, 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 was a remnant of the Amago clan, a powerful feudal clan in the Chūgoku region of Japan, backed up by Yamanaka Yukimori, a vassal of the clan. He was born to Amago Masahisa in 1553. In the following year, Katsuhisa's father and grandfather were k ...

(1553–1578), including the

Siege of Kōzuki Castle The occurred in 1578, when the army of Mōri Terumoto attacked and captured the castle of Kōzuki in Harima Province. Kōzuki had been taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi the previous year and entrusted to Amago Katsuhisa. When it fell to the Mōri ...

. 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 , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

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 was the second son of Mōri Motonari, and featured prominently in all the wars of the Mōri clan. He became an active commander of the Mōri army and he with his brother Kobayakawa Takakage became known as the “Mōri Ryōkawa", or “Mōri's ...

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 ''Samurai Warriors 5'', known in Japan as , is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and a reboot of the ''Samurai Warriors'' series, part of the long-running '' Warriors'' series of hack and slash games published by Koei Tecmo. Announced during a ...

'' (the fifth game in the Samurai Warriors franchise). In ''Samurai Warriors 5'', Shikanosuke (voiced by

Yōhei Azakami is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He gained recognition for his role as Guel Jeturk in '' Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury''. Biography Azakami was born in Gunma Prefecture on August 7, 1991. He attended Aoni ...

) 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 Kun ...

, 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 was a ''daimyō'' warlord in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. He was the second son of Amago Masahisa. Initially named Akihisa (詮久), he changed his name to Haruhisa in 1541 after Ashikaga Yoshiharu offered to let him use a ''kanji'' chara ...

(who previously appeared as a non-playable character in ''

Sengoku Basara 3 ''Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes'', known in Japan as ''Sengoku BASARA 3'', is a 2010 hack and slash, action video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the third major installment in the ''Sengoku BASARA'' game series and the second game ...

''). * Shikanosuke is the main protagonist of the Kabuki play "Kō no Tori" (

Nihongo is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic languages, Japonic or Japanese-Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyu ...

: 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 Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

(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 is a city in the northern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,348 in 37769 households and a population density of 110 persons per km².The total area of the city is . Geography Toyooka is located in ...

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'' 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