The Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan banner and hard-hitting horsemen
Legacy
A rival who might have stopped Nobunaga
Takeda Shingen, the Tiger of Kai, was among the most formidable warlords of the Sengoku age, and one of the few whom Oda Nobunaga is said to have truly feared. His cavalry were the terror of central Japan, and his death may have changed the course of the wars of unification.
The Tiger of Kai
Lord of the mountain province of Kai1, Shingen forged a strong domain and a hard-fighting army. His war banner bore four characters drawn from the ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan, swift as the wind, silent as a forest, fierce as fire2, immovable as a mountain, a motto that captured his way of war.
Portrait of Takeda Harunobu, the later Shingen, painted in colours on silk in the 16th century and kept at Jimyo-in on Mount Koya. Public domain
The duels of Kawanakajima
Shingen's great rival was Uesugi Kenshin, and between 1553 and 1564 the two fought a series of battles at1Kawanakajima. The fourth, in 1561, became the most famous clash3 of the age in Japanese memory, though neither lord could win a lasting decision over the other3.
The Battle of Kawanakajima, with Takeda Shingen on the left and Uesugi Kenshin on the right. Woodblock triptych by Utagawa Hiroshige after Katsukawa Shuntei, 1845. Public domain
The threat to Nobunaga
Late in life Shingen turned west against the rising power of Nobunaga and his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, whom he defeated at Mikatagahara in 15731. But on that campaign he died the same year, most likely of illness, though the exact cause is still debated. His death lifted a great danger from Nobunaga, and two years later his son Katsuyori led the Takeda cavalry to ruin4 against Nobunaga's guns at Nagashino.
The Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573, where Shingen defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu. Woodblock triptych by Utagawa Yoshitora, published in 1874. Public domain
He was a daimyo (1521 to 1573), lord of Kai province and one of the most powerful warlords of Sengoku Japan, known as the Tiger of Kai.
What is Takeda Shingen famous for?
For his feared cavalry, his Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan banner drawn from Sun Tzu, his rivalry with Uesugi Kenshin at Kawanakajima, and his defeat of Ieyasu at Mikatagahara.
What does Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan mean?
It means wind, forest, fire and mountain, a phrase from Sun Tzu that Shingen took as his war banner: swift, silent, fierce and immovable.
Who was Takeda Shingen's great rival?
Uesugi Kenshin, whom he fought in the celebrated series of battles at Kawanakajima between 1553 and 1564.
How did Takeda Shingen die?
He fell ill and died in 1573 during a campaign against Nobunaga and Ieyasu, shortly after defeating Ieyasu at Mikatagahara.
What happened to the Takeda after him?
His son Katsuyori led the Takeda cavalry to a crushing defeat against Nobunaga's gunners at Nagashino in 1575, and the clan was later destroyed.
Lead the Tiger's cavalry
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