Masayuki Sanada

A military commander in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The third son of Takeda general Yukitaka. At the age of 11, he went to Kofu as a hostage, and later became a personal attendant of Takeda Shingen, calling himself Muto Kihei. In 1575 (Tensho 3), his eldest and second elder brothers were killed in the Battle of Nagashino, and Muto inherited the family headship. In 1580, he actively advanced into Kozuke (Gunma Prefecture), and finally acquired the entire Numata domain. After the downfall of the Takeda clan in 1582, he served Oda Nobunaga, and was granted confirmation of his main domain, and after the Honnoji Incident, he joined the Tokugawa clan. However, when Ieyasu tried to give Numata Castle to Hojo Ujinao, he opposed this and allied with Uesugi Kagekatsu, and in 1585 he intercepted and defeated the Tokugawa forces at Ueda Castle in Shinano (Nagano Prefecture). He then became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but later joined Ieyasu on Hideyoshi's orders, sending his eldest son Nobuyuki to serve Ieyasu and his second son Nobushige (Yukimura) to serve Hideyoshi. In the Battle of Sekigahara, he joined the Western Army and defended Ueda Castle to the death, which meant that Tokugawa Hidetada was late to the battle. After the war, he was exiled to Mount Koya, where he died in exile. According to storytelling, he trained his martial arts at Shimo-Kudoyama, Mt. Koya, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback, but in his later years he lived a lonely life, eagerly waiting for a pardon.

[Keiichiro Kobayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

安土(あづち)桃山時代の武将。武田の将幸隆(ゆきたか)の三男。11歳のとき人質として甲府に赴き、のち武田信玄(しんげん)の近侍となり、武藤喜兵衛と称した。1575年（天正3）、長兄、次兄が長篠(ながしの)の戦いで戦死したので、家督を継いだ。80年盛んに上野(こうずけ)（群馬県）に進出、ついに沼田領一円を手に入れた。82年の武田氏滅亡後は織田信長に仕えて本領を安堵(あんど)され、本能寺の変後は徳川氏に属した。しかし、家康が沼田城を北条氏直(うじなお)に与えようとしたため、これに反し、上杉景勝(かげかつ)と結んで85年徳川軍を信濃(しなの)（長野県）上田城に迎撃して破った。ついで豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉に臣従したが、のち秀吉の命で家康に属し、長男信之(のぶゆき)を家康に、次男信繁(のぶしげ)（幸村(ゆきむら)）を秀吉に出仕させた。関ヶ原の戦いでは西軍に属し、上田城を死守、徳川秀忠(ひでただ)はそのため合戦に遅れてしまった。戦後高野山(こうやさん)に流され、配所で没した。高野山下九度山で再起の機をうかがって武を練っていたというのは講談で、晩年には赦免の沙汰(さた)を待ちこがれて、寂しく暮らしていた。

［小林計一郎］

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