Takeda Shingen (武田信玄) (December 1, 1521 – May 13, 1573) of Shinano and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo who fought for control of Japan during that country's Sengoku or "warring states" period.
He fought a long series of famous battles with Uesugi Kenshin; particularly notable of these battles were those of Kawanakajima. Both military leaders were also of high religious rank.
Upon the death of Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin reportedly cried at the loss of one of his strongest and most deeply respected rivals.
At Mitaka, Takeda Shingen easily defeated the combined armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu; but he could not defeat old age. After Shingen died in 1573 (due to an illness that, according to one theory, resulted from a musket ball wound), Ieyasu seized the opportunity and defeated his son Takeda Katsuyori in Tenmokuzan. Katsuyori committed suicide after the battle, and the Takeda clan would never recover.
In addition to his battlefield prowess, Shingen was also a master of administration. He is credited with developing several improvements to agricultural practice and water control methods.
Retainers
During Edo period, 24 retainers who served under Shingen were chosen as a popular topic for Ukiyo-e and Bunraku. The names vary from a work to a work and the following list is the widely agreed version of retainers. They had not worked together as some had died before others served but they were noted for their exceptional contributions to Shigen and Takeda clan.
Takeda Shingen in fiction and drama
A dramatization of Shingen's life was made into a television series by NHK. Akira Kurosawa's 1980 movie Kagemusha was also inspired by his life.
Takeda Shingen is the player's persona in the NES game Shingen the Ruler. Shingen's conquest is also portrayed in the PC game, Takeda. Shingen appears as a character in the Samurai Warriors game series for the PlayStation 2.
There is also a famous fictional legend about Kenshin Uesugi fighting with Shingen and the latter defending against Kenshin's sword blows. This has become famous.
ko:다케다 신겐
ja:武田信玄
zh:武田信玄
Shingen Takeda
Shingen Takeda is known as 'The Tiger of Kai' and was a major warlord during the Sengoku-Jidai period. He was the son of Nobutora Takeda. At some point in his life Shingen rebelled against his father and took control of the Takeda. Yoshimoto Imagawa helped this rebellion and the Imagawa, Hojo and Takeda would be a sort of allied union.
Shingen's first act was to gain a hold of the area around him. His goal was to conquer Shinano province. He fought with many warlords and expanded his conquest. However the warlord was defeated at Uehara by Yoshioki Murakami who won by utilizing guns which would play a prominent role in Sengoku-Jidai warfare. He managed to avenge this loss and the Murakami clan eventually was defeated as well. Yoshioki Murakami fled and became a vassal of the Uesugi later.
After he had gained Shinano Shingen faced another rival-Kenshin Uesugi. The two would battle it out in the great battles of Kawanakajima. These battles snowballed back and forth between the two clans. No side gained complete victory until Shingen Takeda died. In these battles Shingen would come up with the genius strategy to dam the Fuji river which was a genius ploy on his part. In these battles also comes the famous tale of Kenshin Uesugi's forces clearing a path through Takeda troops and Kenshin fighting with Shingen. The tale has Kenshin Uesugi attacking Shingen with his sword while Shingen defends with his iron war fan or 'Tessen.'
After Yoshimoto Imagawa (a close ally of the Takeda was defeated) Shingen made a clever move against the weak Imagawa. He fought against Yoshimoto's heir and expanded his domain. After this he made a move against the Tokugawa. This culminated in his famous victory at Mikatagahara where he defeated the Tokugawa. However Shingen Takeda died soon after and his son Katsuyori would bring the clan to ruin by trying (unsuccessfully) to fulfill the ambition of his father by further pressing onto Tokugawa lands. At Nagashino, Katsuyori Takeda would be defeated by Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa.
The Takeda were for the most part utterly destroyed from this battle. However Shingen had a profound effect on the period in Japan. He influenced many lords with his law system, tax system and administration system. He was probably not as cruel as other warlords but he was aggresive toward military enemies. There were many tales about Shingen Takeda including the one mentioned above. His war banner contained the famous phrase Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan, taken from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War.' This phrase translates to Swift as the wind, Silent as a forest, Fierce as fire and Immovable as a mountain. The phrase demonstrates both Shingen's policies and warfare strategy. Shingen was indeed fierce as fire and was one of the most aggressive warlords of the time period. He moved swiftly as the wind and even after a defeat he would quickly avenge his loss and make a counter-attack. (as in the example of his fighting with the Murakami clan) However Shingen's intentions weren't always clear. He would move cautiously and could suddenly attack enemies, thus being silent as a forest. Despite all of this Shingen was indeed immovable as the mountain. Even when faced with his greatest enemy-Kenshin Uesugi, Shingen would not completly make a bold move against the enemy. Instead he moved carefully and did not make one full attack, he made sure that he was well defended while slowly taking forts.
