was a Japanese

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 the

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 ...

. 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 d ...

". Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki (晴幸).武田家臣団人事ファイル山本晴幸(山本勘助)
/ref> He was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to success in 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 ...

against

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 ...

. However, Kansuke never lived to see his plan succeed; thinking it to have failed, he charged headlong into the enemy ranks, dying in battle.

Biography

Kansuke's origins are not known for certain, but he is believed to have originated from Ushikubo, a town in

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

, which was then under the suzerainty of the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

. He came to Kai and began to serve

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 ...

in 1543, receiving a position as an infantry commander (''ashigaru-taishō'' 足軽大将). Legend says that Kansuke was blind in one eye and lame, but a fierce warrior and military strategist nevertheless. In various works of art, he is depicted holding a

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...

as a support for his weak leg. Kansuke was also involved in bringing the defeated

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 ...

's daughter to Shingen as a concubine. He led the

Pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...

at 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 ...

, but as he believed it to be a failure, he charged into the enemy ranks, being killed in action with his two chief retainers, Osaragi Shōzaemon (大仏庄左衛門) and Isahaya Sagorō (諫早佐五郎). Kansuke's adopted son Yamamoto Kanzō Nobutomo, was killed at the

. Kansuke was an ancestor of Yamamoto Yaeko of Aizu, a famed

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

woman warrior. The ''Heihō Ōgisho'' (兵法奥義書), a treatise on strategy and tactics attributed to Kansuke, is included in the

Takeda family 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 ...

chronicle, 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 warf ...

''.武家家伝＿山本氏
/ref> In it, he focuses particularly on the strategic behavior of individual warriors.

In popular culture

For more information on Yamamoto Kansuke, see People of the Sengoku period in popular culture. *Yamamoto Kansuke was the subject of the 1969 film ''

Samurai Banners is a Japanese samurai drama film released in 1969. It was directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and is based on the novel ''Furin kazan'' by Yasushi Inoue. Plot Yamamoto Kansuke (Toshiro Mifune) is a general of warlord Takeda Shingen ( Nakamura Kinno ...

'', directed by

Hiroshi Inagaki was a Japanese filmmaker best remembered for the Academy Award-winning '' Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto'', which was released in 1954. Career Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining t ...

, where the role of Kansuke was famously played by

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and '' ...

. *The 2007 NHK Taiga drama ''

Fūrinkazan , is a popularized version of the battle standard used by the Sengoku period ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen. The banner quoted four phrases from Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War'': "as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable ...

'' (風林火山) features Yamamoto Kansuke as the main character (played by Uchino Masaaki). It is based on the novel by Yasushi Inoue. *Kansuke also appears in the Yoshihiro Takahashi's manga ''Kacchu no Senshi Gamu''. *He is also featured as one of the generals in the strategy game '' Civilization IV: Warlords''. *Kansuke appears as a minor character in the social romance sim Samurai Love Ballad (天下統一恋の乱 Love Ballad) produced by Voltage (company). *A statue of Kansuke appears in the Sony Spider-Man Videogame. *He is depicted as an evil sorcerer in the anime '' Isekai wa Sumātofon to Tomo ni''.

Gallery

File:Yamamoto Kansuke fighting a giant boar.jpg, Yamamoto Kansuke fighting a giant boar, in a woodblock print by

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Utagawa Kuniyoshi ( ja, 歌川国芳, ; January 1, 1798 – April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Kuniyoshi" in He was a ...

File:Yamamoto_Kansuke_killed_at_Kawanakajima.jpg, Kanesuke Yamamoto dies in the battle of Kawanakajima (

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 10 ...

) File:Yamamoto-Kansuke-Grave-Nagano-M8071.jpg, Grave of Kansuke, near site of Battle of Kawanakajima, Nagano

References

External links

"Legendary Takeda's 24 Generals" at Yamanashi-kankou.jpYamamoto Kansuke
at Samurai-Archives.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Kansuke 1501 births 1561 deaths Samurai Japanese warriors killed in battle Takeda retainers

Biography

In popular culture

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links