Masakage was one of Takeda Shingen’s most loyal and capable commanders. He was included in the famous list of the “Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen” and also belonged to the inner circle of four especially trusted warlords known as the Shitennō.
Masakage was the younger brother of Obu Toramasa, although according to another version of the sources he may have been Toramasa’s nephew. Toramasa was also a general of the Takeda clan and commanded the so-called “Red Fire” unit, a direct reference to Shingen’s motto Fūrinkazan, which invokes fire, forest, wind, and mountain. Toramasa is believed to have been the first to employ military units equipped entirely in red armor, known as Akazonae (literally, “those dressed in red”).
In 1565, Toramasa was sentenced to commit seppuku for supporting the rebellion of Takeda Yoshinobu. After this, Masakage took command of the “Red Fire” unit and continued the tradition of using Akazonae. Units clad in red armor were considered elite: they were always placed at the forefront of attacks and inspired fear in their enemies.
This idea was later actively adopted by Ii Naomasa, a commander under Tokugawa Ieyasu, who also dressed all of his soldiers in red armor. For this reason, his warriors earned the nickname “Red Demons” (Akaoni). Akazonae units also existed within the Sanada clan.
Masakage fought in many battles and was granted a land holding in Shinano Province. He fought against the Hōjō clan at the Battle of Mimasetōge in 1569, and during the campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu— which culminated in the Battle of Mikatagahara—he captured Yoshida Castle, which belonged to Ieyasu. At the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, Masakage initially attempted to persuade Takeda Katsuyori to retreat. However, Katsuyori decided to attack. In this battle, Masakage commanded the left wing of the Takeda army and was killed during the assault on the Tokugawa positions. According to the chronicle Kōyō Gunkan, he took more enemy heads than anyone else.
According to legend, before his death Takeda Shingen summoned Masakage to his side and entrusted him with placing his battle banners on Seta Bridge, which was considered the traditional eastern entrance to the capital, Kyoto.
See also
-
Yagyu Munenori
Yagyū Munenori began his service under Tokugawa Ieyasu while his father, Yagyū Muneyoshi, was still at his side. In 1600, Munenori took part in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. As early as 1601, he was appointed a kenjutsu instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son, who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
-
Yagyu Muneyoshi
A samurai from Yamato Province, he was born into a family that had been defeated in its struggle against the Tsutsui clan. Muneyoshi first took part in battle at the age of sixteen. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to enter the service of the Tsutsui house and later served Miyoshi Tōkei. He subsequently came under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and in time became a vassal first of Oda and later of Toyotomi.
-
Endo Naozune
Naozune served under Azai Nagamasa and was one of the clan’s leading vassals, renowned for his bravery and determination. He accompanied Nagamasa during his first meeting with Oda Nobunaga and at that time asked for permission to kill Nobunaga, fearing him as an extremely dangerous man; however, Nagamasa did not grant this request.
-
Hosokawa Sumimoto
Sumimoto came from the Hosokawa clan: he was the biological son of Hosokawa Yoshiharu and at the same time the adopted son of Hosokawa Masamoto, the heir of Hosokawa Katsumoto, one of the principal instigators of the Ōnin War. Masamoto was homosexual, never married, and had no children of his own. At first he adopted Sumiyuki, a scion of the aristocratic Kujō family, but this choice provoked dissatisfaction and sharp criticism from the senior vassals of the Hosokawa house. As a result, Masamoto changed his decision and proclaimed Sumimoto as his heir, a representative of a collateral branch of the Hosokawa clan that had long been based in Awa Province on the island of Shikoku. Almost immediately after this, the boy became entangled in a complex and bitter web of political intrigue.
-
Honda Masanobu
Masanobu initially belonged to the retinue of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but later entered the service of Sakai Shōgen, a daimyo and priest from Ueno. This shift automatically made him an enemy of Ieyasu, who was engaged in conflict with the Ikkō-ikki movement in Mikawa Province. After the Ikkō-ikki were defeated in 1564, Masanobu was forced to flee, but in time he returned and once again entered Ieyasu’s service. He did not gain fame as a military commander due to a wound sustained in his youth; nevertheless, over the following fifty years he consistently remained loyal to Ieyasu.
-
Honda Masazumi
Masazumi was the eldest son of Honda Masanobu. From a young age, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu alongside his father, taking part in the affairs of the Tokugawa house and gradually gaining experience in both military and administrative matters. At the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Masazumi was part of the core Tokugawa forces, a clear sign of the high level of trust Ieyasu placed in him. After the campaign ended, he was given a highly sensitive assignment—serving in the guard of the defeated Ishida Mitsunari, one of Tokugawa’s principal enemies—an obligation that required exceptional reliability and caution.
-
Hojo Shigetoki
Hōjō Shigetoki, the third son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, was still very young—only five years old—when his grandfather Tokimasa became the first member of the Hōjō clan to assume the position of shogunal regent.
-
Hojo Masako
Masako was one of the most influential and powerful political figures of the era of military rule in Japan. She was the daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa and the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo.
