Sanada Yukimura

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Sanada Saemon-no-Suke Yukimura (真田 左衛門佐　幸村, Sanada Yukimura^?, 1567 May 7, 1615) was a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki (真田昌幸). His proper name was Sanada Nobushige (真田信繁), named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige （武田信繁), who was a brave and respected warrior. Sanada Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in hundred years" and "crimson demon of war", and Shimazu Tadatsune (島津忠恒, arguably the best performer in the invasion of Korea) called him the "number one soldier in Japan."

[edit] Life

He was the second son of Sanada Masayuki, his elder brother being Sanada Nobuyuki. He was married to Akihime (Chikurinin) a foster-daughter of Otani Yoshitsugu. They had two sons, Daisuke (Yukimasa) and Daihachi (Morinobu), and several daughters.

In 1575, the Battle of Nagashino claimed the lives of two of Sanada Masayuki's elder brothers. Masayuki, previously serving Takeda Shingen（武田信玄）and Takeda Katsuyori（武田勝頼）as a retainer, inherited the Sanada clan and left for Ueda Castle. Yukimura also went, taking the Sanada name as well.

By 1582, the Oda-Tokugawa forces had destroyed the Takeda clan. The Sanada initially surrendered to Oda Nobunaga（織田信長）, but, after the Incident at Honnōji（本能寺の変）, it became independent again, drifting between stronger daimyo such as the Uesugi clan, the Late Hōjō clan, and the Tokugawa clan. Eventually, the Sanada clan became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi（豊臣秀吉）. During this period, Hideyoshi treated Yukimura with extreme care and hospitality. Hideyoshi's fondness is shown by the fact that Yukimura was given the right to use the surname of Toyotomi Clan, which was the clan of the Kanpaku (関白) during that period. Thus, he is sometimes referred to as (even by Yukimura himself) as Toyotomi Saemon-no-suke Nobushige (豊臣左衛門佐信繁)

In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu（徳川家康）rallied various daimyo to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu（上杉景勝）. The Sanada clan complied as well, but when Ishida Mitsunari decided to challenge Ieyasu, Masayuki and Yukimura joined the western forces, parting ways with Masayuki's eldest son and Yukimura's brother, Nobuyuki（真田信之, originally 真田信幸）, who joined the eastern forces. The true motive of Masayuki and Yukimura's decision is disputed with many theories, but there are two main schools of thought: In one, Masayuki made the decision (and Yukimura agreed); he expressed the willingness to take a gamble, so that if he were to join the weak side and win the battle, the Sanada family would gain much more power. The other theory is the opposite where they planned a safety net; Masayuki, Yukimura, and Nobuyuki discussed the situation when Ieyasu asked them to state their allegiance clearly, and they decided to join both sides separately, so that, regardless of the outcome of the battle, the family of Sanada would survive.

The Sanadas retreated to and fortified Ueda Castle. When Tokugawa Hidetada marched a sizeable army on the Nakasendō, the Sanadas resisted and were able to fight back Hidetada's 40,000 men with only 2,000. However, it took much longer to take the castle than was expected. Hidetada lost focus and never showed up on the battlefield during the Battle of Sekigahara where the main force was awaiting the arrival of his crucial army, a mistake that put the Tokugawa clan in jeopardy.

Because of this, Tokugawa Ieyasu wanted to execute the Sanadas, but, because of Nobuyuki's contribution to his own cause, they were spared and instead exiled to Kudoyama in Kii Province. Masayuki died there. Twelve years later, as the relations between the Toyotomi clan and Tokugawa shogunate worsened, the Toyotomi clan started to recruit ronin in preparation for war. Yukimura escaped from Kudoyama and entered Osaka Castle to answer the call.

During the Winter Siege of Osaka, Sanada Yukimura built fortifications along the south of Osaka Castle at its weak points. From there, he defeated the Tokugawa forces (approximately 30,000 men) with groups of 6000 arquebusiers.

The next year, during the Summer Siege of Osaka, Yukimura decided not to fight defensively but to attack the Tokugawa forces head-on. First he defeated 12000 mounted arquebusiers led by Date Masamune (who is considered to be one of two best strategists in the creative and unique use of mounted arquebusiers) with an army of cavalry and footmen totalling 3000. After the army of Date Masamune was defeated, the elite Echizen armies behind him, approximately 20,000-30,000 in number, dared not move forward to fight Yukimura. Yukimura's army shouted "one million boys in the eastern army, not one real man!" before returning to Osaka castle.

The next day, Yukimura attacked Tokugawa Ieyasu's army directly. His charges were so ferocious that he purportedly reached Tokugawa Ieyasu's main camp several times. It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu was almost ready to commit seppuku, but this is most likely a fabrication of later generations. Though not many sources can verify the actual facts, during the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615, Yukimura led several assaults against the Tokugawa main camp using the tactic of 8 kagemushas (decoys) to confuse the enemies. The strength and determination of these attacks was said to have been caused by his personal vendetta against the Tokugawa family. He reached the main camp twice, close enough that Ieyasu could be seen from only metres away from their charge, but Yukimura never managed to kill him. After the Osaka castle was captured by the Tokugawa Bakufu, Tokugawa himself was said to have fear of Yukimura's name till his dying days. After this, Yukimura was considered the greatest warrior of the last days of the Sengoku Jidai period.

However, greatly outnumbered by Tokugawa forces, Yukimura's forces were eventually defeated. According to The Life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu by A.L. Sadler, in his intense fight against the wavering Echizen troops, Yukimura was wounded and completely exhausted when one Nishio Nizaemon of the Echizen army rode at him. At this point, he is said to have exclaimed, "I am Sanada Yukimura, an adversary no doubt quite worthy of you, but I am too exhausted to fight any more," and allowed himself to be killed, though many scholars believe he died of exhaustion. His grave is located in Osaka.

[edit] Legend and popular depiction

A fact about Sanada Yukimura is that, in primary historical sources and personal letters penned by himself, he was never referred to as Yukimura. That name surfaced in a military novel written during the Edo period and has since been popularized in modern plays, books, novels, and different media of entertainment. The historical documents use his historical name "Nobushige", but his pen name "Yukimura" was never mentioned. One theory is that the name Yukimura is a portmanteau of Masayuki (his father) and Date Tsunamura.

A legend says that Yukimura had ten heroes who took an active role at the battles of Osaka Castle. They were called the Sanada Ten Braves (真田十勇士, Sanada Jūyūshi), a group of ninja, and consisted of the following members:

• Sarutobi Sasuke
• Kirigakure Saizo
• Miyoshi Seikai
• Miyoshi Isa
• Anayama Kosuke
• Unno Rokuro
• Kakei Juzo
• Nezu Jinpachi
• Mochizuki Rokuro
• Yuri Kamanosuke

[edit] Portrayals

Sanada Yukimura has been portrayed in several different contemporary media, including:

• Koei's Sengoku Musou, known as Samurai Warriors in the US. In the Japanese version, his voice is provided by voice actor Kusao Takeshi. His weapon of choice is the Magari-Yari, or Cross Spear.
• Yoroiden Samurai Troopers or Ronin Warriors. The character, Ryo Sanada, historically based off Sanada Yukimura. He was also voiced by Kusao Takeshi.
• Akimine Kamijyo's popular anime and manga series Samurai Deeper Kyo, in which Yukimura is portrayed by voice actress Ogata Megumi.
• Capcom's videogame Sengoku Basara (Devil Kings in the US where he is portrayed as Scorpio), in which he is a playable character. Hoshi Soichiro provides Yukimura's voice in the game.
• In the popular anime and manga series Prince of Tennis, the captain of the Rikkaidai team is named Yukimura, while his vice-captain is named Sanada.
• Sanada Yukimura now appears in his own anime called Sanada Juyushi Special, directed by Shimizu Keizo.