Since the Rebellion of Yingjin, it was difficult for the shoguns to control the world, and the Muromachi shogunate rule existed in name only. Powerful daimyōs from all over the world established themselves as kings and fought each other, and Japan entered the Sengoku period. In 1521 (the first year of Ōnaga), the Takeda clan of Kai welcomed their troubled hero, Takeda Shingen. At the age of 20, Takeda Shingen exiled his father to become the guardian of Kai Kingdom, beginning his magnificent life. All his life, he dreamed of entering Kyoto and becoming the shogun of the shogunate who had commanded the princes of tianzi, but unfortunately he was killed in the middle of the road. Later generations will refer to it as the "Tiger of Kai", and the next step will take you to learn about the legendary life of Takeda Shingen.
(Shingen Takeda)
1. The first appearance of the sharp edge
Takeda Shingen was born in 1521 at Jitsui-ji Temple, initially named Taro, later changed to Takeda Harunobu, and changed his name to Shingen in 1559. (This article is unified as Takeda Shingen).
(Former Ruins of Shingen Takeda)
Takeda Shingen's father, Takeda Nobuhō, was also a great daimyō, who succeeded him as lord of Kai at the age of 14, and as soon as he succeeded to the throne, he faced serious internal and external troubles, and his uncle Takeda Nobue was eyeing the position of the lord, and the external Shinano and Suruga took the opportunity to invade. At this time, Takeda Nobuho showed his outstanding courage and extraordinary talent, defeating his uncle in the second year of his reign and eliminating the family threat. Then the external invasion was resolved through peace and affinity and armed conquest, and the unification of the country was basically realized. The Takeda clan also changed from a daimyō to a sengoku daimyō. After eliminating internal and external troubles, the ambitious Takeda Nobuho began to expand externally.
(Nobutora Takeda)
Takeda Nobuho was violent and unkind, causing dissatisfaction among his courtiers and the people, while Takeda Shingen was humble and intelligent, winning the support of his courtiers. The huge difference in the personalities of father and son led to many contradictions between the two sides, and Takeda Shinho thought that his eldest son was timid and lustful, and it would be difficult to achieve great things in the future, and wanted to pass the position to Shingen's younger brother Nobuhiro. Takeda Shingen was also dissatisfied with his self-absorbed father, and he also learned that his subordinates were also dissatisfied with his father's cruelty. Therefore, with the support of his courtiers, Takeda Shingen preemptively attacked and took the lead in attacking the Kaino clan in 1541, banishing his father to Suruga.
(Brother and brother Nobetsuge Takeda)
The exiled Takeda Nobuho had mixed feelings, and on the one hand he felt ashamed and angry at the betrayal of his son and his courtiers. On the other hand, he was pleased and pleased that his son was able to quietly receive the support and excellent means of his courtiers.
After being banished by his son to Suruga of the Imagawa clan, Takeda Nobuho immediately left his humiliation behind and became a spy, recruiting talents and gathering intelligence for his son, and immediately fled to Kyoto after being discovered, where he was still not idle, and worked hard for Takeda Shingen to enter Kyoto.
At the age of 20, Takeda Shingen became the daimyō of Kai, and with great power in his hands, he began his conquest.
2. A lifetime of conquest
The area of Shinano Ueno on the north side was 4 times the size of Kai, and Shinano was not only the main horse production area at that time, but also a large granary like Kai, so Takeda Shingen took the throne and set his sights on Shinano. In 1542, the year after his reign, Takeda Shingen sent troops to Suwa, defeated Suwa Raishige, occupied Suwa Prefecture, and took the first step in conquering the world.
(Map of the distribution of forces at the time of Takeda Shingen's ascension to the throne)
Takeda Shingen then continued to march north, facing the fierce Takeda army, and in 1553, the Ogasawara clan and murakami clan, who were forced to be helpless, ran to Echigo for help. At this point, the most important opponent in Takeda Shingen's life appeared, that is, Echigo's guardian Uesugi Kenshin.
(Kenshin Uesugi)
Uesugi Kenshin was nine years younger than Takeda Gennobu, and his experience was equally legendary, he was proficient in the art of war at the age of 19, defeated his brother after his father's death, then quelled the rebellion of the people, and then led the Vietnamese army to fight, becoming a famous general in the Warring States. The two fought five battles at Kawanaka Island in 12 years from 1553 to 1564, known as the Battle of Kawanaka Island. Among them, the fourth war was the largest, in which more than 3,000 people were killed on both sides, of which Takeda Gennobu lost a number of major generals, including his younger brother Takeda Nobuharu and the military master Yamamoto Kansuke. After five battles, although the two sides won and lost each other, in the end, most of Shinano was pocketed by Shingen, and from the result, Shingen had the upper hand.
(Battle of Kawanakajima)
In 1560, the Battle of Barrel Panma broke out, Oda Nobunaga killed Imakawa Yoshimoto, and the successor Imakawa clan lord indulged in pleasure, causing family turmoil and the rupture of the Koshiro alliance. At this time, the strength of the Suruga Imakawa clan declined, so Takeda Shingen made up his mind to attack Suruga, and to this end, he did not hesitate to oppose Takeda Yoshinobu, who was the son-in-law of the Imagawa clan, and sent an army to Suruga in 1568 and defeated the Hojo clan in 1569 to occupy Suruga.
(Map of the distribution of forces before entering Suruga)
Takeda Shingen had been working for Shangjing, and the biggest obstacle to Shingen's westward advance into Shangjing at this time was Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa. In December 1572, the Battle of Mikatahara broke out, and Takeda led more than 20,000 troops to attack the combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga with more than 10,000 troops, and finally Shingen defeated the Tokugawa army and captured Mikawa in February 1573.
(Tripartite Battle)
(Ancient Battlefield of the Three-Party Original Battle)
However, at this time, Takeda Shingen was already terminally ill, and his courtiers were advising him to rest, but Takeda Shingen, who was well aware of his situation, knew that if he did not enter Kyoto in one breath, he would never have another chance, so he ordered to continue to March to Kyoto. However, his son Katsurai and his courtiers concealed Shingen's return to Kofu, and on April 12, 1573, Takeda Shingen died of illness on his way back to the palace at the age of 53.
(Grave of Shingenno Takeda)
3. Diplomatic storm
Compared with the sword and light on the battlefield, the diplomatic deception of various countries is even more exciting. Takeda Shingen repeatedly used rebellion and marriage tactics to achieve the purpose of external expansion, even at the expense of his son's marriage. And diplomatic success has helped him soar.
(Military Commander Kansuke Yamamoto)
During the Takeda Nobuhō period, he formed an alliance with the Ueno Yamauchi Uesugi clan on the north side and the Uesugi clan of Musashi Fan valley on the east side, and married the Shinano Suwa clan and the Suruga Imakawa clan against the Hojo clan on the southeast side. After Takeda Shingen ascended the throne, he still maintained an alliance with the Imakawa clan, but at this time Shingen set his sights on shinano, and in order to prevent a two-front war, he changed his father's previous policy of confrontation with the Hojo clan and sent shigeto to negotiate peace with the Hojo clan, which led to the Three Kingdoms Alliance of The Koshiro. The gradually stable Shingen Strategy in the rear opposed Suwa's vassal Takahito Raiji, and joined forces with Shinano to protect the Ogasawara clan to attack Suwa Raishige, and Raishige committed suicide after being defeated and imprisoned. Shingen then defeated Takato Raiji and took Suwa County. After that, the conquest of Shinano continued.
(Imagawa Yoshimoto)
The Battle of the Barrel Pana broke out, Oda Nobunaga killed Imakawa Yoshimoto, and the newly appointed Imagawa clan was incompetent, resulting in the decline of the Imakawa clan's strength and the rupture of the Three Kingdoms Alliance. At this time, although Shingen was confronting Uesugi Kenjō in Shinano, he immediately sent his ministers to the Imagawa clan to express to them that they still wanted to maintain an alliance, so that the Imagawa clan could lower their guard against the Takeda clan. On the other hand, he plotted against the minister of the Imagawa clan and provided him with information. After taking Shinano, in order to maintain stability in the northwest, Takeda Shingen married Oda Nobunaga. After Tokugawa Ieyasu established himself, Takeda Shingen formed an alliance with Ieyasu to divide the Imagawa clan, while the Imagawa clan joined forces with the Hojo clan, but were defeated by Shingen, who took Suruga and Tokugawa Ieyasu took Ene.
(Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Takeda Shingen had always dreamed of entering Kyoto, and by this time Oda Nobunaga had already occupied Kyoto, so Takeda Shingen formed an alliance with the generals Ashikaga Yoshiaki, The Asakura Clan, Honnoji Temple, and Asai Clan to resist Oda Nobunaga, and before going west, he reconciled relations with the Hojo clan to maintain stability in the rear. The alliance with Oda Nobunaga was eventually dissolved by the death of Takeda Nobunaga.
(Oda Nobunaga)
Takeda Shingen vividly interpreted "no real friends, only eternal interests", and all his diplomatic strategies were done for his westward march into Kyoto, using his alliance to avoid the dilemma of fighting on two fronts and defeating his opponents with all his might.
4. Govern the country well
Takeda Shingen was not only a brilliant general, he was also a brilliant politician. He knew that the reason he had been able to get the support of his ministers to overthrow his father was that his father's tyranny had made his subjects and the people extremely dissatisfied, so when he ascended the throne, he reformed Kai.
In the second year of his reign, the Law of the First State was promulgated, which was continuously updated. One of the most prominent laws of this code at that time was: "If anyone who violates the law, no matter how high or low, he shall be dealt with according to law, reason and circumstance." This spirit of the prince breaking the law and committing the same crime as the common people won takeda Shingen the support of the people and strengthened his rule.
(Koshu Juju)
The mountainous area of Jiazhou accounts for nearly 80% of the national land area, and there is not enough cultivatable land. In order to increase tax revenue and increase the public's enthusiasm for mountain reclamation, Shingen created the original large and small tax cut law. The tax law stipulates that not only rice can be tax deducted, but any property can be taxed, including wood, fur, etc. He encouraged the population to reclaim woodlands and grow crops while developing policies to protect the development of the processing industry. He also supported commerce and issued zhuyin (similar to business licenses) to shops.
Only the Kofu Basin was able to grow rice, and because of its location in a depression, it was prone to flooding, so Shingen began to build an embankment soon after he ascended the throne. After the embankment was repaired, Shingen relocated some farmers to live around the embankment, and the farmers not only developed the land, but also undertook the maintenance work, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
(Xinxuan Causeway)
The gold mine was arguably one of the most important strategic materials at the time, for which Takeda Shingen established the Kanayama Regiment to develop and manage the gold mine. The development of the gold mine provided financial support for Takeda Shingen's foreign military conquests and money offensives.
Through a series of reforms, Takeda Shingen consolidated his own rule on the one hand, and strengthened his national strength on the other hand, laying a solid foundation for foreign expansion.
5, love the country and the mountains also love the beauty
If entering Kyoto was Takeda Shingen's first dream, then a woman was his second dream. He did not hide his pursuit of female color, even against his father. When he was 13 years old, due to political marriage, Takeda Shingen married the daughter of Uesugi Asahi of the Uesugi clan of Ogaya under the dictatorship of his father, but unfortunately, the marriage ended the following year because of the Uesugi clan's difficult childbirth. When Shingen was 16 years old, the Takeda clan married the Kyoto Sanjo clan, and Shingen once again became a tool for marriage. But Shingen was very happy and excited to marry the daughter of the gentle and beautiful Gongqing, but when he saw The burly body of the Sanjo clan and his large face like a disc, his joy turned into resentment towards his father. Soon, Takeda Shingen set his sights on his maid Agu, and the Sanjo clan, who was the main chamber, knew it, but there was nothing they could do about it.
(Mr. Sanjo, Shomuro)
After Takeda Shingen attacked Shinano, he fell in love with Miss Reihara, who was both talented at the time, and learned that Imagawa Yoshimoto was also interested in Rimoto, so he immediately took action and sent Yamamoto Kansuke to facilitate the marriage of this family to his home in only three days. Miss Li Yuan is not only talented, but also has a bold personality, which is deeply loved by Xinxuan.
Shingen's most beloved woman is Suwa's wife, Lake Ihime. Lady Suwa was the daughter of Suwa Raishige, who remained at the Takeda family after Suwa Raishige was defeated and captured and committed suicide, when she was only 13 years old. However, Takeda Shingen soon fell in love with Lake Hime and married her despite Masamune's objections, and Takeda Shingen's successor, Takeda Katsurai, was born to Lady Suwa.
(Takeda Katsurai)
Takeda Shingen's life was devoted to expanding and conquering women, and eventually Takeda Shingen fell on the way to the West and died in the arms of Lady Rimi. This is also the perfection of the imperfections of its brilliant life.
(Statue of Takeda Shingen)
Takeda Shingen was not only a brilliant military figure, but also an outstanding politician, who was proficient in Sun Tzu's art of war and led the Takeda army all the way through the pass. He was familiar with Mencius and incorporated Mencius's ideas into his rule. His life was brilliant and ultimately slightly regrettable. Later generations spoke highly of him, writing in the Oda Clan Chronicle: "We do not know whether Takeda Shingen can unify the world, but if he lived another ten years, Oda Nobunaga's unification cause may be 10 years later." "This is also an affirmation of Takeda Shingen's life!"