immediately respond to Tokugawa Ieyasu's call to arms in the Sekigahara Campaign and was deprived of his domain as a result. However, on the occasion of Tokugawa Iemitsu's birth in 1603, Yoshitane's family was reestablished at Nakamura.
Shimotsuke no kami
Masayo distinguished himself in the Battle of Mimasetoge in 1569. He survived the fall of the Takeda in 1582 and afterwards served the Tokugawa. A somewhat obscure figure, Masayo is nonetheless occasionally counted among Shingen's 'Twenty Four Generals'.
Chikamitsu was a mino warlord of northern Shinano. He allied with his neighbors against Takeda Shingen. Suffering defeat, he and his compatriots went to Uesugi Kenshin around 1553 and requested his assistance. He went on to serve Kenshin in various campaigns. He later acted as a guardian to Sanada Yukimura when the latter was sent as a hostage to the Uesugi by Sanada Masayuki in 1585.
Sons: Mitsumune, Nagayoshi
Okifusa was the son of Sue Hiromori and grandson of Sue Hirofusa, retainers of Ôuchi Masahiro. Okifusa was a competent soldier and administrator and became one of Ôuchi Yoshioki's senior retainers and after the latter's death served Yoshitaka, whom he assisted in his battles with the Shôni on Kyushu.
Sons: Harukata (Takafusa), Takanobu
Owari no kami
Harukata was the second son of the noted Ôuchi general Sue Okifusa. He became Ôuchi Yoshitaka's chief general and led troops to lift the Amako's siege of Mori Motonari's Koriyama Castle in 1540. He also commanded troops in the abortive Ôuchi attempt to bring down Gassan-Toda in 1541-42 and afterwards endeavored to restore his lord's faltering martial spirit. In addition to his military duties, Harukata also assisted Yoshitaka in a number of land surveys (Suô, 1540, and Aki, 1550). After making various remonstrations to his lord, he finally rebelled in 1551 and drove Yoshitaka to commit suicide, afterwards ruling the Ôuchi lands through Ôuchi Yoshinaga. He was compelled to chastise a number of rebellious Ôuchi retainers. He came to war with Môri Motonari and in 1554 began to attack his outlying castles. He was tricked into ordering the execution of Ôuchi retainer Era Fusahide and in 1555 was lured with his army to Miyajima, where he was trapped and killed along with his son Nagafusa.
Son: Nagafusa (d.1555)
Oribe no shô
Sadamitsu first served Imagawa Yoshimoto, then joined Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1561. The latter gave him Noda Castle in Mikawa Province and he was present for the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. Noda was attacked by Takeda Shingen in 1573 and fell despite Shingen being forced to retire from the field owing to illness. Sadamitsu was taken prisoner but was returned shortly afterwards. He fought at Nagashino under the command of Sakai Tadatsugu and during the Sekigahara Campaign (1600) he was tasked with helping to guard Edo Castle in Ieyasu's absence. In 1601 he received a 20,000-koku fie in Ise (Nagashima).
Son: Sadamasa (Adopted)
Nagayori served Oda Nobunaga, at first in the role of page. He was primarily involved in administrative matters, but was with Oda Nobutada following Nobunaga's death at the Honnoji in June 1582. He was killed fighting Akechi troops at Nijô in Kyoto. Nagayori's father had been one of the 'Seven Spears' of Azukizaka (1542).
Okitsura was a son of Sugi Okifusa. He served the Ôuchi and acted as the shugodai of Chikuzen Province. In 1530 he was tasked with leading an army against Shôni Sukemoto but was defeated by Ryûzôji Iekane. When Ôuchi Yoshitaka was overthrown and committed suicide, Okitsura followed suit and killed himself.
Hôki no kami
Nagafusa was a son of Sugihara Ietsugu, an uncle of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife. During the Sekigaraha Campaign (1600) he sided with Ishida Mitsunari and was present for the Siege of Tanabe. He avoided losing his fief through the intercession of Asano Nagamasa and after serving the Tokugawa at the Osaka Summer Campaign had his fief of Toyooka in Tajima Province increased to 50,000 koku.
Hitachi no suke
Takaie was the son of Ôseki Awa no kami Chikanobu and was born in Etchû Province. He was a noted retainer of Uesugi Kenshin and later Uesugi Kagekatsu. He fought at the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561 and at the Osaka Castle campaigns.
Kanesuke was a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hideyori. He joined Hideyori at Osaka Castle and fought for him in the two campaigns there. A rather colorful character, Kanesuke was killed fighting the Tokugawa forces in 1615.
The origins of the Suwa of Shinano Province are not entirely clear, but one theory holds that they were descended from Minamoto Tsunetomo (894-961). They were defeated by Takeda Shingen in the middle of the 16th Century and were afterwards Takeda vassals.
Yorimitsu ruled the Lake Suwa region of Shinano Province. His father had been killed in 1485 by rebellious retainers but Yorimitsu grew up to become a capable leader who greatly strengthened the Suwa domain.
Yorishige was a son of Suwa Yoritaka and ruled the area about Lake Suwa in Shinano Province. He joined with his neighbors (such as Murakami and Ogasawara) to clash with the Takeda of Kai on a number of occasions between 1531 and 1542, although a peace was made through his marriage to the elder sister of Takeda Shingen. In 1542 the Takeda made a sudden attack that caught Yorishige by surprise and brought down both Uehara and Kuwabara within two days. Yorishige was forced to commit suicide on 31 August 1542. His daughter was taken as a concubine by Shingen and produced the eventual head of the Takeda, Takeda (Suwa) Katsuyori.
See Takeda Katsuyori
Etchû no kami
Yoritoyo was a cousin of Suwa Yorishige. He served the Takeda family until their final defeat in 1582, when he was killed in action fighting Oda forces near Lake Suwa.
Takeda, Tokugawa retainer
Aki no kami
Yoritada was a younger brother of Suwa Yoritoyo. At first a retainer of the Takeda, he came to serve Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Takeda's downfall in 1582. In 1601 he was established back in the Suwa area.
Hyôe was a retainer of Ii Naomasa. In November 1600 he was dispatched to Tosa Province to assist Yamouchi Kazutoyo in quelling rebellious elements there who refused to accept the latter's rule.
Keizaikikakuchôkan, Ôkura Daijin
Motonobu, whose origins are unclear (one opinion is that he was from the Hozumi family of the Aizu district of Mutsu Province), served Date Masamune. He was skilled in administrative matters and so was named Masamune's Minister of Finance (Ôkura Daijin) and the Director of the Economic Planning Agency (Keizaikikakuchôkan). He was also well-versed in the tea ceremony. He is best known for actually composing what amounted to a constitution for a dreamed-of Date shôgunate. When he was on his deathbed, and knowing that his cherished hopes for Masamune would never become reality, he had the documents burned in a bamboo basket lest they be discovered by the Tokugawa (and be used against Masamune). As his eldest son had predeceased him, he was succeeded by his second son, known, like his father, as Shichiemon.
Sadayu was a prominent leader among the Saiga monto of Kii and Kwatchi province and held Saiga castle. He joined the Honganji and Hatakeyama Sadamasa in resisting Oda Nobunaga and led a powerful unit of arquebusiers at the Ishiyama Honganji. Sadayu later died in 1585 as Hideyoshi was attacking the religious establishments of Kii Province. One theory has that Toda Takatora arranged for Sadayu to be made to commit suicide. According to tradition, Sadayu and his men were in essence mercenaries, at first fighting in wars that did not directly effect the Suzuki domain.
Sons: Shigehide, Shigetomo
Saiga, Toyotomi retainer
Shigehide was the son of Suzuki Sadayu. He was sent to join the defenders of the Ishiyama Honganji who were fighting Oda Nobunaga and there gained fame for his skill at leading arquebusiers. He later served Hideyoshi in the same capacity and fought in Korea. He is sometimes said to have fought at the Battle of Sekigahara on the side of Ishida Mitsunari but this is impossible to confirm.
Shigetomo was a son of Suzuki Sadayu and like his brother Shigehide was an expert in the deployment of arquebusiers. He came to serve Toyotomi Hideyoshi and served with Shigehide in Korea. In 1600 he sided with Ishida Mitsunari and was present at the Seige of Tanabe. The events of his life following the conclusion of the Sekigahara Campaign are unclear and he appears to be confused in the records with his brother (or vice versa).
Dosetsu was originally known as Hetsugi (Hekki/Hetsuki) Akitsura and was a powerful Ôtomo retainer. He defeated the Tachibana family and took their castle and name, afterwards becoming almost an independent power. He was known as one of the wisest of the Ôtomo retainers and is remembered in part for a letter he sent other leading Ôtomo retainers that included a condemnation of the spread of Christianity within the Ôtomo domain. He is reputed to have fought in 37 battles despite suffering some degree of paralysis on one side of his body and was known as Demon Doestsu (Ôni Dosetsu). He adopted Muneshige, the son of Takahashi Shigetane, as heir.
Son: Muneshige (adopted)
Ôtomo retainer, Chikugo warlord
Hida no Kami
Muneshige was the son of Takahashi Shigetane and was adopted by Tachibana Dosetsu. He defended Tachibana Castle against the Shimazu in 1586 and readily sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587 to help defeat them. He was afterwards given Yanagawa Castle in Chikugo province (worth some 120,000 koku) and led 2,500 men in Kobayakawa Takakage's command in the 1st Korean Campaign. In the 2nd Korean Campaign he was involved in the Siege of Ulsan, where he distinguished himself for bravery. He decided to support Ishida Mitsunari against Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600 and took 1,000 men to assist in the Siege of Ôtsu Castle (Ômi province). Though Ôtsu fell, Tachibana was unable to fight at the Battle of Sekigahara as a result of the siege's duration. Nonetheless, he was deprived of his domains in the aftermath of Ishida's defeat. In 1611 he was given a 20,000-koku fief at Tanakura (Mûtsu province) and was present at the quelling of the Shimabara Rebellion.
Hisatsuna served Amako Yoshihisa and joined Yamanaka Shikanosuke in attempting to relieve Shiraga Castle, surrounded in 1563 by the Môri. While Shiraga fell, Hisatsuna distinguished himself in battle. When Gassan-Toda Castle was isolated, Hisatsuna again proved himself a worthy retainer, opposing surrender as long as possible. When Yoshihisa finally decided to give in, Hisatsuna was sent as an envoy to the Môri to arrange the surrender. His conduct and past bravery so impressed the Môri that they offered him a position as a retainer, which he respectfully declined. Instead, he ended up going to Kyoto, where he helped convince Amako Katshisa to give up the priesthood and lead an army to restore the Amako family. He is thought to have been as important as the better-known Yamanaka Shikanosuke in the army that landed in Izumo in 1569 and clashed with the Môri forces there throughout the following year. He later met with Oda Nobunaga to secure the assistance of that powerful warlord, who by 1576 was also at war with the Môri and in the course of the session impressed Nobunaga with his bearing. When the Amako army was surrounded in Kozuki Castle by the Môri in 1578, Hisatsuna stayed with Katsuhisa until the last moment. When Katsuhisa committed suicide, Hisatsuna shaved his head and became a monk, spending the remainder of his years in Awa Province. His elder brother Yukitaka had earlier accompanied Yoshihisa into confinement in Aki Province and thus did not take part in the effort to restore the Amako.
Awaji no kami
Mitsuyori served Takeda Nobutora and later Takeda Shingen under the command of Itagaki Nobutaka. He acted as a captain of infantry and is said to have fought in 29 battles in this capacity. He died of illness in 1563.
Shigetane was adopted by Takahashi Nobutane and became one of the greatest Ôtomo generals. With the assistance of Tachibana Dosetsu he was instrumental in holding the Ôtomo clan's northern borders following the debacle at Mimigawa in 1578. He was active in the ensuing war with the Ryûzôji but later found himself surrounded in Iwaya Castle by a powerful Shimazu army. Iwaya's defenders held off numerous Shimazu assaults but finally, seeing that resistance was pointless, Shigetane committed suicide. His bravery had much impressed the Shimazu, and the news of his suicide is said to have moved many of them to pray for him. His younger sister was the wife of Ôtomo Yoshimune and his eldest son Muneshige had been adopted by Tachibana Dosetsu.
Sons: (Tachibana) Muneshige, Munemasu
The Takanashi of Shinano Province were descended from Minamoto Yorisue, a son of Minamoto Yorinobu (968-1048). One of Yorisue's grandsons, Morimitsu, adopted the name Takanashi. Morimitsu's own grandson, Tadanao, was a supporter of Minamoto (Kiso) Yoshinaka (1154-1184) in the Gempei War (1180-1185). The Takahashi enjoyed a period of expansion in the early sengoku period in northern Shinano but would find themselves hard-pressed by Takeda Shingen. When Shingen invaded the Takanashi domain in 1553, the Takanashi joined the Murakami, Ogasawara, and Suda in turning to Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo for assistance. The Takanashi domain was nonetheless lost, and they became a Uesugi retainer family.
Echigo no kami
Masamori was a son of Takanashi Masataka. He was an ally of Nagao Tamekage of Echigo and aided the latter in defeating Uesugi Akisada in 1510. Through marriages and assistance in war, the Takanashi and Nagao formed a close relationship.
Shinano warlord, Uesugi retainer
Sumiyori was the son of Takahashi Masamori. He held Nakano Castle in Shinano and became involved, alongside the Murakami, in a protracted conflict with the Takeda family of Kai. Around 1553 Sumiyori, Murakami Yoshikiyo, and others appealed to Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo to reclaim their lands, which had at this point been lost to the Takeda. Sumiyori went on to serve under Kenshin's banner in the hopes that he might be restored to his old domain, but this was not to be.
Uesugi, Ogasawara retainer
Masayori was the eldest son of Takahashi Sumiyori. Though he is sometimes named as one of Uesugi Kenshin's '28 generals' and fought under the Uesugi banner at the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima, he afterwards entered the service of the Ogasawara.
Sons: Yorichika, Hidemasa
Sadayori joined Nagao Kagetora's efforts to unite Echigo Province and served Kagetora (later Uesugi Kenshin) throughout his career.
Matsunaga, Wada, Araki retainer
Hida no Kami
Tomoteru was a retainer of Matsunaga Hisahide. He lost his castle of Sawa in Yamato Province to the Miyoshi in 1565. He was related to Wada Koremasa and was able to find service under that lord once Oda Nobunaga occupied Kyoto (1568). He was involved in the Wada's war with the Araki (1571), and present when Koremasa was killed in battle. With his son Shigetomo, Tomoteru arranged for the murder of Wada Korenaga in April 1573. Through this move the Takayama gained Takatsuki Castle and moved under the influence of the Araki. When Murashige rebelled against Nobunaga in 1578, the Takayama followed suit, though Shigetomo was convinced to abandon Takatsuki - to his father's chagrin. After Murashige fled to the western provinces (1579), Tomoteru retired. He had been baptized in 1564 as Darie, though previously he had been an ardent foe of Christianity and had attempted to convince Matsunaga Hisahide to expel the foreign missionaries from Kyoto.
(Takayama Ukon, Takayama Nagafusa, Takayama Yûshô, Minami no Bô)
Oda, Toyotomi, Meada retainer
Shigetomo was a son of Takayama Tomoteru. He was baptized along with his father in 1564. He assisted his father in eliminating Wada Korenaga in 1573 and taking over Takatsuki Castle in Settsu Province. He initially supported Araki Murashige's rebellion against Oda Nobunaga in 1578 but was persuaded to switch sides at the behest of the Jesuit Padre Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino. He was allowed to retain Takatsuki after Araki fled to the western provinces. Following the death of Oda Nobunaga in June 1582, Shigetomo sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and played a significant role in the Battle of Yamazaki. Some months later he was entrusted with a fort on Iwasakiyama, one of a series of strong points that covered the border with Shibata Katsuie's Echizen. In the Shizugatake Campaign of 1583, Sakuma Morimasa drove Shigetomo from Iwasakiyama and forced him to take refuge in nearby Tagami.
In 1585, following his participation in the Shikoku Campaign, Shigetomo was given the fief of Akashi in Harima Province, worth some 60,000 koku. Once there, he enacted a forced conversion of the residents of his domain, an action that drew the displeasure of Hideyoshi, who was already suspicious of Christianity. Shigetomo was called to service in the Kyushu Campaign but was deprived of his lands soon afterwards. He took up with Konishi Yukinaga in Higo, then entered the service of Maeda Toshiie the following year. The Tokugawa bakufu issued an edict in 1614 that finally banned Christianity in its entirety, and ordered the expulsion of all missionaries and those samurai who refused to recant their faith. Though Meada Toshitsune feared Ukon would fight rather than leave the country, Takayama peacefully complied and on 8 November 1614 departed for Manila. He arrived later that month and was greeted warmly by the Jesuits there, but died of illness just 40 days afterwards.
The Takeda of Aki Province were related to the Takeda of Kai and were powerful in that province from the late 12th century until their downfall at the hands of Môri Motonari between 1516 and 1523.
Motoshige held Kanayama Castke in Aki Province and attempted to subdue the independent-minded Môri following the death of Môri Okimoto. His army was intercepted on his way to Koriyama Castle by Môri Motonari and was defeated.
The Takeda of Kai Province were founded by Takeda Yoshikiyo, a nephew of Minamoto Yoshiie, and loyally served Minamoto Yoritomo. They ruled Kai from the time of Takeda Nobuyoshi (1138-1186) until their fall at the hands of Oda Nobunaga in 1582. The Takeda had suffered a period of internal unease, first punctuated by the rebellion of Atobe Kageie in 1465. In 1472 Takeda Nobumasa defeated an army led by allied Shinano warlords and through this did much to reestablish the authority of the Takeda as rulers of Kai. In fact, the Takeda would be forced to contend with the numerous warlords of Shinano for many years. By 1519 Takeda Nobutora had quelled all resistance within Kai to the Takeda's leadership and under Takeda Shingen the family enjoyed its height, extending its control over Shinano and Suruga, as well as parts of Kôzuke, Tôtômi, and Hida Provinces. After Takeda Katsuyori suffered a crushing defeat at Nagashino in 1575, the offensive potency of the Takeda was drastically reduced. Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, the victors at Nagashino, invaded the Takeda domain in 1582 and the Takeda were destroyed as daimyô. Certain collateral branches of the Takeda survived into the Edo Period though none enjoyed any significant power.
Lord of Kai
Mutsu no kami, Sakyô-daibu
Nobutora was the eldest son of Takeda Nobutsuna. His mother was from the Iwashita family. Nobutsuna died in 1507 and Nobutora duly succeeded him; that same year the Takeda were compelled to fight the Hôjô, Imagawa, and Uesugi. Nobutora defeated his uncle, Takeda Nobue, who had challenged his authority, and brought all of Kai under his control by 1519. In that year, having gained the support of such Kai notables as the Anayama and Oyamada, Nobutora built a castle he named Yogai on Maruyama near Fuchu. Fuchu, better known as Kofu, would remain the center of the Takeda clan for the next sixty years. He fought a series of battles defending Kai's borders, defeating Fukushima Masashige in 1521 and Hôjô Ujitsuna in 1526. He clashed with his rival Hiraga Genshin in 1536, and captured Un no kuchi thanks, reportedly, to the efforts of his eldest son Harunobu. The following year he married one of his daughters to Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga Province. Despite Un no kuchi, Nobutora favored a younger son (Nobushige) over Harunobu and planned to name him heir. Perhaps as importantly to the coming events, Nobutora had alienated his retainers with his arbitrary style of leadership and burdened the people of Kai with heavy taxes and forced labor. In the summer of 1541 he was overthrown by Harunobu and his chief retainers (most notably Amari Torayasu and Itagaki Nobutaka), although the manner in which this played out is not entirely clear. According to one version of the so-called 'bloodless coup', Nobutora departed for Suruga Province to visit his daughter, the wife of Imagawa Yoshimto, and Harunobu seized power in his absence, possibly with the secret understanding of Yoshimoto. The people of Kai in any event celebrated his fall and the Takeda retainers accepted Shingen's rule without incident. Nobutora afterwards lived quietly in Suruga Province, watched first by the Imagawa and then by the Takeda (when Suruga came under Takeda control). After Shingen died in 1573, Takeda Katsuyori allowed Nobutora to take up residence in Shinano.
He died on 27 March 1574 in Shinano (almost all western sources state that he died in 1573, perhaps owing to some earlier confusion with the death of Shingen), and was buried in Kai and his grave may be seen in Kofu today.
Nobutora was recorded as an intemperate and even unstable man who was not well-liked by his retainers, though he was a warrior of some ability. His wife, the daughter of Ôi Nobutatsu and the mother of all his sons save Ichijô Nobutatsu, died in 1552. His eldest daughter (who died in 1550), the wife of Imagawa Yoshimoto, produced the latter's heir, Ujizane.
Sons: Harunobu (Shingen), Nobushige, Nobukado, Nobuzane, Nobukore (d.1571), (Ichijô) Nobutatsu
Kôzuke no suke
Nobutomo was a younger son of Takeda Nobutsuna and a brother of Takeda Nobutora (and should not be confused with Katanuma/Takeda Nobutomo, one of Nobutora's cousins). He accompanied Nobutora in exile in Suruga Province. He assisted his nephew Takeda Shingen when the latter moved against the Imagawa clan in 1568-69. He was captured and executed by the Oda in 1582.
Lord of Kai
Daizen-daibu, Sakyô-daibu, Shinano no kami
Harunobu was the born 1 December 1521, the eldest son of Takeda Nobutora and was known in childhood as Katsuchiyo. His mother was the daughter of Ôi Nobutatsu. When he came of age he was given a character ('Haru') for his name from the shôgun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu and was initially married to a daughter of Uesugi Tomooki. When his first wife died barely a year after their wedding, he was married in turn to the daughter of court noble Sanjô Kinyori, who had attended his coming of age ceremony. He would later take as concubines the daughters of Yugawa Nobumori and Nezu Motonao, as well as his own niece, the daughter of Suwa Yorishige. He fought his first battle in 1536, helping his father to defeat Hiraga Genshin at Uno no kuchi. Around this time, Nobutora decided to disinherit Harunobu in favor a younger son, Nobushige. This provided the Takeda retainers, whom Nobutora had alienated through his arbitrary rule, with a pretext to overthrow him. In 1541, with Harunobu as their leader, the retainers refused to allow Nobutora to return from a visit to Suruga Province and Harunobu was named as the new Takeda lord.
Following this event, which is sometimes known as the 'bloodless revolution', Harunobu proved as ambitious as his father has been. He invaded Shinano Province and forced the Suwa clan to submit in 1542, the same year he had defeated a coalition of Shinano daimyô at Sezawa in Kai. The following year he was compelled to subdue the rebellious Ôi Nobutaka (also known as Sadataka), who had deserted the Takeda for the Murakami clan. Shingen reduced Nobutaka's Nagakubo Castle and later had Nobutaka murdered. He marched in support of the Imagawa against the Hôjô in 1544, though no significant fighting took place. An aggressive campaigner, he penetrated the Kiso River valley of Shinano later that year and took Kojinyama from the Tozawa. In 1547 he brought down Kasahara and Shiga Castles in Shinano and treated those he took as prisoners in a ruthless fashion, for example forcing the women into menial servitude. This stiffened the resistance of the other Shinano warlords. He turned next to the northern half of Shinano and fought with the Murakami and Ogasawara of north-central Shinano. Although he defeated the Ogasawara at Shiojiritoge, the Murakami had defeated him at Uedahara earlier that year and would score another victory at Toishi in 1550. Harunobu nonetheless managed to take Toishi in 1551 and by 1553 had advanced as far as the Kawanakajima plain, some ways south of the Echigo border.
Harunobu's activities in Shinano brought him into conflict with Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) of Echigo, who agreed to act on behalf of the defeated Murakami, Ogasawara, and others. Harunobu and Kenshin conducted a string of confrontations at Kawanakajima. Their first engagement occurred in 1553 and while both sides claimed victory, the result was reportedly a draw. The most notable - and bloody - Battle of Kawanakajima occurred in 1561 and cost Harunobu his brother, Nobushige. Although none of these battles (placed in 1553, 1555, 1557, 1561, and 1564) are reliably documented (the Koyo gunkan being hardly reliable), Kenshin appears to have outmaneuvered Harunobu on a number of occasions and certainly Shingen was never to cross the border of Echigo. Earlier, around 1555 (or as late as 1559), Harunobu shaved his head and adopted the name Shingen, by which he is most famously known. By 1566 Takeda troops were entrenched in Kôzuke (with hard-fought victories at Kuragano and Minowa) and had penetrated the mountains of Hida Province at the expense of the Anegakoji. Shingen had uncovered a plot in 1565 involving his heir Yoshinobu, whom he ordered confined to a temple and later made to commit suicide (see Takeda Yoshinobu). He had earlier executed his cousin, Takeda (Katanuma) Nobutomo, for treason (1560).
In 1568 Shingen turned on his longtime allies the Imagawa and invaded Suruga Province. This provoked the Hôjô, who intervened and forced Shingen to retreat. Shingen returned the following year, took Suruga, and invaded Sagami Province and made an attempt to bring down Odawara Castle, an effort which proved short-lived. On the return to Kai, the Takeda army was confronted by the Hôjô at Mimasetoge and emerged victorious from the bitter contest. When Hôjô Ujiyasu died in 1571, Shingen was able to work out an alliance with the new daimyô, Ujimasa. By this point the Takeda and Tokugawa had begun to feud, and Shingen's army was soon raiding Tôtômi and Mikawa. In 1571 Shingen attempted without success to take the Tokugawa's Takatenjin Castle. Later that same year, he confronted Uesugi Kenshin for the last time, doing so without much actual fighting, in Kôzuke Province. In the late fall of 1572 he led an army of some 25,000 into Tôtômi and took Futamata Castle. He then goaded Tokugawa Ieyasu into bringing his own army out onto the field. On 6 January 1573 Shingen defeated Ieyasu in battle at Mikatagahara, though he did not press his advantage with an attack on Hamamatsu, Ieyasu's capital at the time and barely a mile from the battlefield. By this point, Shingen had openly declared his hostile intentions towards Oda Nobunaga (who had sent Ieyasu reinforcements), possibly goaded on by Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who had earlier sent Shingen at least one provocative letter. Shingen and Nobunaga were not destined to face one another directly, content to issue statements denouncing the other's activities. The Takeda did bring down Iwamura Castle in Mino Province, however, in the process taking as prisoner Nobunaga's young son, Katsunaga. In early 1573 Shingen invaded Mikawa and was in the process of bringing down Noda Castle when he fell gravely ill. Leaving his army to complete the reduction of the castle, he retired out of Mikawa, dying at Komaba in Shinano Province on 13 May. He was succeeded by his son Katsuyori, who was to rule until Nobukatsu, Katsuyori's own son, came of age.
An enduring and probably apocryphal legend has it that Shingen was shot by a sniper while listening to the sounds of a flute being played by one of Noda's defenders. Modern historians point to evidence that he was suffering from some manner of respiratory illness, possibly TB, and that he succumbed to this. Another theory suggests cancer (which is thought to have struck down Uesugi Kenshin as well). In addition to surviving letters that indicate as much, Shingen's later portraits depict a gaunt and unhealthy looking figure (the best known portrait of Shingen, which depicts him as a big, round faced man, may not even have been of him at all but rather a Hatakeyama lord). After his death he was called Hôshô-in.
Shingen was a noted administrator and built a series of dikes along the Fuji River system that maximized the agricultural output of Kai. He composed the Takeda House Code (Kôshû hatto no shidai) in 1547 and was known for his innovative policies, which included fining those who committed petty crimes rather then imposing corporal punishment. He was also a noted calligrapher and something of a poet. He enjoys a tremendous reputation even now in the popular mind and this no doubt owes something to the Koyo gunkan, a history of his rule composed in the early 17th Century by Obata Kagenori. In fact, the Koyo gunkan is often unreliable and is essentially a piece of hagiography.
For his many laudable qualities, Shingen was quite capable of ruthless and treacherous action and the stern but fair treatment of his subjects in Kai did not always extend to those lands he conquered. On an operational level he was clearly an effective military commander, although he was much aided by his corps of fine retainers. At the same time, there seemed to be little strategic method to Shingen's many campaigns and Mikatagahara represented the only battle he fought and won which may be considered to have had more than local significance-and even this he failed to effectively capitalize on.
Sons: Yoshinobu, (Uno) Nobuchika, Nobuyuki (d.1564), (Suwa) Katsuyori, Nobumitsu (1553-1582?), (Nishima) Morinobu, (Katsurayama) Yoshihisa (Katsuyoshi)
Daughters: His eldest daughter, whose real name is unknown (d.1569), married Hôjô Ujimasa and bore him four sons (including Ujinao). His third daughter (Mariko?, 1550-1647) married Kiso Yoshimasa of Shinano. A younger daugher, Kikuko (d.1604) married Uesugi Kagekatsu in 1579. Another daughter, Matsuko (d.1616), had been engaged to Oda Nobutada but this was called off when Nobutada's father, Nobunaga, sent troops to fight the Takeda at the Battle of Mikatahara (1573).
Sama no Suke, Tenkyû
Nobushige was the second son of Takeda Nobutora and a younger brother of Takeda Shingen. Though Shingen had derailed their father's plans to make Nobushige heir, the latter proved a valuable help to his elder brother and ranked second to him in stature within the clan. He was known for both his military prowess and general wisdom. He was killed at the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima (1561) fighting the troops of Uesugi general Kakizaki Kagaie, though his head was recovered by a certain Yamadera Nobuaki. He had been well-liked within the Takeda and his death was seen as a blow to the fortunes of the clan. With his sons in mind, he had written the Kyûjukyu Kakun, a set of ninety-nine precepts for Takeda house members, some of which are erroneously attributed to Shingen himself from time to time. He is also known as Takeda Tenkyû (Tenkyû being another rank he held). Sanada Masayuki reportedly named a son after Nobushige in tribute to his talents. That son is better known to us as Sanada Yukimura (being known during his lifetime as Sanada Nobushige).
Sons: Nobuyori, Nobutoyo, (Mochizuki) Nobumasa
Nobukado was Takeda Nobutora's third son. While not known as a great captain, he was an avid painter (examples of his work survive to the present day, including portraits of his mother and father) and in general a man of learning. He also acted as his brother's double (kagemusha) from time to time. After Shingen's death, he served as an advisor to Katsuyori and was present at the Battle of Nagashino (1575). He held Takato Castle in Shinano until his nephew (and in fact son-in-law) Nishina Morinobu came of age and took over the position. When Oda Nobunaga invaded the Takeda lands in 1582, Nobukado attempted to flee but was captured and beheaded by Oda troops at the Zenkoji in Shinano province. There is a theory that Nobukado, as opposed to Shingen, had in fact been the one to fend off an attack by a lone Uesugi horseman in the course of the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima (that horseman being either Uesugi Kenshin himself or a Uesugi retainer by the name of Arakawa who himself acted as Kenshin's kagemusha). Nobukado was at any rate usually to be found within the Takeda headquarters when he went on campaign with his elder brother and nephew.
Hyôgo no suke
Nobuzane was a younger son of Takeda Nobutora. He accompanied his elder brother Shingen on various campaigns. He was killed in an attack led by Sakai Tadatsugu and Kanamori Nagachika during the Battle of Nagashino. The Koyo Gunkan records that he occasionally acted as a double (kagemusha) for Shingen. His son Nobutoshi entered the service of the Tokugawa after the fall of the Takeda in 1582.
See ICHIJÔ Nobutatsu
Izu no kami
Yoshinobu was the eldest son of Takeda Shingen and therefore a grandson of court noble Sanjô Kinyori. He was known at first as Tarô and had Obu Toramasa assigned as his guardian. In December 1552 he was married to a daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto. He served his father in a number of battles in Shinano starting in 1554 and was wounded in the fighting at 4th Kawanakajima. Yoshinobu quarreled with his father prior to the Battle of 4th Kawanakajima and was accused of plotting against him in 1565. As a result he was deprived of his status as heir and made to divorce his wife while Obu Toramasa and a number of his personal retainers were executed. Yoshinobu was confined to the Toko-ji in 1565 and was later made to commit suicide (another theory, albiet less accepted, has it that he in fact died of illness while confined). It was said that his mother's death in 1570 was as a result of the despair she felt at his fall. The exact reasons for Yoshinobu's confinement are not altogether clear. The most commonly held and likely theory suggests that he opposed his father's plans to take advantage of the weakness of the Imagawa in the wake of Yoshimoto's death and sounded out various Takeda retainers on some way in which his father's designs could be blocked. Peripheral to this are the facts that Shingen and his wife, Yoshinobu's mother, were by then on bad terms and that Shingen evidently had come to favor a younger son, Katsuyori. In any event, this marked the effective end of the Takeda-Imagawa alliance and paved the way for Shingen's invasion of Suruga Province in 1568. Not much is conclusively known about Yoshinobu's character but he was not unpopular among the Takeda retainers and Anayama Beisetsu was reputedly especially fond of him. Yoshinobu is believed to have had a daughter, but his genealogy is otherwise obscure. One colorful legend has an infant son smuggled into the protection of the Uesugi of Echigo but this seems far-fetched at best.
Nobuchika was the 2nd son of Takeda Shingen. He succeeded Unno Yukiyoshi but because he was blind he became a monk. He committed suicide when Kai was invaded by the Oda in 1582, though his son was protected by Tokugawa Ieyasu. His descendants went on to serve the Tokugawa.
(Suwa Katsuyori, Takeda Shirô)
Lord of Kai and Shinano
Takeda Katsuyori was the 4th son of Takeda Shingen. His mother, Lady Suwa (real name unknown, 1530-1555), had been the daughter of Suwa Yorishige, whom Shingen had destroyed in 1542. Shingen had taken Yorishige's daughter as a favorite concubine (the fact that she was Shingen's own niece notwithstanding) and Katsuyori appears to have become his favorite son. Katsuyori was named the head of the Suwa family in 1562 and took up at Takato Castle in Shinano. When Takeda Yoshinobu, Shingen's heir, was ordered to commit suicide in 1567, Katsuyori became the heir apparent (as his elder brother Nobuchika was blind and another had died in 1564). Katsuyori was married to an adopted daughter of Oda Nobunaga in 1565 but she died after giving birth to Nobukatsu in 1567. Prior to his father's death he fought in a number of Takeda battles, including the 1569-70 war with the Imagawa and Hôjô. He captured Kanbara from the Hôjô in 1569 and so destroyed a number of Hôjô generals, including Kasahara and Shimizu. When Shingen died in 1573, Katsuyori became the leader of the family, though in the capacity of guardian for his son Nobukatsu. He continued the late Shingen's war with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu and in 1574 captured Akechi Castle in Mino and Takatenjin Castle in Tôtômi. The following year he set out to attack Okazaki Castle in Mikawa but when this had to be aborted, he surrounded Nagashino Castle. An Oda and Tokugawa relief force arrived and Katsuyori, against the advice of his senior generals, launched an attack that resulting in a disastrous Takeda defeat. Despite the loss of some 10,000 men and many retainers, Katsuyori managed to escape back to Kai. The Oda were not at that time in a position to follow up their victory.
Now much weakened, Katsuyori at least managed to hold onto most of his domain for the next few years, although this was owing perhaps more to Nobunaga's preoccupation with other enemies than any strategic skill on Katsuyori's part. Although he married a younger sister of Hôjô Ujimasa in 1577 he allied with Uesugi Kagekatsu in 1579, an act that provoked war with the Hôjô family, leading to a confrontation around Numazu that same year and near Omosu in 1580. That year he ordered Sanada Masayuki to begin construction of Shinpu Castle near Nirasaki and in 1581 Katsuyori moved his capital there from Kofu, which unsettled the people of Kai and the Takeda retainers. Tokugawa Ieyasu recaptured Takatenjin Castle that same year, compounding the foreboding widely felt in the Takeda domain. In early 1582 he suffered the defection of both Kiso Yoshimasa (his brother-in-law) and Anayama Nobukimi (who was married to his aunt). That May, the Oda and Tokugawa (with nominal Hôjô support) invaded Kai and Shinano, at which point most of Katsuyori's men began to abandon him. Since Shinpu's formidable defenses were judged not yet ready to resist a siege, Katsuyori and his household set out for Oyamada Nobushige's castle, only to be barred from entering. Accompanied now by only a handful of retainers, he committed suicide along with his son Nobukatsu near the Temmokuzan. Numerous reasons have been given for the total collapse of the Takeda, among them being simmering doubts about Katsuyori's right to rule on the basis of the suicide of Yoshinobu. He does not seem to have had his father's flair for government and certainly his sacrifice of the core of the magnificent Takeda retainer band at Nagashino sealed his ultimate fate.
Nobukatsu was the eldest son of Takeda Katsuyori and was at first called Takeomaru. Takeda Shingen had ordered as part of his last will that Nobukatsu be named the head of the Takeda when he turned 16, with his father Katsuyori acting as guardian until then. He joined his father on campaign against the Hôjô in 1580. He committed suicide alongside Katsuyori following the Oda/Tokugawa invasion of Kai and Shinano, the same year he might have expected to be named the next lord of the Takeda.
Nobutoyo was a favorite son of Takeda Nobushige and held Komoro Castle in Shinano. He assisted his cousin Katsuyori in taking Kanbara Castle from the Hôjô in 1569 and played an notable role in the attack at Nagashino in 1575. He became an important retainer under the rule of Katsuyori and commanded part of the army that engaged the Hôjô in 1579-80. He was killed in the Oda/Tokugawa invasion of the Takeda lands.
The Takeda of Kazusa Province were descended from the Takeda of Kai and established by Takeda Nobunaga, a son of Takeda Nobumitsu (d.1412). During the Sengoku Period they clashed with the Satomi and the Hôjô and were eventually destroyed by the former.
Nobuyasu was the son of Takeda Nobukatsu. He expanded the power of the Takeda clan on the Boso Peninsula and around 1525 took Oyumi Castle in Shimôsa Province, which he gave to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. After his death a civil war erupted between his sons Nobutaka and Nobumasa that greatly weakened the Takeda.
Sons: Nobutaka, Nobumasa (d.1552)
The Takeda of Wakasa Province were a tributary branch of the Takeda of Kai who were established in Wakasa by shôgun Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441), at whose behest Takeda Nobukata defeated Ishiki Yoshitsura in 1540. During the sengoku period they were minor daimyô, eventually submitting to the authority of Oda Nobunaga. Takeda Motoaki (d.1582) sided with Akechi Mitsuhide following the latter's destruction of Oda Nobunaga in 1582 in the hopes of recovering land they had earlier given up at Nobunaga's behest. Motoaki was afterwards killed on Toyotomi Hideyoshi's orders. The Wakasa Takeda were best known for cultural pursuits.