Sanada Masayuki

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was a Japanese

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

lord and ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

''. He was the head of

Sanada clan The is a Japanese clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80">("Sanada," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 52 DF_56_of_80">("Sa_...

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, a regional house of Shinano Province, which became a vassal of the Takeda clan of Kai Province. Along with his father and brothers, Masayuki served the Takeda clan during its heyday, when it was led by

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

. After its downfall, Masayuki took the lead of his clan and, despite little power, he managed to establish himself as an independent ''daimyō'' under the

Toyotomi The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese people, Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was a ...

regime through skillful political maneuvers amidst the powerful Tokugawa, Hojō and

Uesugi Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan **Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Jap ...

clans. Known for having defeated the powerful Tokugawa army in the Battle of Kami river and

Siege of Ueda The siege of Ueda was staged in 1600 by Tokugawa Hidetada, son of the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, against Ueda castle garrison in Shinano province, which was controlled by the Sanada family. Hidetada came across the castle as he marched his army a ...

, Masayuki is now considered one of the greatest military strategists of his era. In recent times, a number of portrayals in novels, films and other forms of media have contributed to his increased popularity.

Early life

He was born the third son of

Sanada Yukitaka was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He is known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He was the father of Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masayuki and grandfather of the legendary samurai warrior Sanada Yukimur ...

in 1547, but the exact date is unknown. His childhood name was Gengorō (源五郎). At birth, he had no right to succeed his father because of his two older brothers, Nobutsuna and Masateru. Sanada-Masayuki

In 1553, at seven years old, he was sent to the Takeda clan's headquarters in Kai as a hostage. There he becomes part of the ''Okukinjūshū'' (奥近習衆), a group of six young servants close to

. According to the ''

Kōyō Gunkan The is a record of the military exploits of the Takeda family, compiled largely by the Takeda vassal Kōsaka Danjō Masanobu, and completed in 1616 by Obata Kagenori. It provides some of the most detailed descriptions and statistics of warfa ...

'', Shingen favoured him as he soon recognized that Masayuki's talents and insight rivaled those of his father Yukitaka. As such, he is sometimes included among the Twenty Four Generals, alongside his father and two older brothers. In 1558, he became the foster son of the Mutō family, a branch of the Ōi clan, of which Shingen's mother descended from, and adopted the name Mutō Kihei (武藤喜兵衛).

Service under Takeda

Towards 1564, he married Yamanote-dono (山手殿), a daughter of Uda Yoritada, who was a local lord of

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

. Later she gave birth to his two sons Nobuyuki and Nobushige. During this period, he participated in many battles under the Takeda clan, including the

Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima The were a series of battles fought in the Sengoku period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province from 1553 to 1564. Shingen and Kenshin contested each other for control of the plain of Kawanakaj ...

(1561) and the Battle of Mimasetōge (1569). Also most importantly, from 1572 onwards, he joined Shingen in his campaign towards Kyoto against the Oda and Tokugawa clans and took part in the

Battle of Mikatagahara The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573. Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his cam ...

(1573). In May 1573, Shingen died amidst his campaign and so Masayuki continued to serve his heir

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Early life He was the son of Shingen by the daughter ...

. In 1574, his father Yukitaka died. At that point, his eldest brother

Sanada Nobutsuna was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He is known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He was the eldest son of Sanada Yukitaka, a castle lord in Shinano Province, who by the time of his son's coming-of-age, had pledg ...

had already succeeded his father as the head of the Sanada clan. However, during the disastrous

Battle of Nagashino The took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for taki ...

(1575) against the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

, both his older brothers, Nobutsuna and Masateru, were killed, so he came back to Sanada clan and claimed his inheritance. In this, Masayuki supposedly had the support of

Kōsaka Masanobu also known as was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He is often credited as the original author of ''Kōyō Gunkan'', which records the history of the Takeda ...

, who held Kaizu Castle in Northern Shinano and was also a chief retainer of the Takeda clan. Katsuyori accepted his claim without any qualms. In 1579, a year after

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as ...

's death, an alliance between the Takeda and Uesugi clans was established. The following year, ordered by Takeda Katsuyori, Masayuki invaded western Kōzuke, which was a Hojō domain at the time, and seized

Numata Castle is a Japanese castle located in Numata, Gunma, Numata, northern Gunma Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Numata Castle was home to the Toki clan, ''daimyō'' of Numata Domain, but the castle was ruled by various clans over its histor ...

, putting it under control of the Takeda clan. The same year, he was appointed the title of ''Awa-no-kami'' (従五位下・安房守). In 1581, he was ordered by Katsuyori to supervise the construction of the new Shinpu Castle at Nirasaki. In the same year, Numata Kageyoshi, former lord of Numata Castle, attempted to retake his old fief, but Masayuki schemed to assassinate him and thwarted his plans. In April 1582, Oda and Tokugawa allied forces started an invasion of the Takeda territory. It is said that Masayuki had intended to shelter Katsuyori and advised him to abandon Kai Province and flee towards Sanada's domain in Kōzuke(

Iwabitsu Castle is a "yamashiro"-style (castle located on Mount Iwabitsu in Higashiagatsuma, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The ruins have been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 2019. Overview Iwabitsu Castle is located in north ...

). Instead, Katsuyori decided to take shelter at

Oyamada Nobushige was a Japanese samurai general in the Takeda army under Takeda Shingen, and later under Takeda Katsuyori.Inoue, Yasushi. (2006)''The Samurai banner of Furin Kazan,'' p. 7 He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". ...

's Iwadono Castle, but was betrayed and ultimately died at Tenmokuzan. After the fall of the Takeda clan, Masayuki yielded to

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

and was put under the orders of one of Nobunaga's chief commanders,

Takigawa Kazumasu , also known as Sakonshōgen (左近将監), was a samurai retainer and military commander of Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Toshihisa and later Kazumasu ...

. Masayuki managed to retain most of his domain, but had to abdicate Numata Castle to Takigawa Masushigue, Kazumasu's relative.

Tenshō-Jingo Conflict

However, Nobunaga soon died at the

Incident at Honnō-ji Incident may refer to: * A property of a graph in graph theory * ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir * Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India * Incident (Scientology), a ...

on June 21, 1582. Upon Nobunaga's death, Oda clan's grasp over former Takeda territories weakened. Amidst the chaos, Oda retainers who were assigned by Nobunaga to govern those territories, such as

Mori Nagayoshi was a samurai officer under the Oda clan following Japan's 16th-century Sengoku period, and the older brother of the famous Mori Ranmaru. His wife Ikeda Sen, was the daughter of Ikeda Tsuneoki. Nagayoshi was known to have such a bad temper and ...

and

Kawajiri Hidetaka was a Japanese samurai warrior during the Sengoku period , and was one of the vassals of Oda Nobunaga . He was the first samurai in the "Kuro-horo-shu" (bodyguard unit in black) elite troops selected from Nobunaga's aides, and later served ...

amongst others, either fled or were killed by local insurrection. Seeing this, neighboring Tokugawa, Hōjō and

clans all started to contest this vacuum of power in Shinano, Kōzuke and Kai provinces. This was called the Tenshō-Jingo Conflict. On July 5, Takigawa Kazumasu lost decisively against the invading Hōjō army at the Battle of Kannagawa. In that occasion, Masayuki actually escorted back Kazumasu's remaining forces through Suwa, in Shinano. Though, seeing this chance, Masayuki sent his uncle Yazawa Yoritsuna and took back

. Also, he put his oldest son Nobuyuki in charge of

, further reinforcing eastern Kōzuke. On July 10,

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Nagao c ...

invaded Northern Shinano. Masayuki sided with the Uesugi initially, but a couple of weeks later he defected to Hōjō's side. Both Uesugi and Hojo's armies came to face each other at Kawanakajima on July 30, but direct combat was avoided as the Hōjō army turned back and advanced south towards Kai province, which was in turn invaded by Tokugawa forces. Meanwhile, one of Uesugi clan's major retainer,

Shibata Shigeie Shibata may refer to: Places * Shibata, Miyagi, a town in Miyagi Prefecture * Shibata District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture * Shibata, Niigata, a city in Niigata Prefecture ** Shibata Station (Niigata), a railway station in Niigata Pre ...

, revolted and Uesugi's forces also had to turn back from Northern Shinano to deal with it. At one point, the Hōjō had come close to controlling most of Shinano province, but then in October, Masayuki suddenly betrayed them, providing help to Yoda Nobushige, a local lord who had been resisting against Hōjō's advances under the Tokugawa banner at Kasuga Castle. He then officially defected to the Tokugawa's side. Faced with this development,

Hōjō Ujinao Hōjō Ujinao (北条氏直: 1562 – December 19, 1591) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Later Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire d ...

saw his position in the conflict weaken and decided for a peace treaty and further alliance with the Tokugawa clan. This event marked the end of the conflict which lasted for roughly 5 months after Nobunaga's death. Masayuki was now a vassal of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

Conflict with Tokugawa

In 1583, Masayuki started the construction of

Ueda Castle is a Japanese castle located in Ueda, northern Nagano Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Ueda Castle was home to a cadet branch of the Matsudaira clan, ''daimyō'' of Ueda Domain, but the castle is better known for its association w ...

and the surrounding town. It became the headquarters of the Sanada clan in the following years. In 1584, Tokugawa Ieyasu lead his army west towards Owari province in the

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute The was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hideyoshi and Ieyasu had both served Oda Nobunaga and had not previou ...

against

Hashiba Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Co ...

. Masayuki was left in northern Shinano to keep the Uesugi clan in check and took this opportunity to subjugate small, neighboring landlords and consolidate his power in the region. In December, as Ieyasu made peace with Hideyoshi and returned to his territory, he was pressed by

to act on the terms of their treaty. In 1585, Masayuki moved their main bastion from

Sanada-shi Yakata is the remains of a fortified residence of the Sanada clan_in_ ">DF_56_of_80">("S_..._in_Ueda,_Nagano">Ueda,_Nagano_Prefecture.html" ;"title="Ueda,_Nagano.html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("S ... in Ueda, Nagano">Ueda, Nagano Pref ...

. In that treaty, among other terms,

agreed to transfer

and its adjacent lands in Kōzuke province to the Hōjō clan. In April 1585, Ieyasu advanced his army into Kai province in a move to pressure Masayuki into abdicating Numata Castle. Masayuki however, resisted having to hand it over, having conquered it with great effort years before. Ultimately, he decided to cut relations with Tokugawa Ieyasu and once more switched allegiances by sending his second son Nobushige to

as a hostage. With this move, he effectively joined

's side, which opposed the Tokugawa-Hōjō alliance. Months later, Tokugawa forces invaded Sanada clan's territory in northern Shinano province with 7,000 men and laid siege to Ueda Castle, which was defended by only 1,200 soldiers. However, Masayuki was able to inflict 1,300 casualties on Tokugawa's side and won a decisive victory. Meanwhile, Hōjō Ujinao attacked Numata Castle, but was also rebuffed by Sanada forces. This was the First Battle of Ueda Castle, a victory that earned Masayuki national prominence. Following this, Masayuki went from being just a former Takeda retainer to become recognized as an independent ''daimyō''.

Service under Toyotomi

Following his victory over the Tokugawa clan, Masayuki became a vassal to

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

. In doing so, he sent his son Nobushige (at the time a hostage to Uesugi clan) as a hostage to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. In 1586, the Hōjō clan tried to take Numata Castle once more, but again were repelled. Tokugawa forces also gathered and marched towards Ueda Castle again, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi interposed. At this point, Hideyoshi's political presence in Japan was too strong for the Tokugawa clan to oppose, and at his mediation, the attack was called off. However, he also designated Masayuki as a back-up power to the bigger Tokugawa forces in the region. This effectively meant that Masayuki now responded to Tokugawa Ieyasu in all military matters. The following year, 1587, saw Masayuki travelling to Sunpu to meet with Tokugawa Ieyasu. Then, he went to Osaka to be received in audience by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and thus formally become a vassal of the Toyotomi regime. Two more years would pass until the dispute between the Sanada and Hōjō clans involving Numata Castle and adjacent areas would be mediated by Hideyoshi and resolved. In 1589, Hideyoshi decided the Sanada clan would relinquish all of its domain east of

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

, including Numata Castle, to the Hōjō clan. In turn, he granted them some territory in southern Shinano. However, by the end of that year,

Inomata Kuninori Inomata (written: 猪又, 猪俣 or 猪股) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese diplomat *, Japanese illustrator and animator *Takeshi Inomata Takeshi Inomata ( jap. 猪俣猛, ''Inomata Takeshi''; born Febr ...

, a retainer from the Hōjō clan who was now holding Numata Castle, was deceived into attacking the nearby Nagurumi Castle, located west of Tone River and defended by Sanada forces. The attack was successful and the castle was seized by Hōjō forces, but by this time,

had sanctioned a rule which prohibited ''

s'' from engaging in battle over private disputes. This incident fully breached this rule and it would go on to become the reason of the Siege of Odawara in 1590, and the subsequent fall of the Hōjō clan.

Sekigahara campaign

After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Masayuki joined

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...

's side during the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. Masayuki sent his eldest son, Nobuyuki, to the eastern side, while Masayuki and his younger son, Nobushige, fought on the western side, a move that ensured the Sanada clan's survival. Fortifying Ueda Castle, Masayuki fought against

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

's 38,000 men with only 2,000 soldiers. This was the Second Battle of Ueda Castle, and, whilst it was not exactly a victory, Masayuki was able to deliver a heavy blow to Hidetada and delay his forces for long enough that they were unable to show up at the main battlefield on time. However, the western side, led by Ishida Mitsunari, lost the main battle, and the victorious Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to redistribute fiefs at will. Masayuki and Nobushige were initially going to be executed, but, given Nobuyuki's participation in the eastern army, they were instead exiled to

Kudoyama 270px, Jison-in temple is a town located in Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 3,996 in 1770 households and a population density of 91 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geogra ...

Kii province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

. The

was inherited by Sanada Nobuyuki. Sanada Masayuki died of an illness in Kudoyama in 1611.

Legacy

Even though Masayuki was never able to expand his territories as well as other ''daimyōs'', he is nevertheless often considered a talented ''daimyō'', doomed by misfortune and the inconvenient terrains which surrounded his home domain. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had called Masayuki a person whose inside did not match his outside, that his allegiance was fickle and not to be trusted. Nevertheless, it was exactly his drifting alliances that helped the Sanada clan survive the onslaught of hostile clans, and, since the Edo period, he has been more extolled than vilified.

In popular culture

*Sanada Taiheiki 1985 TV series, played by Tetsuro Tamba. *Sanada Maru (TV series), Sanada Maru NHK Taiga drama in 2016, played by

Masao Kusakari is a Japanese actor and model (profession), model. Biography Masao Kusakari was born in Fukuoka Prefecture to a Japanese mother and an American father, the latter who died in the Korean War. Considered stunningly good looking, his debut into th ...

References

*Sansom, George (1961). ''A History of Japan: 1334–1615''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 325. *Turnbull, Stephen (1998). ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. p. 76. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanada, Masayuki

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Sanada clan