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Takeda
Takeda-crest
Historical Information
Located at: Kai Province
Crest(s)/Banner(s): Four diamonds (pictured)
Four diamonds surrounded by a solid ring
Two cranes bowing their heads together
A centipede
Hanabishi (three vertical flowers)
Fūrinkazan
the Tai (大) character
Talent(s): Warrior clan (prized cavalry during Shingen's time)
Major Figure(s): Nobushige, Nobutake, Nobumitsu, Nobuyoshi, Nobutora, Harunobu (Shingen), Katsuyori

The Takeda clan was a prominent group of Japanese daimyō from the late Heian Period to the Sengoku period. They were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and were part of the Minamoto clan, led by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu. In the 12th century, the Takeda family controlled Kai Province and supported their cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo in the Genpei War.

Takeda Nobuyoshi sent an army to support Yoritomo and received the governorship of Aki province in exchange. Until the Sengoku period, the Takeda were shugo of Kai, Aki, and Wakasa provinces. In 1415, they suppressed Uesugi Zenshū's rebellion, leading to a 150-year rivalry between the Uesugi and Takeda families. Their crest, called the hishi, is believed to represent ceiling tiles from the Silk Road, dating back to the Heian period.

Clan Heads[]

This list includes the ancestral leaders before the family gained the Takeda name.

  1. Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
  2. Minamoto no Yoshikiyo
  3. Minamoto no Kiyomitsu
  4. Takeda Nobuyoshi (Minamoto no Kiyomitsu's son)
  5. Nobumitsu
  6. Nobumasa
  7. Nobutoki
  8. Tokitsuna
  9. Nobumune
  10. Nobutake
  11. Nobunari
  12. Nobumasa
  13. Nobuharu
  14. Nobumitsu (2nd)
  15. Nobushige
  16. Nobumori
  17. Nobutsuna
  18. Nobutora
  19. Harunobu (Shingen)
  20. Katsuyori
  21. Nobukatsu
  22. Nobuharu (Anayama Katsuchiyo)
  23. Nobuyoshi (Matsudaira Nobuyoshi)

Other Figures[]

  • Nobukato
  • Nobutomo
  • Yoshinobu
  • Nobuyuki
  • Nobukiyo
  • Katsuchika
  • Unno Nobuchika
  • Nishina Morinobu
  • Matsuo Nobukore
  • Kawakuba Nobuzane

Ladies[]

  • Ōi no Kata - Nobutora's wife, Shingen's mother
  • Jōkeiin - Nobutora's eldest daughter, Imagawa Yoshimoto's wife
  • Nanshōin - Nobutora's second daughter, Anayama Nobutomo's wife
  • Nene - Nobutora's third daughter, Suwa Yorishige's wife
  • Uesugi Tomooki's daughter - Shingen's wife
  • Sanjō no Kata - Shingen's second wife
  • Suwa-Goryoin - Shingen's niece and concubine, Katsuyori's mother
  • Nezu-Goryoin - Shingen's concubine, Nobukiyo's mother
  • Aburakawa Fujin - Shingen's concubine, mother of two sons and two daughters
  • Ōbaiin - Shingen's eldest daughter, Hōjō Ujimasa's wife
  • Kenshōin - Shingen's second daughter, Anayama Nobukimi's wife
  • Shinryūin (Marihime) - Shingen's third daughter, Kiso Yoshimasa's wife
  • Matsuhime - Shingen's fifth daughter, Oda Nobutada's fiancée
  • Kikuhime - Shingen's sixth daughter, Uesugi Kagekatsu's wife
  • Ryūshōin (Tōyama Fujin) - Oda Nobunaga's adopted daughter, Katsuyori's wife
  • Keirinin (Hōjō Fujin) - Hōjō Ujimasa's sister, Katsuyori's second wife
  • Jōhime - Katsuyori's eldest daughter, Miyohara Yoshihisa's wife
  • Kaguhime - Katsuyori's second daughter, Naitō Tadaoki's wife

Major Vassals[]

Three Best Masters[]

The Three Best Masters (三弾正) were vassals dubbed by Shingen to be the most capable in three military tactics. These traits are partially coordinated with his Fūrinkazan insignia.

  1. Kōsaka Masanobu - quick with escaping and fast on the field; swiftness
  2. Hoshina Masatoshi - expert at spear wielding; unmovable
  3. Sanada Yukitaka - capable of delivering devastating attacks; fierceness

Four Guardian Kings of Takeda[]

The Four Guardian Kings of Takeda (武田四天王, Takeda Shitenou), also known as the Four Retainers of Takeda (武田の四名臣), were four generals valued by either Nobutora or Shingen. The first list of generals are for Nobutora.

  1. Itagaki Nobukata
  2. Amari Torayasu
  3. Obu Toramasa
  4. Oyamada Masatoki

Generals in this section were particularly valued by Shingen. They are also the four highly treasured amongst his Twenty-Four Generals.

  1. Nobuharu Baba
  2. Yamagata Masakage
  3. Kōsaka Masanobu
  4. Naitō Masatoyo

Five Retainers of the Takeda[]

The Five Retainers of the Takeda (武田の五名臣) were five respected vassals who served Nobutora and Shingen. They were exceptionally brave and possessed superior military tactics.

  1. Hara Toratane
  2. Obata Toramori
  3. Takatoshi Yokota
  4. Tada Mitsuyori
  5. Yamamoto Kansuke

Six Wise Protectors[]

The Six Wise Protectors (奥近習六人衆; literally: Wise Nearby Protectors of Six People) were six men allowed to personally defend and accompany Shingen at any time. The particular term used for the title, kinju (近習), is similar but different in nature than the other word for a personal attendant, or koshō (小姓). Koshō were like bodyguards in nature and were sent to do miscellaneous errands for their masters. Kinju had the same responsibilities but were closer to their master than a koshō, as they were able to offer advice and be a part of their lord's inner circle. Excluding Amari Masatada, all of them continued to serve Katsuyori.

  1. Tsuchiya Masatsugu
  2. Saegusa Moritomo
  3. Sone Masatada
  4. Sanada Masayuki
  5. Amari Masatada
  6. Nagasaka Masakuni

Others possibly considered for the same title are Yamagata Masakage and Kōsaka Masanobu.

Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda[]

The Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda (武田二十四将) are a group of relatives and loyal vassals who are considered to be Shingen's most trusted retainers. Though Shingen did trust his life with these men, the organization did not exist during the Takeda's time and was fabricated during the Edo period by inspiring painters. Regardless, the rank was widely accepted and it became a popular concept to guess or replicate the organization of the group with other Takeda generals. Some illustrators even count Shingen himself amongst the twenty-four. The heroics of these twenty-four men is also a popular subject in Jōruri, or traditional Japanese puppet theatre.

The list below depicts the commonly accepted members for the rank.

  1. Akiyama Nobutomo
  2. Anayama Nobukimi (Baisetsu Nobukimi)
  3. Amari Torayasu
  4. Itagaki Nobukata
  5. Ichijō Nobutatsu
  6. Obata Toramori
  7. Obata Masamori
  8. Obu Toramasa
  9. Oyamada Nobushige *
  10. Kōsaka Masanobu
  11. Saegusa Moritomo
  12. Sanada Nobutsuna
  13. Sanada Yukitaka
  14. Takeda Nobushige
  15. Takeda Nobukado
  16. Tada Mitsuyori
  17. Tsuchiya Masatsugu
  18. Naitō Masatoyo
  19. Baba Nobuharu
  20. Hara Toratane
  21. Hara Masatane
  22. Yamagata Masakage
  23. Yamamoto Kansuke
  24. Yokota Takatoshi

* Often replaced with Katsuyori instead.

Candidates for the title vary but the argued officers for the title are listed below.

  • Amari Masatada
  • Obata Nobusada
  • Ohara Hirokatsu
  • Sanada Masateru
  • Sanada Masayuki
  • Sone Masakiyo
  • Sone Masatada
  • Morozumi Torasada
  • Kurihara Nobumori

Other vassals[]

  • Katsurayama Nobusada
  • Kiso Yoshimasa
  • Komai Masatake
  • Imai Nobumasa
  • Kosaka Masazumi
  • Amari Nobuyasu
  • Asari Nobutane
  • Ashida Nobumori
  • Atobe Katsusuke
  • Aiki Masatomo
  • Amano Kagetsura
  • Imai Nobumura
  • Kawakubo Nobuzane
  • Komiyama Tomoharu
  • Okabe Motonobu
  • Oyamada Yasuke
  • Oyamada Hachizaemon
  • Oyamada Madajiro
  • Oyamada Yagorō
  • Oyamada Shinojo
  • Ohama Kagetaka
  • Okudaira Sadayoshi
  • Suganuma Sadamitsu
  • Suganuma Masasada
  • Amano Kagetsura
  • Miura Ukon
  • Amemiya Ietsugu
  • Amemiya Senjirō
  • Shimojo Nobuuji
  • Abe Gamon
  • Furuya Saburō

Ninja[]

A popular subject with Shingen is his supposed reliance on his intelligence gathering kunoichi. His greatest ally for creating this network was a woman named Mochizuki Chiyome (望月 千代女, also called Chiyojo due to ambiguity regarding her first name). Chiyome was the daughter to one of the fifty-three clans of Koga, the Mochizuki family. However, her family was wiped out after the fourth battle of Kawanakajima. Shingen appointed her as the head priestess of a shrine, which doubled as a dojo for future kunoichi. She is said to have taught 200~300 women her family's version of Koga ninjutsu. Her students were able to disguise themselves as traveling priestesses and secretly gathered information for Shingen.

Due to the sketchy details regarding Chiyome's life, many historians doubt whether or not she existed as she could have been another fabricated tale from the Edo Period.

Gallery[]

External Links[]

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