Takeda family
Encyclopedia
The was a famous clan of daimyō
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

(feudal lords) in Japan's late Heian Period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 to Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

.

The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa
Emperor Seiwa
was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.-Traditional narrative:...

 (850-880) and are a branch of the Minamoto clan
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...

 (Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji
The ' were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended...

), by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
, son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, was a Minamoto clan samurai during Japan's Heian Period. His brother was the famous Minamoto no Yoshiie. Minamoto no Yoshimitsu is credited as the ancient progenitor of the Japanese martial art, Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu...

 (1056–1127), brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie
Minamoto no Yoshiie
Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and Chinjufu shogun...

 (1039–1106). Minamoto no Yoshikiyo
Minamoto no Yoshikiyo
Minamoto no Yoshikiyo was son of Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu who was son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, brother of famous samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie . Yoshikiyo decided to move away from Minamoto clan to Takeda of Kai province. He then founded the Takeda line, also known as Kaigenji Takeda...

 (+ 1163), son of Yoshimitsu, was the first to take the name of Takeda.

Crests

  • 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

Major figures

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. However, Shingen rebelled against their father and seized the lands and power for...

, Nobutake, Nobumitsu, Nobuyoshi
Takeda Nobuyoshi
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period. Born Tokugawa Fukumatsumaru, he was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons. His mother is believed to have been Otoma, the daughter of Takeda clan retainer Akiyama Torayasu. As Ieyasu took pity on the destroyed Takeda clan, he changed his son's name to Takeda...

, Nobutora
Takeda Nobutora
was a Japanese daimyo who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen, who was originally named Harunobu, along with two other sons, Nobushige and Nobukado.Nobutora fought Hiraga Genshin at the Battle of...

, Harunobu (Shingen)
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:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...

, Katsuyori
Takeda Katsuyori
was a Japanese daimyo 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...


12th century

In the 12th century, at the end of the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

, the Takeda family controlled Kai Province
Kai Province
, also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....

. Along with a number of other families, they aided their cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

 against the Taira clan in the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....

. When Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

 was first defeated at Ishibashiyama (1181), Takeda Nobuyoshi was applied for help and the Takeda sent an army of 20,000 men to support Yoritomo. Takeda Nobumitsu (1162–1248), helped the Hōjō during the Shokyu War (1221) and in reward received the governorship of Aki Province. Until the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, the Takeda were shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...

of Kai, Aki and Wakasa provincies. In 1415, they helped to suppress the rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū
Uesugi Zenshu
, also known as Uesugi Ujinori, was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate in feudal Japan. When he was rebuked by Mochiuji in 1415, and forced to resign, Zenshū organized a rebellion....

; Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and retaken by force...

, Uesugi's lord, and the man the rebellion was organized against, made a reprisal against the Takeda, thus beginning the rivalry between the Uesugi
Uesugi clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....

 and Takeda families, which would last roughly 150 years.

Takeda Harunobu
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:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...

 succeeded his father Nobutora in 1540, becoming lord of Kai, and quickly began to expand. In 1559, he changed his name to the better-known Takeda Shingen. Though he faced the Hōjō 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 Kantō region.The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, a family in the direct employment of the Ashikaga...

 a number of times, most of his expansion was to the north, where he fought his most famous battles, against Uesugi Kenshin
Uesugi Kenshin
was a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the most powerful lords of the Sengoku period. While chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries...

.

Shingen is famous for his tactical genius, and innovations, though some historians have argued that his tactics were not particularly impressive nor revolutionary. Nevertheless, Shingen is perhaps most famous for his use of the cavalry charge. Up until the mid-16th century and Shingen's rise to power, mounted samurai were primarily archers. There was already a trend at this time towards larger infantry-based armies, including a large number of foot archers. In order to defeat these missile troops, Shingen transformed his samurai from archers to lancers, and used the cavalry charge to devastating effect at the Battle of Mikatagahara
Battle of Mikatagahara
The ' was one of the most famous battles of Takeda Shingen's campaigns, and one of the best demonstrations of his cavalry-based tactics.-Background:...

 in 1572. The strength of Shingen's new tactic became so famous that the Takeda army came to be known as the kiba gundan (騎馬軍団), or 'mounted army.'
Shingen died in 1573, at age 53, from illness. His less tactically talented son, Katsuyori, succeeded him, and was defeated in 1575, in the famous 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. Forces under Takeda Katsuyori had besieged the castle since the 17th of June; Okudaira Sadamasa , a Tokugawa vassal, commanded the defending force...

, by Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

.

The Kōshū Hatto, composed at some point in the 15th century, is the code of law of the Takeda family, while the Kōyō Gunkan
Koyo Gunkan
The ' is a record of the military exploits of the Takeda family, compiled largely by the Takeda vassal Kōsaka Danjō Masanobu, and completed in 1616 by Obata Kagenori...

, composed largely by Kōsaka Masanobu
Kosaka Masanobu
also known as was one of Takeda Shingen's most loyal retainers, and one of his "Twenty-Four Generals" during the Sengoku period of Japan. He is often credited as the original author of Kōyō Gunkan, which records the history of the Takeda family and their military tactics...

 in the mid-16th century, is an epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

 recording the family's history and Shingen's innovations in military tactics.

Takeda is also a fairly common family name in modern Japan, though it is unlikely that everyone with the Takeda name is descended from this noble house (several divisions of the family have the Takeda name).

In fact, most of the real descendants of the Takeda had a different name when they created a cadet branch. During the Tokugawa period, several daimyō families were direct descendants of the Takeda.

In 1868, these daimyō families were :
  • The Matsumae
    Matsumae clan
    The was a Japanese clan which was granted the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension all of Japan, from the Ainu 'barbarians' to the north. The clan was originally known as the Kakizaki clan who settled...

    , descendants of Takeda Kuninobu, were daimyō of Matsumae, the only feudal fief (han) of Hokkaidō
    Hokkaido
    , formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

    .
  • The Nambu, descendants of Takeda Mitsuyuki, great-grandson of Takeda Yoshikiyo (+ 1163), established himself at Nambu (Kai Province
    Kai Province
    , also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....

    ) and took that name. The Nambu were daimyō of Morioka
    Morioka Domain
    The was a han or feudal domain that encompasses present-day the middle-northern part of Iwate Prefecture and eastern part of Aomori Prefecture. It is sometimes colloquially called . The domain was tozama daimyo and was governed by the Satake clan. Its income was 100,000...

    , of Shichinohe
    Shichinohe Domain
    ' was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory was roughly equivalent to the areas covered by modern-day town of Shichinohe in Aomori Prefecture...

     and Hachinohe
    Hachinohe Domain
    ' was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 41 villages in Sannohe District, 38 villages in Kunohe District, and 4 villages in Shiwa District, with a total revenue of 22,000 koku...

     (Mutsu Province
    Mutsu Province
    was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

    ).
  • The Yanagisawa
    Yanagisawa
    Yanagisawa is a Japanese surname.Persons with the name include:*Atsushi Yanagisawa, football player*Hakuo Yanagisawa, politician*Kimio Yanagisawa, manga artist*Naoko Yanagisawa, fictional character from Cardcaptor Sakura...

     clan]]|Yanagisawa
    Yanagisawa
    Yanagisawa is a Japanese surname.Persons with the name include:*Atsushi Yanagisawa, football player*Hakuo Yanagisawa, politician*Kimio Yanagisawa, manga artist*Naoko Yanagisawa, fictional character from Cardcaptor Sakura...

    , descendants of Takeda Nobuyoshi
    Takeda Nobuyoshi
    was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period. Born Tokugawa Fukumatsumaru, he was one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's sons. His mother is believed to have been Otoma, the daughter of Takeda clan retainer Akiyama Torayasu. As Ieyasu took pity on the destroyed Takeda clan, he changed his son's name to Takeda...

    , were daimyō of Kōriyama (Yamato Province
    Yamato Province
    was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. It was also called . At first, the name was written with one different character , and for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters . The final revision was made in...

    ), of Kurokawa
    Kurokawa Domain
    The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Echigo Province. It was ruled by the Yanagisawa clan for the entirety of its history.-List of lords:*Yanagisawa clan #Tsunetaka#Satozumi#Satoakira#Yasutaka#Nobutō#Mitsuhi...

     and Mikkaichi
    Mikkaichi Domain
    The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Echigo Province....

     (Echigo Province
    Echigo Province
    was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

    ).
  • The Gotō, descendants of Takeda Nobuhiro
    Takeda Nobuhiro
    Takeda Nobuhiro , also known as Kakizaki Nobuhiro was the ancestor of the Matsumae clan, and is celebrated for his role in suppressing the 1457 Ainu revolt of Koshamain. The adopted son of Takeda Nobukata, shugo of Wakasa Province, he was later re-adopted by Kakizaki Sueshige...

    , were daimyō of Gotō (the Gotō Islands
    Goto Islands
    The are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. The islands are a part of Nagasaki Prefecture.- Geography :There are 140 islands in total, including five main islands:,,,, and....

     in Hizen Province
    Hizen Province
    was an old province of Japan in the area of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō...

    ).
  • The Ogasawara
    Ogasawara clan
    The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...

     are also a cadet branch of the Takeda, by Takeda Nagakiyo (1162–1242), great-grandson of Takeda Yoshikiyo (+ 1163), and the first to take the name of Ogasawara. His descendants were shugo
    Shugo
    was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...

    (governors) of Shinano
    Shinano Province
    or is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...

     and Hida Province
    Hida Province
    is an old province located in the area of Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province was in the Tōsandō area of central Honshu.-History:...

    s, and during the 16th century were at war with their ancient Takeda cousins. In 1868, they were daimyō of Kokura
    Kokura Domain
    The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was headquartered what is now the city of Kokura, in Kyūshū. In the late Edo period, it was also called "Kawara-han" and then "Toyotsu-han" .-List of lords:...

    , of Chikuza (Buzen Province
    Buzen Province
    was an old province of Japan in northern Kyūshū in the area of Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bungo Province. Buzen bordered on Bungo and Chikuzen Provinces....

    ), of Ashi (Harima Province
    Harima Province
    or Banshu was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tamba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji....

    ), of Karatsu
    Karatsu Domain
    ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Hizen Province, in Kyūshū. Its seat of government was in Karatsu Castle, in modern-day Karatsu, Saga.-History:...

     (Hizen Province), and of Katsuyama (Echizen Province).
  • The Miyako Todomaru (Tsuru) who lived in Kai Province
    Kai Province
    , also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....

    ,but through war were eventually moved to Usa -machi Kyushu
    Kyushu
    is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

    .
  • Two branches named Takeda were ranked among the Kōke
    Koke
    A was a noble ranking below a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. Their lands were assessed at less than ten thousand koku, making them ineligible for the rank of daimyo.Unlike hatamoto, whose duties were military, the kōke had certain privileged missions...

    (the High Families). This title was given to descendants of great dispossessed daimyō such as the Takeda, Hatakeyama
    Hatakeyama clan
    The ' was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim of political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hōjō forces in Kamakura...

    , Imagawa
    Imagawa clan
    The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa . It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.-Origins:Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the 13th century at Imagawa and took its name.Imagawa Norikuni received from his cousin 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...

    , and Ōtomo
    Otomo clan
    The Ōtomo clan was a Japanese clan whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū....

     clans. They received a pension from the shogunate, and had privileged missions confided to them.

Historical

  • Takeda Nobutora
    Takeda Nobutora
    was a Japanese daimyo who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen, who was originally named Harunobu, along with two other sons, Nobushige and Nobukado.Nobutora fought Hiraga Genshin at the Battle of...

     - Shingen's father.
  • Takeda Shingen
    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:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...

     - one of Japan's most famous warlords, Shingen expanded his domains greatly, and became one of the major powers in the country for a time.
  • Takeda Katsuyori
    Takeda Katsuyori
    was a Japanese daimyo 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...

     - Shingen's son, Katsuyori commanded his father's armies after his death, and saw the fall of the Takeda family.
  • 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. However, Shingen rebelled against their father and seized the lands and power for...

     - Shingen's younger brother, held their father's favour to be heir of the clan, continued to support his older brother throughout his life, he also wrote the Kyūjūkyū Kakun, a set of 99 short rules for Takeda house members.

Modern

  • Sokaku Takeda - 20th-century member of the clan and founder of Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu
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