was a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of Japan's

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 ...

, and younger brother of

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 ...

. He was known as one of the "

Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen 24 (twenty-four) is the natural number following 23 and preceding 25. The SI prefix for 1024 is yotta (Y), and for 10−24 (i.e., the reciprocal of 1024) yocto (y). These numbers are the largest and smallest number to receive an SI prefix to da ...

". Takeda Nobushige held the favor of their father, and was meant to inherit the Takeda lands, wealth and power, becoming head of the clan. However, Shingen rebelled against their father and seized the lands and power for himself. Nobushige nevertheless fought alongside his brother who relied on him for support, He is famous not only for his strategic insight but also his wisdom; he wrote among other things Kyūjūkyū Kakun, a set of 99 short rules for

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

members, some of which are erroneously attributed to Shingen himself from time to time. He is also known as Takeda Tenkyū (Tenkyū being another rank he held). Nobushige became an important Takeda general and led large forces on several occasions. In 1544, Shingen had a rebellion on his hands. As part of his punitive effort he sent Nobushige to capture Fujisawa Yorichika's Kōjinyama castle. (He probably succeeded, though sources differ). Katsurao castle, main castle of

Murakami Yoshikiyo Murakami Yoshikiyo (村上義清, 1501–1573) was a Japanese samurai from the and retainer of the Uesugi clan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Yoshikiyo followed in fighting against both Takeda Nobutora and his son Takeda Shingen ...

, fell to Nobushige and

Takeda Yoshinobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Born Takeda Tarō (武田太郎), he was the son of Takeda Shingen, by Shingen's wife, . He came of age in 1550, and took the formal name of Yoshinobu, receiving the "yoshi" from the 13th Ashikag ...

in 1553. This drove Yoshikiyo to

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 a ...

and was really the last significant act before the start of the Kawanakajima campaigns proper. It was in 4th battle of Kawanakajima, this last battle that Takeda Nobushige gave up his life.

Sanada Yukimura , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

's initial name was, in fact, Sanada Nobushige, named after this very person.

In popular culture

Noritoshi Kashima portrayed Nobushige in

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's 2006 Taiga drama.

Family

*Father:

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen. Biography Nobutora’s son was Harunobu, later known as Tak ...

(1493-1574) *Brothers: ** Takematsu (1517-1523) **

(1521-1573) ** Inuchiyo (1523-1529) ** Takeda Nobumoto **

Takeda Nobukado was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He is also well known as a painter. It has been said that Nobukado and Shingen were as like as two peas therefore he serv ...

(1529-1582) ** Matsuo Nobukore (ca. 1530s-1571) ** Takeda Souchi **

Takeda Nobuzane Nobuzane (武田信実) more commonly known as Kawakubo Nobuzane (河窪信実) (died 29 June 1575) was a younger half-brother of Takeda Shingen, a preeminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who vied for the control of Japan in the late stage of Se ...

(ca. 1530s-1575) **

Ichijō Nobutatsu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who was the younger brother of Takeda Shingen, the ruler of Kai Province. He is known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen".Internet Movie Database (IMDb) "Shingen Takeda (Character) ...

(ca. 1539-1582) *Sisters: ** Joukei-in (1519-1550), married

Imagawa Yoshimoto was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become ...

** Nanshou-in (born 1520) married

Anayama Nobutomo was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of Anayama Nobutsuna. Nobutomo served the Takeda clan of Kai Province and held the title of , or ''Defender of Izu. He enjoyed special status in the Takeda retainer band due to hi ...

** Nene (1528-1543) married

Suwa Yorishige (1516–1544) was a Japanese samurai and head of the Suwa clan. He was defeated by Takeda Shingen, and his daughter Suwa Goryōnin (諏訪御料人, real name unknown) was taken as Shingen's concubine. She later gave birth to the Takeda clan heir T ...

References

External links

"Legendary Takeda's 24 Generals" at Yamanashi-kankou.jp
*http://pozyu.hp.infoseek.co.jp/nobusige.htm *http://www.zephyr.dti.ne.jp/~bushi/siseki/nobusige-kubi.htm 1525 births 1561 deaths Samurai Japanese warriors killed in battle Takeda clan {{samurai-stub