Nobuyuki Sanada

Japanese: 真田信之 - さなだ・のぶゆき

Year of death: 17th October 1658 (12th November 1658)
Year of birth: 1566
A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. His first name was Nobuyuki, and he was commonly known as Gensaburo and Izu no Kami. He was the son of Sanada Masayuki, the lord of Numata Castle in Kozuke Province. In 1582, he was sent as a hostage to Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sunpu. He married the daughter of Ieyasu's military commander Honda Tadakatsu, and in 1593, he became the lord of Numata Castle and was appointed Izu no Kami. During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, his father Masayuki and his younger brother Yukimura (Nobushige) sided with Ishida Mitsunari, but Nobuyuki, due to a long-standing connection, sided with the Tokugawa, and accompanied Tokugawa Hidetada, who had traveled west along the Nakasendo road, to attack Ueda Castle in Shinshu, where Masayuki and Yukimura were resisting under siege. However, he was unable to take Ueda Castle, and because the attack on Ueda took time, Tokugawa Hidetada's forces were late to the Battle of Sekigahara. After the war, Nobuyuki begged for his father and brother's lives to be spared, and was granted them thanks to his loyal service. The following year, he moved to Ueda Castle, where he was awarded a total of 95,000 koku, including Numata. He fought in the Sieges of Osaka in both Keicho 19 and Genna 1 (1615), and was recognized for his military achievements. In Genna 8, he was transferred to Matsushiro, where he was awarded a total of 130,000 koku, including 100,000 koku in Takai, Minouchi, Hanishina, and Sarashina counties, and 30,000 koku in Numata. From this point on, he worked to improve the administration of the domain, develop new fields, and build a castle town, solidifying the foundations of the Matsushiro domain. He lived to be over 90 years old, but towards the end of the Kan'ei period, he was one of the few Sengoku warlords who knew the past, and was respected by the people, including Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. In Meireki 2 (1656), he retired and handed over the Matsushiro domain to his heir Nobumasa, and the Numata domain to his eldest grandson Nobutoshi. He later shaved his head and took the name Ittosai. His grave is in the Sanada family mausoleum at Chokokuji Temple in Matsushiro.

(Kazuhiko Kasaya)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：万治1.10.17(1658.11.12)
生年：永禄9(1566)
安土桃山・江戸前期の武将。名は初め信幸,通称は源三郎,伊豆守。上野国沼田城主真田昌幸の子。天正10(1582)年に駿府の徳川家康の許へ人質として送られる。家康の武将本多忠勝の娘をめとり,文禄2(1593)年に沼田城主となり伊豆守に叙任。慶長5(1600)年の関ケ原の戦に際して,父昌幸と弟の幸村(信繁)は石田三成方に与したが,信之はかねてからの縁により徳川方に属し,中山道を西上した徳川秀忠に従軍して昌幸,幸村の籠城抵抗する信州上田城を攻撃した。しかし上田城を落とすことはできず,またこの上田攻めに時日を要したために徳川秀忠軍は関ケ原の戦にも遅れたのであった。戦後,信之は父弟の助命を請い,その年来の忠勤により許された。翌年,上田城に移り,沼田と合わせて9万5000石を領した。慶長19,元和1(1615)年の大坂の陣にはいずれも出陣し戦功があった。元和8年には松代に移封され,高井,水内,埴科,更級4郡で10万石,沼田領3万石の計13万石を領した。これより藩政の整備,新田開発,城下町建設に努め,松代藩の基礎を固めた。90歳を超える長寿をうけたが,寛永末ごろには往時を知る数少ない戦国武将のひとりとして,将軍徳川家光をはじめ世の人々の尊敬を集めていた。明暦2(1656)年に隠居して松代領を嗣子信政に,沼田領を嫡孫の信利に譲った。のち剃髪して一当斎と称した。墓は松代長国寺の真田家廟所。<参考文献>田中誠三郎『真田一族と家臣団』

(笠谷和比古)

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