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was a Japan
Japan

Japan is 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 samurai, second son of the Sengoku period
Sengoku period

The 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....
 daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 Sanada Masayuki
Sanada Masayuki

was a Japanese Sengoku period daimyo. He was the third son of Sanada Yukitaka, a vassal daimyo to the Takeda family in Shinano province. He is known as a master strategist....
 (1544-1611). His proper name was Sanada Nobushige, named after Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen

of Shinano Province and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo or feudal lord with military prestige who sought for the control of Japan in the late stage of Sengoku period or "warring states" period....
's younger brother Takeda Nobushige
Takeda Nobushige

was a samurai of Japan's Sengoku period, and younger brother of Takeda Shingen. Takeda Nobushige held the favor of their father, and was meant to inherit the Takeda lands, wealth and power, becoming head of the clan....
, who was a brave and respected warrior. Sanada Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in hundred years" and "crimson demon of war", and Shimazu Tadatsune
Shimazu Tadatsune

Shimazu Tadatsune was a tozama daimyo of Satsuma Domain, the first to hold it as a formal fief under the Tokugawa shogunate, and the first Japanese to rule over the Ryukyu Kingdom....
 (????, arguably the best performer in the invasion of Korea) called him the "number one warrior in Japan." ("?????", ? means soldier originally, but here it is read as "tsuwamono" which means samurai or warrior, so it is not appropriate to translate it as soldier.)
Life
He was the second son of Sanada Masayuki(1544-1611), his elder brother being Sanada Nobuyuki
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....
.






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was a Japan
Japan

Japan is 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 samurai, second son of the Sengoku period
Sengoku period

The 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....
 daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 Sanada Masayuki
Sanada Masayuki

was a Japanese Sengoku period daimyo. He was the third son of Sanada Yukitaka, a vassal daimyo to the Takeda family in Shinano province. He is known as a master strategist....
 (1544-1611). His proper name was Sanada Nobushige, named after Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen

of Shinano Province and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo or feudal lord with military prestige who sought for the control of Japan in the late stage of Sengoku period or "warring states" period....
's younger brother Takeda Nobushige
Takeda Nobushige

was a samurai of Japan's Sengoku period, and younger brother of Takeda Shingen. Takeda Nobushige held the favor of their father, and was meant to inherit the Takeda lands, wealth and power, becoming head of the clan....
, who was a brave and respected warrior. Sanada Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in hundred years" and "crimson demon of war", and Shimazu Tadatsune
Shimazu Tadatsune

Shimazu Tadatsune was a tozama daimyo of Satsuma Domain, the first to hold it as a formal fief under the Tokugawa shogunate, and the first Japanese to rule over the Ryukyu Kingdom....
 (????, arguably the best performer in the invasion of Korea) called him the "number one warrior in Japan." ("?????", ? means soldier originally, but here it is read as "tsuwamono" which means samurai or warrior, so it is not appropriate to translate it as soldier.)

Life


He was the second son of Sanada Masayuki(1544-1611), his elder brother being Sanada Nobuyuki
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....
. He was married to Akihime (Chikurinin) a foster-daughter of Otani Yoshitsugu
Otani Yoshitsugu

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period though Azuchi-Momoyama Period. He was also known by his court title, . He was born in 1559 to a father who was said to be a retainer of either Otomo Sorin or of Rokkaku Yoshikata....
. They had two sons, Daisuke (Yukimasa) and Daihachi (Morinobu).

In 1575, the Battle of Nagashino
Battle of Nagashino

The 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 shogunate vassal, commanded the defending force....
 claimed the lives of two of Sanada Masayuki's elder brothers. Masayuki, previously serving Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori
Takeda Katsuyori

was 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....
 as a retainer, inherited the Sanada clan and left for Ueda Castle
Ueda Castle

Ueda 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 clan, first in 1583 and again in 1600, putting up a very impressive defense both of those times....
. Yukimura also went, taking the Sanada name as well.

By 1582, the Oda
Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become 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 branches of the family would continue on as daimyo houses until the Meiji Restoration....
-Tokugawa
Tokugawa clan

The 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 mystery....
 forces had destroyed the Takeda clan. The Sanada initially surrendered to Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga

was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of History of Japan. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province....
(????), but, after the Incident at Honnoji
Incident at Honnoji

The refers to the forced suicide in June 211582 of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honno-ji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority....
(?????), it became independent again, drifting between stronger daimyo such as the Uesugi clan
Uesugi clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi period and Sengoku periods ....
, the Late Hojo clan
Late Hojo clan

The was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kanto region.The clan began when Ise Shinkuro, a high ranking officer in the shogunate, began to conquer lands and build up his power at the beginning of the 16th century....
, and the Tokugawa clan. Eventually, the Sanada clan became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a Sengoku period daimyo 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, after Hideyoshi's castle....
(????). During this period, Hideyoshi treated Yukimura with extreme care and hospitality. Hideyoshi's fondness is shown by the fact that Yukimura was given the right to use the surname of Toyotomi Clan, which was the clan of the Kanpaku during that period. Thus, he is sometimes referred to (even by Yukimura himself) as Toyotomi Saemon-no-suke Nobushige (????????)

In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
(????)rallied various daimyo to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu
Uesugi Kagekatsu

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a daimyo during the Sengoku period and Edo period of History of Japan. The son of Nagao Masakage and husband of Uesugi Kenshin's elder sister....
(????). The Sanada clan complied as well, but when Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari

Ishida Mitsunari was a samurai who led the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 17th century....
 decided to challenge Ieyasu, Masayuki and Yukimura joined the western forces, parting ways with Masayuki's eldest son and Yukimura's brother, Nobuyuki(????, originally ????), who joined the eastern forces. The true motive of Masayuki and Yukimura's decision is disputed with many theories, but there are two main schools of thought: In one, Masayuki made the decision (and Yukimura agreed); he expressed the willingness to take a gamble, so that if he were to join the weak side and win the battle, the Sanada would gain much more power. The other theory is the opposite where they planned a safety net; Masayuki, Yukimura, and Nobuyuki discussed the situation when Ieyasu asked them to state their allegiance clearly, and they decided to join both sides separately, so that, regardless of the outcome of the battle, the Sanada clan would survive.

The Sanada retreated to and fortified Ueda Castle. When Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada

was the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu....
 marched a sizeable army on the Nakasendo
Nakasendo

The was one of the Edo Five Routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 Stations of the Nakasendo between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi Province, Kozuke Province, Shinano Province, Mino Province and Omi Province Old provinces of Japan....
, the Sanada resisted and were able to fight back Hidetada's 40,000 men with only 2,000. However, as it took much longer to take the castle than was expected, Hidetada lost focus and never showed up on the battlefield during the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more years for Ieyasu to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate,...
 where the main force was awaiting the arrival of his crucial army, a mistake that put the Tokugawa clan in jeopardy.

Siege of Osaka Castle

During the Winter Siege of Osaka, Sanada Yukimura built fortifications along the south of Osaka Castle at its weak points. From there, he defeated the Tokugawa forces (approximately 30,000 men) with groups of 6000 arquebusiers. Image File history File linksMetadata Sanko-shrine-osaka-Sanada-Yukimura. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Sanko-shrine-osaka-Sanada-Yukimura. ... Entrance to Sanko Shrine Sanada Yukimura at Sanko Shrine Said to have been a tunnel to Osaka castle Sanko Shrine ) is a Shinto shrine in the Tamatsukuri area of Osaka, Japan. ... Combatants Tokugawa shogunate Toyotomi clan Commanders Tokugawa Ieyasu Toyotomi Hideyori Strength 164,000 (winter) 150,000 (summer) 113,000 (winter) 60,000 (summer) Inscription on bell at Hokoji in Kyoto The Siege of Osaka ), more commonly called ), was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi... Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo) The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus[1] or hackbut; possibly related to German Hakenbuechse or Dutch Haakbus) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ...

However, greatly outnumbered by Tokugawa forces, Yukimura's forces were eventually defeated. According to The Life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu by A.L. Sadler, in his intense fight against the wavering Echizen troops, Yukimura was badly wounded, leaving him exhausted. Soldiers from the Echizen army quickly went to Sanada. Now too tired to fight back, Yukimura allowed the men to kill him, reportedly saying, " Go on, take my head as your trophy". Sanada died honorably, leaving behind a legend. His grave is now located in Osaka.

Legend and popular depiction

A fact about Sanada Yukimura is that, in primary historical sources and personal letters penned by himself, he was never referred to as Yukimura. That name surfaced in a military novel written during the Edo period
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
 and has since been popularized in modern plays, books, novels, and different media of entertainment. The historical documents use his historical name "Nobushige", but his pen name "Yukimura" was never mentioned. One theory is that the name Yukimura is a portmanteau of Masayuki (his father) and Date Tsunamura
Date Tsunamura

was a daimyo in mid-17th century Tokugawa shogunate whose life was at the center of the Date Sodo or "Date Disturbance", a very famous noble conflict of the period....
.

A legend says that Yukimura had ten heroes who took an active role at the battles of Osaka Castle. They were called the Sanada Ten Braves
Sanada Ten Braves

The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
 (?????, Sanada Juyushi), a group of ninja, and consisted of the following members:

  • Sarutobi Sasuke
    Sarutobi Sasuke

    was a famous ninja featured in many Japanese children's stories from 1911 to 1925. The character was immortalized in contemporary Japanese culture by the 1962 Sampei Shirato comic of the same name....
  • Kirigakure Saizo
    Kirigakure Saizo

    is one of the Sanada Ten Braves and a legendary ninja from Sengoku period of Japan. Next to Sarutobi Sasuke, he is the most recognized of the Ten....
  • Miyoshi Seikai
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Miyoshi Isa
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Anayama Kosuke
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Unno Rokuro
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Kakei Juzo
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Nezu Jinpachi
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Mochizuki Rokuro
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....
  • Yuri Kamanosuke
    Sanada Ten Braves

    The Sanada Ten Braves were a group of ninja bodyguards that assisted Sanada Yukimura during the Warring States era of Japan ....


Portrayals

Sanada Yukimura can often be seen in the Samurai Warriors
Samurai Warriors

Samurai Warriors is the first title in the series of video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based loosely around the Sengoku period period of Japanese history and is a spinoff of the Dynasty Warriors series....
 video game series, the anime Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Deeper Kyo

is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. The manga was serialized from October 15, 1999 to May 10, 2006 in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine, and collected over 38 tankobon....
, and many other anime and video games.

External links