Takeda Katsuyori

Takeda Katsuyori (武田 勝頼, 1546 – 3 April 1582) was a Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen.

Takeda Katsuyori
武田 勝頼
Head of Takeda clan
In office
1573–1582
Preceded byTakeda Shingen
Succeeded bynone
Personal details
Born1546
Kai Province
DiedApril 3, 1582(1582-04-03) (aged 35–36)
Tenmoku Mountain, Kai Province
Spouse(s)Toyama Fujin
Hojo Masako
ChildrenTakeda Nobukatsu
Takeda Katsuchika
Tei-hime
Kougu-hime
MotherKoihime
FatherTakeda Shingen
RelativesTakeda Yoshinobu (brother)
Takeda Nobuchika (brother)
Nishina Morinobu (brother)
Hōjō Ujiyasu (father-in-law)
Military service
Allegiance Takeda clan
Battles/warsSiege of Kanbara
Siege of Futamata
Battle of Mikatagahara
1st Siege of Takatenjin
Siege of Yoshida
Battle of Nagashino
Battle of Omosu
Battle of Tenmokuzan

Early life

He was the son of Shingen by the daughter of Suwa Yorishige (posthumous name:Suwa-goryōnin (諏訪御料人, real name, Koihime)).[1] Katsuyori's children included Takeda Nobukatsu and Katsuchika.[2]

Statue of Takeda Katsuyori

Katsuyori, first known as Suwa Shirō Katsuyori (諏訪四郎勝頼), succeeded to his mother's Suwa clan and gained Takatō Castle as the seat of his domain.

After his elder brother Takeda Yoshinobu died, Katsuyori's son Nobukatsu became heir to the Takeda clan, making Katsuyori the true ruler of the Takeda clan.[3] Takeda Katsuyori built Shinpu Castle, a new and larger castle at Nirasaki and transferred his residence there in 1581.

Military life

In 1569, Katsuyori defeated Hojo Ujinobu at Siege of Kanbara[4] and successfully took a Tokugawa clan possession in the 1572 Siege of Futamata, and participated in the Battle of Mikatagahara.[5]

In 1573, He took charge of the family after the death of Shingen and fought Tokugawa clan at Takatenjin in 1574, Siege of Yoshida Castle and Battle of Nagashino in 1575.

He captured Takatenjin in 1574, which even his father could not; this gained him the support of the Takeda clan, but he suffered a terrible loss at Nagashino in 1575, succumbing to one of the earliest recorded uses of volley fire (Oda Nobunaga's 3000 guns), in which he lost a large part of his forces as well as a number of his generals.[6]

In 1578, Katsuyori incurred the wrath of the Hōjō family by helping Uesugi Kagekatsu against Uesugi Kagetora who was Hōjō Ujiyasu's seventh son, adopted by and heir to Uesugi Kenshin and initiated the Battle of Omosu in 1580.

Death

He lost Takatenjin in 1581 and this led clans like Kiso and Anayama to withdraw their support. His forces were destroyed by the combined armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu at Battle of Tenmokuzan in 1582, after which Katsuyori, his wife, and his son committed their ritual suicide, known as seppuku.[3][5]:231

The nun Rikei wrote an account of his wife's suicide and, pitying them, wrote several verses in their honour.[7]

Ukiyoe of Takeda Katsuyori at Tenmokuzan

Personal life
Hojo Masako (Katsuyori's wife) carrying a naginata in the Battle of Tenmokuzan.

Toyama Fujin

Takeda Katsuyori married Toyoma Fujin, the adopted daughter of Oda Nobunaga. She died while giving birth to their son Nobukatsu in 1567.

Hojo Masako

Katsuyori later married Hojo Masako, daughter of Hojo Ujiyasu. She bore a son and two daughters. In 1582, Masako at the age of 19, Katsuyori was defeated by Oda Nobunaga and had to flee, she going with him. However, Katsuyori was resigned to die and prompted her to leave. She refused and killed herself (jigai), along with Katsuyori in the Battle of Tenmokuzan. All their children died in the battle.

Family

Father: Takeda Shingen (1521–1573)

Sons:

  • Takeda Nobukatsu (1567–1582)
  • Takeda Katsuchika (1580–1582)

Wives:

  • Toyama Fujin
  • Hojo Masako

Daughters:

  • Tei-hime, married Miyahara Yoshihisa
  • Kougu-hime, married Naitō Tadaoki

Notes

Media related to Takeda Katsuyori at Wikimedia Commons

  1. Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 209. ISBN 9781590207307.
  3. Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. London: Arms and Armour Press. pp. 79–94. ISBN 9780853688266.
  4. "蒲原城" (in Japanese). じゃらん. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  5. Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. p. 219,222–223,230. ISBN 1854095234.
  6. Turnbull, Stephen (1977). The Samurai. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 156–160. ISBN 9780026205405.
  7. Sato, Hiroaki (2008). Japanese Women Poets. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. pp. 137–139. ISBN 9780765617842.

References and further reading
  • Hiroaki Sato (2008). Japanese women poets: an anthology. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  • Takeda Katsuyori no Saiki (in Japanese)
  • Yamanashi Prefecture page on Takeda Katsuyori (in Japanese)
  • Shibatsuji Shunroku 柴辻俊六 and Hirayama Masaru 平山優. Takeda Katsuyori no Subete 武田勝頼のすべて. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha 新人物往来社, 2007.
  • Shibatsuji Shunroku 柴辻俊六, Takeda Katsuyori 武田勝頼. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha 新人物往来社, 2003.

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