Overview
Shingen Takeda was a warlord and tactician of Japan's warring states era. He was among the most powerful warlords of his time, and was a major rival of other warlords including Kenshin Uesugi and Nobunaga Oda. In 1572, he marched toward Kyoto, Japan's capital, and in the process engaged in battle with the Oda army.
After beating back the forces of Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa at the battle of Mikatagahara in January of 1573, Shingen marched his men into the province of Mikawa, where he died. The manner of his death is not precisely known. Various theories include death due to illness, old war injuries, or a sniper's bullet. Following Takeda's death, his forces retreated, allowing the Oda forces to recover and strengthen. The last vestiges of the Takeda clan's military supremacy were destroyed in 1582, when the army, led by Shingen's son Katsuyori, was soundly beaten by the Oda, who cleverly used rifles to stop the Takeda cavalry.
In Video Games
Shingen has appeared in numerous video games set during Japan's warring states era, dating all the way back to the original Nobunaga's Ambition. In the Samurai Warriors series, he is a prominent playable character. In the original Samurai Warriors, his death is depicted as being due to ninja assassination at the hands of Hanzo Hattori.
Trivia
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