Такеда Шинген: Каи провинциясының батыры

Japanese feudal lord (1521–1573)

was daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a poor area with little arable land and no access to the sea, but he became one of Japan's leading daimyo. His skills are highly esteemed and on par with Mōri Motonari.

Shingen was called "Tarō" (a commonly used pet name for the eldest son of a Japanese family) or Katsuchiyo (勝千代) during his childhood. After his genpuku (coming of age ceremony), he was given the formal name Harunobu (晴信), which included a character from the name of Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the 12th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. It was a common practice in feudal Japan for a higher ranked samurai to bestow a character from his own name to his inferiors as a symbol of recognition. From the local lord's perspective, it was an honour to receive a character from the shogunate, although the authority of the latter had greatly degenerated in the mid 16th century. Both the Ashikaga and the Takeda clans descended from the Minamoto clan. Technically, Harunobu, as well as his forefathers, had borne the surname of Minamoto. Therefore, Harunobu would be referred to as "Minamoto no Harunobu" (源 晴信) in official records kept by the Imperial Court when he was conferred the official title of Daizen Daibu (大膳大夫, Master of the Palace Table). The Imperial Court had maintained a system of ritsuryō that was parallel to the shogunate apparatus. In February 1559 Harunobu chose to live a pabbajja life as a Buddhist novitiate and received a dharma name, Shingen (信玄), from his Buddhist master. The kanji of "Shingen" can also be pronounced as "Nobuharu", which is the inversion of his official name, Harunobu. In ancient times, such religious names of recognized Japanese aristocrats used the on'yomi Chinese style pronunciation, instead of kun'yomi, the indigenous Japanese pronunciation. Although widely known by the dharma name, Takeda Shingen's formal name remained Harunobu throughout the rest of his life. Shingen is sometimes referred to as "The Tiger of Kai" (甲斐の虎) for his martial prowess on the battlefield. His primary rival, Uesugi Kenshin (上杉謙信), was often called "The Dragon of Echigo" (越後の龍) or also "The Tiger of Echigo" (越後の虎). "These two seemed to have enjoyed meeting in battle." They fought several times at Kawanakajima.

Takeda Shingen was the first born son of Takeda Nobutora (武田信虎), leader of the Takeda clan, and daimyō of the province of Kai. He had been an accomplished poet in his youth. He assisted his father with the older relatives and vassals of the Takeda clan, and became quite a valuable addition to the clan at a fairly young age. In 1536, at the age of 15, he was instrumental in helping his father win the Battle of Un no Kuchi. At some point in his life after his "coming of age" ceremony, the young man decided to rebel against his father, Takeda Nobutora. He finally succeeded in 1540, successfully taking control of the clan. Events regarding this change of leadership are not entirely clear, but it is thought that Nobutora had planned to name the second son, Nobushige, as his heir instead of Shingen. The end result was a miserable retirement that was forced upon him by Shingen and his supporters: he was sent to Suruga Province, on the southern border of Kai, to be kept in custody under the scrutiny of the Imagawa clan, led by his son in law Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川義元), the daimyō of Suruga. For their help in this bloodless coup, an alliance was formed between the Imagawa and the Takeda clans.

The death of Takeda Yoshinobu is believed to have much to do with the change in Shingen's policy towards the Imagawa clan. After Imagawa Yoshimoto's death in a Battle of Okehazama against Oda Nobunaga in 1560, Shingen made an alliance with the Oda and Tokugawa clan, and started to plan an invasion of Suruga Province, a territory now controlled by Yoshimoto's son, Ujizane. Yoshinobu, however, had strongly opposed such a plan because his wife was the daughter of Yoshimoto. By 1567, nonetheless, after Shingen had successfully kept the forces led by Uesugi Kenshin out of the northern boundaries of Shinano Province, taken over a strategically important castle in western Kōzuke, and suppressed internal objection to his plans to take advantage of the weakened Imagawa clan, he was ready to carry out his planned Suruga invasion. Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu "came to terms" and occupied the "former Imagawa territory." He was buried at Erin ji temple in what is now Kōshū, Yamanashi. After Shingen's death, Takeda Katsuyori became the daimyō of the Takeda clan. Katsuyori was ambitious and wanted to continue his father's legacy. He moved to take Tokugawa forts. However, an allied force of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga dealt a crushing blow to the Takeda in the Battle of Nagashino, when Nobunaga's matchlock armed infantry destroyed the Takeda cavalry. Nobunaga and Ieyasu seized the opportunity to defeat the weakened Takeda clan led by Takeda Katsuyori. Later, in the Battle of Tenmokuzan, Katsuyori committed suicide after the battle and the Takeda clan never recovered.

Upon Takeda Shingen's death, Uesugi Kenshin reportedly wept at the loss of one of his strongest and most deeply respected rivals. 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 old Takeda leader's governmental and military innovations after he had taken leadership of Kai Province during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rise to power. Many of these designs were put to use in the Tokugawa shogunate. While the Takeda were for the most part destroyed by the loss of Shingen's heir, Katsuyori, Shingen had a profound effect on the period in Japan. He influenced many lords with his law, tax, and administration systems, and many tales were told about him. Although aggressive towards military enemies he was probably not as cruel as other warlords. His war banner contained the famous phrase Fūrinkazan (Fū Rin Ka Zan), taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. This phrase refers to the idea of Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain. The motto applied to Shingen's policies and his military strategy.

Lasting three days, the Shingen ko Festival (信玄公祭り) is held annually on the first or second weekend of April in Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture to celebrate the legacy of daimyō Takeda Shingen. In the lunar calendar, Shingen died on the 12th day of the 4th month, and so April 12th is celebrated as the anniversary of his death (despite it being May 13th in the Gregorian calendar). Usually, a famous Japanese celebrity plays the part of Takeda Shingen. There are several parades going between the Takeda Shrine and Kofu Castle reflecting the various comings and goings of Takeda Shingen during his life. The parades are very theatrical, involving serious re enactors who practice all year for this one weekend.

Generations of farming peasants who become warriors to fight Takeda 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. Takeda's battles with Uesugi Kenshin were dramatized in the movie Heaven and Earth. Takeda 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 the alleged missing Takeda Shingen's 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. In the 2020 video game "Ghost of Tsushima", the player can obtain an armour set (Gosaku's armour) that is very heavily inspired by Takeda Shingen's actual famous armour set. Takeda Shingen has appeared in 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. 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: The Last Party and Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings. He was 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. Takeda is a playable character in the Mobile/PC Game Rise of Kingdoms. Takeda Shingen is summonable as a Rider class Servant in Fate/Grand Order. Takeda 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”