(1544 (1547?) - July 13, 1611) was a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
Sengoku periodThe was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century....
daimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
. He was the third son of
Sanada Yukitaka' was a daimyō of Shinano Province who became one of Takeda Shingen's 'Twenty-four Generals' , submitting to become Takeda's vassal after a long and difficult struggle against him....
, a vassal daimyo to the
Takeda familyThe ' was a famous clan of daimyō in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan , by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie...
in
Shinano provinceis an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture. Its abbreviation is Shinshū .Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...
. He is known as a master strategist.
Sanada Nobuyuki' , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of daimyo Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura.-Biography:...
and
Sanada Yukimurawas a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki . His proper name was Sanada Nobushige , named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige , who was a brave and respected warrior. He and his father were known as being excellent military tacticians...
were his sons.
Initially, Masayuki changed his name to Mutō Kihei to inherit the Mutō clan, a branch of the Takeda family. He was favoured by
Takeda Shingen' of Kai Province was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:...
, who discovered his talent at a young age and of whom Masayuki became a close servant.
(1544 (1547?) - July 13, 1611) was a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
Sengoku periodThe was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century....
daimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
. He was the third son of
Sanada Yukitaka' was a daimyō of Shinano Province who became one of Takeda Shingen's 'Twenty-four Generals' , submitting to become Takeda's vassal after a long and difficult struggle against him....
, a vassal daimyo to the
Takeda familyThe ' was a famous clan of daimyō in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan , by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie...
in
Shinano provinceis an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture. Its abbreviation is Shinshū .Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...
. He is known as a master strategist.
Sanada Nobuyuki' , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of daimyo Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura.-Biography:...
and
Sanada Yukimurawas a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki . His proper name was Sanada Nobushige , named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige , who was a brave and respected warrior. He and his father were known as being excellent military tacticians...
were his sons.
Biography
Initially, Masayuki changed his name to Mutō Kihei to inherit the Mutō clan, a branch of the Takeda family. He was favoured by
Takeda Shingen' of Kai Province was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:...
, who discovered his talent at a young age and of whom Masayuki became a close servant. After Shingen's death, he continued to serve
Takeda Katsuyoriwas a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was the son of Shingen by the , the daughter of Suwa Yorishige. Katsuyori's children included Takeda Nobukatsu and Katsuchika.Katsuyori, first...
. However, during the
Battle of NagashinoThe ' took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa province of Japan. The castle had been under siege by Takeda Katsuyori since the 17th of June; Okudaira Sadamasa , a Tokugawa vassal, commanded the defending force...
of 1575, both of Masayuki's elder brothers, Nobutsuna and Masateru, were killed. Masayuki changed his name back to Sanada so that he could claim his inheritance.
In 1577, immediately after
Uesugi Kenshinwas a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the many powerful lords of the Sengoku period. He is famed for his prowess on the battlefield, the legendary rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his military expertise, strategy and his belief in the god of war —...
's death, Masayuki took advantage of the internal turmoil within the
Uesugi clanThe was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....
and seized Numata Castle in
Kozuke provincewas an old province located in the Tōsandō of Japan, which today comprises Gunma Prefecture. It is nicknamed as .The ancient provincial capital was near modern Maebashi. During the Sengoku period, Kōzuke was controlled variously by Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, the late Hōjō clan, and Tokugawa...
, an act that first demonstrated his strategic abilities.
After the fall of the Takeda clan in 1582, Masayuki temporarily yielded to
Oda Nobunaga was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japanese daimyo before his death in 1582...
. However, Nobunaga died within a year at the
Incident at HonnōjiThe ' refers to the forced suicide on June 21, 1582 of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority.-Context:Oda Nobunaga was at...
. Upon Nobunaga's death, the Sanada clan was left alone in
Shinano provinceis an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture. Its abbreviation is Shinshū .Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...
surrounded by hostile powers such as the Uesugi clan, the
Hōjō clanThe ' was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region.The clan began when Ise Shinkurō, a high ranking officer in the shogunate, began to conquer lands and build up his power at the beginning of the 16th century.His son wanted...
, and the
Tokugawa clanThe was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...
. By drifting through temporary alliances and fickle allegiances, the Sanada clan managed to survive.
In 1585, the Sanada clan stood opposed to
Tokugawa Ieyasu
. With 7,000 men, the Tokugawa forces lay siege to
Ueda CastleUeda Castle was the original home of the Sanada clan, built by Sanada Masayuki.It was this castle that the Sanada defended twice from the Tokugawa, first in 1583 and again in 1600, putting up a very impressive defense both of those times....
, which was defended by only 2,000 soldiers. However, Masayuki was able to inflict 3,000 casualties on Tokugawa and won an overwhelming victory. This was the First Battle of Ueda Castle, a victory that earned Masayuki national prominence.
In 1589, Sanada retainers had disputes with the Hōjō clan, which eventually led to the fall of the Hōjō clan by
Toyotomi Hideyoshiwas a daimyo in the Sengoku period who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the...
's invading armies.
After Hideyoshi's death, in 1600, Masayuki joined
Ishida MitsunariIshida Mitsunari was a samurai who led the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 17th century. Also known by his court title, Jibu Shōho...
's side during the
Battle of SekigaharaThe , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
. Masayuki sent his eldest son, Nobuyuki, to the eastern side, while Masayuki and his younger son, Yukimura, fought on the western side, a move that ensured the Sanada clan's survival. Fortifying Ueda Castle, Masayuki fought against
Tokugawa Hidetadawas the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu.-Early Life :...
's 38,000 men with only 2,000 soldiers. This was the Second Battle of Ueda Castle, and, whilst it was not exactly a victory, Masayuki was able to deliver a heavy blow to Hidetada and delay his forces for long enough that they were unable to show up at the main battlefield on time.
However, the western side, led by Ishida Mitsunari, lost the main battle, and the victorious Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to redistribute fiefs at will. Masayuki and Yukimura were initially going to be executed, but, given Nobuyuki's participation in the eastern army, they were instead exiled to
Kudoyamais a town located in Ito District, Wakayama, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 5,801 and a density of 131.27 persons per km². The total area is 44.19 km².-External links:*...
in
Kii province, or Kishū , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. The Kii Peninsula takes its name from this province....
. The
Sanada clanThe was a Japanese clan which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period. During the Edo era, the Sanada ruled the Matsushiro Domain, where they remained until the Meiji Restoration.-Sengoku period:...
was inherited by Sanada Nobuyuki.
Sanada Masayuki died in Kudoyama in 1611.
Legacy
Even though Masayuki was never able to expand his territories as well as other daimyo, he is nevertheless often considered a talented daimyo, doomed by misfortune and the inconvenient terrains which surrounded his home domain. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had called Masayuki a person whose inside did not match his outside, that his allegiance was fickle and not to be trusted. Nevertheless, it was exactly his drifting alliances that helped the Sanada clan survive the onslaught of hostile clans, and, since the
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
, he has been more extolled than vilified.
In popular culture
See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture.