, also known as Yamanaka Shikanosuke (山中鹿の介) or Shikasuke (鹿の介), 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 served the Amako clan of

Izumo Province was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this region was independent an ...

. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Yamanaka Shikanosuke"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1044. In art, his portraits conventionally show a crescent moon on the front of his helmet; he was born under a harvest moon. The crescent moon ornament he wore on his helmet was a token of good luck.

Military life

Yukimori supported the cause of Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), including the Siege of Kōzuki Castle. He even tried to get help from 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 ...

. Unfortunately,

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 ...

only used him so the Oda army could march deeper into the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

's lands. Akechi Mitsuhide and

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 ...

wanted to give him reinforcements, but Nobunaga refused. Therefore, those two generals were forced into concentrating on laying siege to the Mōri and Ukita castles rather than helping Yukimori. Eventually, Yukimori surrendered and his master Katsuhisa committed suicide. Kikkawa Motoharu awarded him with a small castle in Suo. When on the way to the castle, Yukimori was assassinated by the soldiers of Mōri clan.

In popular culture

* Shikanosuke is one of the main playable characters in '' Samurai Warriors 5'' (the fifth game in the Samurai Warriors franchise). In ''Samurai Warriors 5'', Shikanosuke (voiced by Yōhei Azakami) is depicted as a loyal general to the

Amago clan Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kunih ...

, well known for his impressive courage and good, attractive looks. * Shikanosuke is a playable character in ''

Sengoku Basara 4 is the fourth main installment of the ''Sengoku BASARA'' video game series, developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 3. The game was released in Japan on January 23, 2014. An expanded version of the game for the PlayStation 3 and Pl ...

'', where he is shown to be an accomplished

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

and a loyal servant of Amago Haruhisa (who previously appeared as a non-playable character in '' Sengoku Basara 3''). * Shikanosuke is the main protagonist of the Kabuki play "Kō no Tori" ( Nihongo: 神の鳥, ''The Birds of the Gods''), in which he is portrayed as a powerful ''

Aragoto , or 'rough style', is a style of kabuki acting that uses exaggerated, dynamic (forms or movements) and speech. roles are characterised by the bold red or blue makeup () worn by actors, as well as their enlarged and padded costumes. The term i ...

'' hero and whose physical appearance is extremely similar to that of

Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa (鎌倉権五郎景政) (born 1069) was a samurai descended from the Taira clan, who fought for the Minamoto clan in the Gosannen War of Japan's Heian period. He is famous for having continued to fight after losing an ey ...

(the protagonist of ''

Shibaraku ''Shibaraku'' (暫, しばらく) is a play in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated ''Kabuki Jūhachiban'' ("Eighteen Great Plays"). The play is noted for its flamboyantly dramatic costumes and makeup (''kumadori''). {{citation need ...

''). In this play, Shikanosuke has to save a family of Japanese storks (or Konotori) from the evil

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

Akamatsu Manyu (the main antagonist of this play). In every time this play is performed (whether in

Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form. History The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and ot ...

(in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

) or in Eirakukan (in Toyooka, Hyōgo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

), where this play first began to be performed), Shikanosuke is played by the popular Kabuki actor

Kataoka Ainosuke VI is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and TV host. His ''yagō'' is ''matsushimaya''. His '' mon'' is the ''Oikake Go-mai Ichō''. His current stage name is Ainosuke Kataoka. He is a renowned '' tachiyaku'', specializing in both the ''aragoto'' and ' ...

(considered one of the main ''

tachiyaku is a term used in the Japanese theatrical form kabuki to refer to young adult male roles, and to the actors who play those roles. Though not all ''tachiyaku'' roles are heroes, the term does not encompass roles such as villains or comic figures, ...

'' actors currently, known for being a renowned ''aragotoshi'').Kiss PRESS(キッスプレス): 「第十回永楽館歌舞伎」片岡愛之助さんコメント
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Military life

In popular culture

References

Further reading