The Takeda (武田氏) was one of many families of daimyō (feudal lords) in Japan's Sengoku period; it's importance derives almost entirely from the power and fame of Takeda Shingen. Takeda is also a fairly common family name in modern Japan, though it is unlikely that everyone with the Takeda name is descended from this noble house. The daimyo (大名: daimyō) were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 12th century to the 19th century in Japan. ... The Sengoku Period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai) or warring-states period, is a period of long civil war in the history of Japan that spans from the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ... Statue of Takeda Shingen Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄 Takeda Shingen) (December 1, 1521 – May 13, 1573) of Shinano and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo who fought for control of Japan during that countrys Sengoku or warring states period. ...

In the 12th century, at the end of the Heian period, the Takeda family controlled Kai Province. Along with a number of other families, they aided the Minamoto clan against the Taira clan in the Genpei War. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Takeda still controlled Kai, and still held active alliances with a number of equally minor families. In 1415, they helped to suppress the rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū; Ashikaga Mochiuji, in whose name the rebellion had been organized, made a reprisal against the Takeda, thus beginning the rivalry between the Uesugi and Takeda families, which would last roughly 150 years. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei Overview The Heian period (平安時代) is the last division... Kai province (甲斐国; -no kuni) is an old province in Japan that corresponds to Yamanashi prefecture today. ... Minamoto (源) was an honorary surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period to their sons and grandsons after accepting them as royal subjects. ... Taira (平) is a Japanese surname. ... The Genpei or Gempei War (源平戦争)(1180-1185) was a war of ancient Japan, fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans. ... Events Friedrich I Hohenzollern (b. ...

Takeda Harunobu succeeded his father Nobutora in 1540, becoming lord of Kai, and quickly began to expand. Though he faced the Hōjō clan a number of times, most of his expansion was to the north, where he fought his most famous battles, against Uesugi Kenshin. Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... The Hojo clan (北条氏) in History of Japan is a family of regents of the Kamakura Shogunate. ... Uesugi Kenshin(上杉謙信) (February 18, 1530 - April 19, 1578) was a warlord who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku Period of Japan. ...

Shingen is famous for his tactical genius, and innovations, though some historians have argued that his tactics were not particularly impressive or revolutionary. Nevertheless, Shingen is perhaps most famous for his use of the cavalry charge. Up until the mid-16th century and Shingen's rise to power, mounted samurai were primarily archers. There was already a trend at this time towards larger infantry-based armies, including a large number of foot archers. In order to defeat these missile troops, Shingen transformed his samurai from archers to spearmen, and used the cavalry charge to devastating effect at the battle of Mikata ga hara in 1572. The strength of Shingen's new tactic became so famous that the Takeda army came to be known as the kiba gundan (騎馬軍団), or 'mounted army.' Some even called them shinshu oniyaku (新種鬼役), or holy devils. Events January 16 - Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. ...

Shingen died in 1573, at age 53, from a gun wound. His less tactically talented son, Katsuyori, succeeded him, and was defeated in 1575, in the famous battle of Nagashino, by Oda Nobunaga. Events January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland. ... Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont August 5 - Henry Sidney is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ... The Battle of Nagashino in 1575 took place in Nagashino in Mikawa of Japan. ... Oda Nobunaga Oda Nobunaga (織田 ä¿¡é•· Oda Nobunaga, June 23, 1534 - June 21, 1582) was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. ...

The Kōshū Hatto, composed at some point in the 15th century, is the code of law of the Takeda family, while the Kōyō Gunkan, composed largely by Kosaka Masanobu in the mid-16th century, is an epic recording the family's history and Shingen's innovations in military tactics. Kōsaka Masanobu (高坂昌信, sometimes known as Kōsaka Danjō Masanobu; 高坂弾正昌信) (d. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, which retells in a continuous narrative the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of persons. ...

Important Members of the Takeda family

• Takeda Nobutora - Shingen's father.
• Takeda Shingen - one of Japan's most famous warlords, Shingen expanded his domains greatly, and became one of the major powers in the country for a time.
• Takeda Katsuyori - Shingen's son, Katsuyori commanded his father's armies after his death, and saw the fall of the Takeda family.

Takeda Nobutora (武田信虎)(1493-1573) was a Japanese feudal lord (daimyo) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. ... Statue of Takeda Shingen Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄 Takeda Shingen) (December 1, 1521 – May 13, 1573) of Shinano and Kai Provinces, was a preeminent daimyo who fought for control of Japan during that countrys Sengoku or warring states period. ... Takeda Katsuyori (武田勝頼: 1546 – 1582) was the son of Takeda Shingen and father of Takeda Nobukatsu and Takeda Katsuchika. ...

References

• Sansom, George (1961). 'A History of Japan: 1334-1615'. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
• Turnbull, Stephen (2002). 'War in Japan 1467-1615'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.