Upon Shingen's death,
Uesugi Kenshin reportedly wept at the loss of one of his strongest and most deeply-respected rivals. However, historian Kazuto Hongō viewed that despite the advantage of advanced military doctrines and administration systems established by Shingen, his efforts failed to prosper the Takeda clan. Hongō stressed the failure of the Takeda clan during Shingen's rule to build a
war economy, as he examines that with the 20 years of Shingen's conquest to subjugate Shinano Province, together with his series of exhausting engagements against his rival Uesugi Kenshin, Shingen only managed to secure territories which yielded a gross annual rice production of 600,000
koku as revenue at most, which meant that the Takeda clan could mobilize at maximum only 20,000 soldiers for each campaign. In contrast with Oda Nobunaga, where his possession of Mino Province could produce at least 650,000 Koku annually, combined with his later provinces, meant that he could mobilize approximately twice as many soldiers as Shingen. Furthermore, while the Takeda controlled only landlocked provinces, Nobunaga had access to the rich and prosperous port city of
Sakai, which meant that Nobunaga could afford military technologies and exotic supplies for his war machine far better than that of Shingen. One of the most lasting tributes to Shingen's prowess was that of
Tokugawa Ieyasu himself, who is known to have borrowed heavily from the late Takeda leader's governmental and military innovations after he had taken leadership of
Kai Province during
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rise to power. There are two notable moments of the incorporation of Takeda elements into the Tokugawa clan regime. The first was during the
Tenshō-Jingo war between Ieyasu and the
Hōjō clan at the aftermath of the death of Oda Nobunaga. Ieyasu hid many Takeda followers from Nobunaga, who called for their deaths. Those Takeda vassals immediately declared their allegiance to Ieyasu when the Hōjō and Uesugi clans invaded Kai and Shinano, where at least 800 former Takeda retainers joined the ranks of the Tokugawa army during the war and fought the Hōjō. At the aftermath of the war, Ieyasu immediately organized a
kishōmon(blood oath) ceremony with the former Takeda vassals to declare their loyalty to the Tokugawa clan, which resulted in: • 70 former Takeda samurai from the
Tsuchiya clan under the command of Ii Naomasa (another source mentioned a total of 120 Takeda samurai warriors, • 11 former Takeda samurai from the Komai clan led by
Komai Masanao under the command of
Sakakibara Yasumasa, • 60 former Takeda samurai from the Asari clan led by Asari Masatane under the command of
Honda Tadakatsu, • huge portions of Takeda vassals under the direct control of Ieyasu himself, including clans led by Yoda Nobushige. Among those who were assigned as Hatamoto, or direct vassal of Ieyasu, they were allowed to retain their positions, and even increased the revenue of domains they controlled, particularly from the new territories that the Tokugawa clan conquered. Saegusa Masayoshi, the son of the Saegusa clan leader, was allowed to retain his territory, while his father, Saegusa Torayoshi, was made one of four magistrates in the Tokugawa clan. Historian Masaru Hirayama argued that the Tenshō-Jingo war, with the resulting absorption of Takeda followers, was not only a factional conflict in the eastern provinces, but a war that determined the future unification of Japan, as it pushed Tokugawa Ieyasu into a key position of the Toyotomi government. The second instance of the further incorporation of Takeda vassals occurred on November 13, 1585, when
Ishikawa Kazumasa defected from Ieyasu to Hideyoshi. This caused Ieyasu to undertake major reforms of the structures of the Tokugawa government and take the bureaucratic administration and military doctrines practiced by Shingen as the core for his statecraft. Lastly, he ordered three of his prime generals, the so-called "
Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings," Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu, and Sakakibara Yasumasa, to serve as supreme commanders of these new military regiments. This statecraft doctrine which Ieyasu practiced and learned from Shingen's former vassals greatly benefited him in the long run, such as when Ieyasu moved his power base to the
Kantō region in 1590, as he established new offices such as the '''Hachiōji sen'nin-dōshin''', which formed from patchwork memberships from nine small clans of Takeda retainers. This group continued to serve the Tokugawa clan faithfully as the defender of Kai province during this period in service of Ieyasu. The Hachiōji sen'nin-dōshin served the Tokugawa clan even after Ieyasu's death, until their disbandment during the
Meiji Restoration in 1868. Historian Michifumi Isoda opined that one factor why the Tokugawa clan could conquer Japan was the incorporation of former Takeda vassals into the service of Ieyasu's military regime, particularly under the command of his general
Ii Naomasa. While professor Watanabe Daimon also similarly stated that the Kai Province samurai greatly influenced Ieyasu's domination of Japan. According to an anecdote from "Meisho Genkoroku" (
Collection of words and deeds of great commanders in Japanese history), when Oda Nobunaga sent Takeda Katsuyori's head to Ieyasu, Ieyasu remarked in front of the former Takeda followers that although Katsuyori was a biological son of Shingen, Ieyasu was the "spiritual successor" of Shingen.
Retainers During the
Edo period, the 24 retainers who served under Shingen were a popular topic for
ukiyo-e and
bunraku. The names vary from work to work and the following list is the widely agreed version of retainers. They had not all worked together, as some had died before others served, but they were noted for their exceptional contributions to Shingen and the
Takeda clan. Of his retainers,
Kōsaka Masanobu stands out as being one of Shingen's better known beloveds, in the style of the Japanese
shudō tradition. The two entered into the relationship when Shingen was 22 and Masanobu was 16. The love pact signed by the two, in
Tokyo University's historical archive, documents Shingen's pledge that he was not involved in, nor had any intentions of entering into, a sexual relationship with a certain other retainer, and asserts that "since I want to be intimate with you" he will in no way harm the boy, and calls upon the gods to be his guarantors.
Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen •
Akiyama Nobutomo •
Amari Torayasu •
Anayama Nobutada •
Baba Nobuharu •
Hara Masatane •
Hara Toratane •
Ichijō Nobutatsu, younger brother of Shingen •
Itagaki Nobukata •
Kiso Yoshimasa •
Kōsaka Masanobu •
Naitō Masatoyo •
Obata Masamori •
Obata Toramori •
Obu Toramasa •
Oyamada Nobushige •
Saegusa Moritomo •
Sanada Nobutsuna •
Sanada Yukitaka •
Tada Mitsuyori •
Tsuchiya Masatsugu •
Takeda Nobukado •
Takeda Nobushige •
Yamagata Masakage •
Yamamoto Kansuke •
Yokota Takatoshi Other Generals •
Hoshina Masatoshi •
Morozumi Torasada •
Ohama Kagetaka •
Sanada Masayuki Modern culture • Generations of farming peasants who become warriors to fight Shingen's battles are depicted in the 1960 movie
The River Fuefuki, aka
Fuefukigawa by director
Keisuke Kinoshita. The film is based on a novel by
Shichirō Fukazawa. • Shingen's life is depicted in the 1969 film
Samurai Banners, seen through the eyes of his general
Yamamoto Kansuke. The film is based on a novel by
Inoue Yasushi titled
Furin Kazan. • Shingen's life is also dramatized in NHK's 46th Taiga drama Fūrin Kazan, which depicts the life of his strategist, Yamamoto Kansuke. • Shingen's battles with
Uesugi Kenshin were dramatized in the movie
Heaven and Earth. • Shingen's death is fictionalized in
Akira Kurosawa's film
Kagemusha. • He is mentioned on episode 31 of the
Tokusatsu 1988 series
Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya. The focus of this episode is Shingen's alleged missing famous sword Nobutora, and its discovery in
France. • His life is the subject of a historical novel by
Jirō Nitta, which was adapted for television in the 1988
NHK Taiga drama Takeda Shingen, starring
Kiichi Nakai, distributed internationally under the title
Shingen. •
Shingen the Ruler (Takeda Shingen 2 in Japan) is a turn-based strategy game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), produced by Hot B in 1989, and released in
North America in 1990. •
The Takeda Clan is a faction in Creative Assembly's
Shogun: Total War and
Total War: Shogun 2 with Shingen himself appearing in the latter's opening cinematic. • The 2020 video game
Ghost of Tsushima includes a bonus armour set ("Gosaku's Armor") that is heavily inspired by Shingen's actual famous armour set. • Shingen has appeared in the
Samurai Warriors and
Sengoku Basara video game franchises, and in the anime
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings. He is a character in all of the games of the Warriors Orochi series. He is a playable character in
Pokémon Conquest (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan), with his partner
Pokémon being
Rhyperior and
Groudon. • In
Samurai Champloo, the character Jin has the Takeda mon on his
keikogi. •
Video game music composer
Ryu Umemoto (1974–2011) was a descendant of Takeda. • Shingen was mentioned in episode 10 of
The Tatami Galaxy when the protagonist noted that a 4.5
tatami room is perfect, and if a room were to be larger than that, it would end up being "as spacious as Takeda Shingen's lavatory, and one might even get lost". • He is a main character in the anime
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings and
Sengoku Basara: The Last Party. He is shown with a superhuman strength, able to use a large ax with effortless precision, ride two horses in standing position, even riding up walls vertically. • In
Battle Girls: Time Paradox, he appeared as a hotheaded woman who committed nothing to obtain the power of the red armor. • In the light novel
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, Shingen is portrayed as a cunning young woman who strongly opposes other
daimyo. • Shingen is a playable character in the Mobile/PC Game
Rise of Kingdoms. • Shingen is summonable as a Rider-class Servant in
Fate/Grand Order. • Shingen is an Uber rare unit in
The Battle Cats. He is seen carrying a massive axe or sword. He has the 3rd highest damage in the game. His description in game reads: "a master tactician of overwhelming power who is cursed by the legendary cat sword"
Shingen-ko Festival (2019) Lasting three days, the is held annually on the first or second weekend of April in
Kōfu,
Yamanashi Prefecture to celebrate the legacy of Shingen. In the lunar calendar, Shingen died on the 12th day of the 4th month, and so April 12 is celebrated as the anniversary of his death (despite it being May 13 in the Gregorian calendar). Usually, a famous Japanese celebrity plays the part of Shingen. There are several parades going between the
Takeda Shrine and
Kofu Castle reflecting the various comings and goings of Shingen during his life. , during cherry blossom season The parades are described as very theatrical, involving re-enactors who practice all year for this one weekend.
Family • Father:
Takeda Nobutora (1494–1574) • Mother: Ōi no Kata • Brothers: • Takematsu (1517–1523) • Inuchiyo (1523–1529) •
Takeda Nobushige (1525–1561) • Takeda Nobumoto •
Takeda Nobukado (1529–1582) • Matsuo Nobukore ( – 1571) • Takeda Souchi •
Takeda Nobuzane ( – 1575) •
Ichijō Nobutatsu ( – 1582) • Sisters: • Joukei-in (1519–1550), married
Imagawa Yoshimoto • Nanshou-in (born 1520) married
Anayama Nobutomo • Nene (1528–1543) married Suwa Yorishige • Sons: •
Takeda Katsuyori by Suwa Goryōnin •
Takeda Yoshinobu by
Lady Sanjō •
Takeda Nobuchika (also known as Unno Nobuchika) by Lady Sanjō •
Takeda Nobukiyo •
Nishina Morinobu •
Katsurayama Nobusada • Daughters: • Ōbai-in • Kenshō-in • Shinryu-in •
Matsuhime • Kikuhime == Appendix ==