Sanada Yukimura

Japanese: 真田幸村 - さなだゆきむら

A military commander from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early Edo period. His real name was Nobushige, and his childhood name was Benmaru. He was born in 1567 as the second son of Sanada Masayuki, lord of Ueda Castle in Shinano Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture) and a servant of the Takeda clan. There are differing theories about his birth year, and there are also various theories about the origin of the name Yukimura, so it is unclear.
In 1582, the Takeda forces were defeated in the Battle of Tenmokuyama, which took place between the allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. On the way back to Ueda Castle, Masayuki's army encountered a Hojo army of over 40,000 men. Nobuyuki proposed to his father a strategy of dividing the Sanada army of about 300 men into six divisions, having the soldiers carry flags bearing the Yongle Tongbao coin, the flag of the Hojo general Matsuda, and launching a surprise attack. While the Hojo forces were in confusion, believing that the Matsuda clan was plotting a rebellion, Nobuyuki succeeded in returning safely to Ueda Castle. For this achievement, Masayuki allowed Nobuyuki to carry a flag bearing the six-mon coin.
After the Battle of Tenmokuyama, Masayuki and Nobushige became vassals of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but came into conflict with Ieyasu over the issue of peace with the Hojo clan and the formation of a military force against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and ended up serving Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobushige was offered as a hostage to the Uesugi Kagekatsu family, who were on Toyotomi's side, and thereafter lived as a hostage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
In the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Nobuyuki and Masayuki joined the Western Army led by Ishida Mitsunari and others, and fought against the Eastern Army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, but the Western Army was defeated. The Tokugawa Shogunate destroyed Ueda Castle, and Nobuyuki was imprisoned in Mount Koya (Wakayama Prefecture). He then moved to a hermitage in Kudoyama (Wakayama Prefecture) for seclusion.
In 1814, the final great battle of the Sengoku period between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the Siege of Osaka, took place. During the winter siege, Nobuyuki built a fort called Sanadamaru to the south of Osaka Castle, and fought bravely as part of the Toyotomi side with a small army, even attacking Tokugawa Ieyasu's main camp. However, he was killed in battle during the summer siege of 1815. Osaka Castle fell, and the Toyotomi clan was destroyed. It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu was impressed by Nobuyuki's fighting style, even though he was an enemy general, and allowed Nobuyuki to be praised within the Edo Shogunate.
Since the Edo period, the heroic tales of Sengoku warlords have been adapted into storytelling and novels based on the records and testimonies of soldiers who participated in the Battle of Osaka, and Nobuyuki has come to be portrayed as "Sanada Yukimura," a heroic warlord with excellent military tactics who boldly challenged his arch enemy, Tokugawa Ieyasu, accompanied by the Sanada Ten Braves.
Sanada Yukimura has been the subject of novels by Ozaki Shiro and Shiba Ryotaro, and has also been made into a movie starring Onoe Matsunosuke, as well as being featured in many manga, anime, games, etc. The 2016 NHK Taiga drama, "Sanadamaru," written by Mitani Koki, is scheduled to air.
The year 2014 marks 400 years since the Winter Siege of Osaka, and 2015 marks 400 years since the Summer Siege of Osaka.

(Natsuko Kasai, Freelance Writer / 2014)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

安土桃山時代から江戸時代初期にかけての武将。本名は信繁(のぶしげ)、幼名は弁丸。1567年、武田氏に仕える信濃国(現在の長野県)上田城主真田昌幸の次男として生まれる。生年については異説があり、幸村の名の由来についても諸説あり定かでない。
82年、織田信長･徳川家康の連合軍との間に起こった「天目山の戦」で武田勢が敗れ、昌幸の軍も上田城に引き返す途中、4万人余りの北条軍に遭遇する。信繁は、約300人の真田軍を6隊に分け、北条方の武将松田氏の旗印永楽通宝を描いた旗を兵に持たせ、闇討ちをかける戦術を父に提案した。松田氏の謀反と思いこんで北条方が混乱したすきに、無事、上田城に帰り着くことに成功。この功績により、信繁は昌幸から六文銭の旗印を持つことを許された。
天目山の戦後、昌幸・信繁父子は徳川家康に臣属するが、豊臣秀吉に対する布陣に関わり北条氏との和睦の件で家康と対立し、豊臣秀吉に仕えることとなる。信繁は豊臣方の上杉景勝家に人質として差し出され、その後は豊臣秀吉の人質として暮らした。
1600年関ヶ原の戦いでは、信繁は昌幸と共に石田三成らが率いる西軍につき、徳川家康の東軍と争ったが、西軍は敗退。徳川幕府は上田城を破壊し、信繁は高野山(和歌山県)に幽閉された。その後、隠棲のための庵を九度山(和歌山県)に移した。
14年、戦国時代最後の大合戦となる豊臣家と徳川家による最終決着戦「大坂の陣」が起こり、信繁は冬の陣の篭城戦で大坂城の南方に真田丸と呼ばれる砦を作り、寡兵の豊臣方として徳川家康の本陣まで攻め込む奮闘を見せたが、15年夏の陣にて戦死。大坂城は落城し、豊臣家は滅亡した。徳川家康は、敵将ながら信繁の戦いぶりに感服し、江戸幕府内で信繁を称えることを許したと伝えられる。
大坂の陣に参戦した将兵による記録・証言を基に、江戸時代以降、戦国武将の武勇伝は講談や小説などに翻案され、信繁は真田十勇士を従えて宿敵・徳川家康に果敢に挑む軍策に優れた英雄的武将「真田幸村」として語られるようになった。
真田幸村は、尾崎士郎や司馬遼太郎らによる小説の題材となり、尾上松之助が演じて映画にもなったほか、マンガ、テレビアニメ、ゲームなどにも数多く取り上げられてきた。2016年のNHK大河ドラマでは、三谷幸喜の脚本による「真田丸」が放映される予定。
2014年は大坂冬の陣から400年、15年は大坂夏の陣から400年の節目を迎える。

(葛西奈津子　フリーランスライター／ 2014年)

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