 | |
| Shingen Takeda | |
| Born: | December 1, 1521 |
|---|---|
| Place of Birth: | Kai Province |
| Died: | May 13, 1573 |
| Cause of Death: | Bullet Wound |
| Place of Death: | Mikawa Province |
| Style name: | 武田 信玄 |
| Served: | Takeda |
| Participation(s): | Battle of Un no Kuchi Battle of Sezawa Battle of Kawanakajima (1553) Siege of Shioda Siege of Minowa Battle of Kuwabara Battle of Kawanakajima (1561) Battle of Mikatagahara Siege of Noda |
Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄), was the daimyo of Kai province. Shingen contributed greatly for the Takeda clan's expansion during the Sengoku period.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Takeda Shingen was born in 1521 and was the son of Takeda Nobutora. In 1536, at the age of 15, Shingen received his baptism of fire when his father Takeda Nobutora attacked Hiraga Genshin in the Battle of Un no Kuchi. After a failed attack by Nobutora due to a heavy snow fall, the next morning, Takeda Shingen marched to Umi no Kuchi in secret and managed to take the caste. [1]
Personal life[]
Taked Shingen's personal life was conducted on a scale that was as flamboyant as his military career. Takeda Shingen had two principal wives and three mistresses and also possibly around 30 others whom he was intimate with.
Surviving portraits of Takeda Shingen show that he was of solid build and a determined looking man. Takeda Shingen was also renowned for the way in which he governed his territories. In spite his military prowess, Shingen ruled from a yashiki (mansion) called Tsutsujigasaki.[2]
Rise to Power[]
The events surrounding the Battle of Un no Kuchi highlighted the extent of Takeda Shingen’s military skill in contrast to that of his father, Takeda Nobutora. Despite Shingen’s successes, Nobutora is recorded as having held his son in open contempt.[3] During this period, Shingen secured the loyalty of senior Takeda retainers in Kai Province and established an alliance with Imagawa Yoshimoto. According to the Kōyō Gunkan, Nobutora remained unaware of the agreement his son had forged. When Nobutora later sought Yoshimoto’s support, the Imagawa had him detained. On 7 July 1541, Takeda Shingen deposed his father and assumed control of Kai Province.[4]
It was evident that the majority of Takeda retainers supported the accession of their young lord and quickly rallied to his side when the neighboring Shinano daimyō sought to exploit the upheaval within the Takeda clan. Among these were Murakami Yoshikiyo, Suwa Yorishige, and Ogasawara Nagatoki. Within five days of the incident, their forces had advanced deep into Kai territory; however, Shingen succeeded in assembling approximately 5,000 farmers and tradesmen, thereby creating the appearance of an army twice its actual size.[5]
After this event, Takeda Shingen would go on to expand his territories around Kai province which led to the battles of Sezawa, Uehara and Kuwabara, Fukuyo, Ankokuji the following year.[6]
Military Career[]
Takeda Shingen was skilled in war, a good administrator, a skilled politician and a patron of the arts. Shingen was also a determined and ruthless, slaughtering rival daimyo and burning down villages. Takeda Shingen's campaigns at Kawanakajima are renowned and as also was his skillful use of cavalry at the Battle of Mikatagahara.[7]
Takeda Shingen's greatest rival was Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo, whom Shingen fought on five different occasions at Kawanakajima, the greatest being the fourth in 1561[8] which was mostly fought at close range, on foot and also on horseback.[9]
Death[]
Takeda Shingen is traditionally believed to have been fatally wounded by a sniper’s bullet during the Siege of Noda in 1573,[10] although the exact circumstances of his death remain a matter of scholarly debate. Other accounts suggest that Shingen was already ill and died at Komaba in Shinano Province shortly after the siege, on 13 May 1573.[11] The Kōyō Gunkan reports that Shingen died while traveling back to Kai Province, having suffered progressive weakness and coughing up blood.[12] Whether his death resulted solely from illness or was influenced by a gunshot wound remains uncertain.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Samurai Commanders 1, Stephen Turnbull pg.54
- ↑ Samurai Commanders 1, Stephen Turnbull pg.55-56
- ↑ Samurai Commanders 1, Stephen Turnbull, pp. 54–55.
- ↑ Kawanakajima 1553–1564, Stephen Turnbull, p. 115.
- ↑ Samurai Commanders 1, Stephen Turnbull, pp. 54–55.
- ↑ Samurai Sourcebook, Stephen Turnbull pg.210
- ↑ Samurai Commanders 1, Stephen Turnbull pg.56
- ↑ Samurai Sourcebook, Stephen Turnbull pg.81
- ↑ 100 facts Samurai, Miles Kelly pg.7
- ↑ Samurai Sourcebook, Stephen Turnbull, p. 81
- ↑ Jeroen Pieter Lamers, Japonius Tyrannus: The Japanese Warlord, Oda Nobunaga Reconsidered, p. 94
- ↑ Kōyō Gunkan, 17th century