Nobutora Takeda (1/2)Kai no Tora's father

During the Sengoku period, there was a feared daimyo who ruled Kai Province (present-day Yamanashi Prefecture). This is Takeda Shingen. Takeda Shingen was born as the eldest son of Takeda Nobutora, the shugo daimyo of Kai Province. Nobutora unified Kai Province, which was constantly in conflict, and fought with the Hojo family of Sagami Province and the Imagawa family of Suruga Province. However, Takeda Shingen banished Nobutora from Kai Province and forced him to retire. So this time I would like to take a look at Nobutora Takeda, a daimyo in the early Sengoku period.

Takeda family of Kai Province

Takeda clan of Kai Province (present-day Yamanashi Prefecture). Takeda Shingen from the Sengoku period is famous, but the Takeda clan itself was an old samurai family. The Takeda clan, which originated from the Seiwa-Genji clan in Kawachi Province (present-day eastern Osaka Prefecture), is a samurai clan whose ancestor was Minamoto no Yoshimitsu and was indigenous to Kai Province.
In addition to Kai Province, the family had families all over the country, including the Takeda clan in Aki Province and the Takeda clan in Wakasa Province. The Takeda clan of Kai Province was appointed as the guardian of Kai Province by Minamoto no Yoritomo, and was a family that ruled Kai Province for generations.

However, in the middle of the Muromachi period, their power declined, allowing the rise of the kokujinshu and the Atobe clan, the shugodai. Years passed by in Kai Province, which remained in turmoil and unorganized. Under these circumstances, Nobutora Takeda was born in Kai Province.

Birth of Nobutora and unification of the Takeda family

In the middle of the Muromachi period, Kai Province had no real ruler and was in turmoil. Nobutora's grandfather, Nobumasa Takeda, unified the country as a shugo and moved it towards stability. Nobumasa handed over the headship of the family to his eldest son, Nobunawa Takeda, and retired. However, Nobumasa, who had retired, suddenly expressed his intention to hand over the headship of the family to his second son, Nobue.
The eldest son Nobunawa rebelled, and Kai Province, which had been heading towards stability, was divided into two factions: the eldest son Nobunawa, his father Nobumasa, and the second son Nobue.

Meanwhile, Nobutora Takeda was born in 1494 (or 1498) as the eldest son of Nobunawa Takeda. Nobutora was born during the time when the Kai Province was divided into two and fighting, but when he was four years old, a surprising thing happened: the Great Meio Earthquake. In 1498, a large earthquake occurred off the coast of Tokaido, causing a tsunami that swept from the Kinki region to the Kanto region. Kai Province, which did not face the sea, was also seriously damaged, and the brothers Nobunawa and Nobue stopped fighting, and Nobunawa took over as head of the family.

Nobunawa inherited the headship of the family, but in 1505, Takeda Nobumasa, the man who divided Kai Province into two and Nobutora's grandfather, passed away, and two years later, in 1507, Nobutora's father, Shinnawa also dies.
Nobutora, the national governor of Kai Province, passed away and Nobutora took over as head of the Takeda family.
However, Nobue, who had been fighting with the late Nobunawa, objected to this. Nobutora's uncle, Nobue, objected to this succession of the family head, and Nobutora and Nobue became separated, leading to a conflict.
The conflict developed into a battle that divided Kai Province into two. Nobue's side suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Katsuyama Castle, and his uncle Nobue Takeda and other members of the Nobue side were also killed in the battle. With this, Nobutora Takeda unified the Takeda family.

Unification of Kai Province

Nobutora Takeda defeated his uncle Nobue and unified the entire Takeda family, but there were people in Kai Province who did not follow the Takeda family. Nobutora attacked and destroyed these disobedient people, or forced them to obey by marrying them.
In response, the Kokujinshu, who were hostile to Nobutora, relied on the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province, and the relationship between Kai Province, centered on the Takeda clan, and Suruga Province, led by the Imagawa clan, became tense. In particular, the Oi family, which ruled the western part of Kai Province, relied on the Imagawa family, and the Imagawa family also showed an attitude of intervening in Kai Province.
However, when the locals of Suruga Province, the home of the Imagawa family, showed signs of rebellion, the Takeda family and the Imagawa family made peace. Nobutora made peace with the Oi family, and as proof of that peace, he took a wife from the Oi family. Harunobu Takeda, later Shingen Takeda, was born to Mrs. Oi, a princess from the Oi family.

Nobutora, who was steadily unifying Kai Province, changed his residence and tried to further strengthen the unification. Until then, the political center of Kai Province was located in Isawakan (currently Kawada-cho, Kofu City, Isawa-cho, Fuefuki City, etc.). Nobutora's grandfather, Nobumasa, and father, Shinawa, were also based in Isawakan. However, in 1518, Nobutora moved the guardian post to Kofu (Kofunakacho, Kofu City) in the Aikawa Fan. The castle town was developed, and the houses of influential nationalists were gathered here and settled there.
Nobutora Takeda begins to rule Kai Province stably.

Conflict with surrounding forces

After Nobutora Takeda stabilized Kai Province, he began to look outside of Kai Province.
He came into conflict with the Hojo family, an emerging power that formed in Sagami Province (present-day western Kanagawa Prefecture). Since the Hojo family was in conflict with the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi family, Nobutora joined forces with the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi family.
On the other hand, since the Hojo family in Sagami Province and the Imagawa family in Suruga Province were related by marriage, Nobutora was also at war with the Imagawa family. We also turn our attention to Shinano Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture). Kunitora invaded the border between Kai Province and Shinano Province and fought with the Suwa clan.

In this way, Kunitora repeatedly rose and fell as he fought with the people around Kai Province. He was in conflict with the Suwa family, Imagawa family, and Hojo family, which surrounded Kai Province, and formed an alliance with the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi family. However, the situation was not stable, as the Kokujinshu of Kai Province who opposed Kunitora's policies left Nobutora. In 1535, Nobutora made peace and formed an alliance with the Suwa family.

The following year, Tenbun 5 (1536). Ujiteru Imagawa, the head of the Imagawa family in Suruga Province, and his younger brother Hikogoro died. In the Imagawa family, the head of the family was absent, and a dispute arose between Yoshimoto Imagawa (at this time Zentokuji Joyoshi), the younger brother of the deceased Ujiteru, and Etan Genhiro, which was known as the Hanakura Rebellion.
Nobutora and the Hojo family, who were in conflict, supported Yoshimoto Imagawa, and Yoshimoto Imagawa won and became the head of the Imagawa family. Nobutora married his daughter to Yoshimoto, who became the head of the family, and the Takeda and Imagawa families became allies.
Also, in 1539, the Takeda family and the Hojo family made peace.
Nobutora gradually began to build stable relations with the countries with which he had been in conflict, and began to seriously plan to advance into Shinano Province.
　
Now, Nobutora Takeda had a legitimate son. Takeda Harunobu, later Takeda Shingen. Shingen celebrated his Genpuku in the 4th year of Tenbun (1535), and made his first battle in the Battle of Saku District, Shinano Province in 1536.
In the 10th year of Tenbun, Nobutora invaded Saku District, Shinano Province with his eldest son Shingen. Although the invasion itself did not go well, both Nobutora and Shingen were able to withdraw to Kai. Nobutora went to Kai to meet his son-in-law, Yoshimoto Imagawa, from Suruga Province. At this time, an incident occurs.

Expulsion of Nobutora

In June 1541, Nobutora Takeda returned from Shinano Province and headed to Suruga to meet his son-in-law, Yoshimoto Imagawa. However, in anticipation of Nobutora's absence, his son Takeda Shingen closed off the border between Kai and Suruga. Nobutora had no way home and was unable to return to Kai Province.
With the consent of the Fudai vassals of the Takeda family, Shingen inherited the position of head of the Takeda family and the position of Shugo, and Nobutora was treated as a retiree.

Nobutora Takeda and his son Shingen Takeda did not get along well. This is said to be because Nobutora gave more importance to his second son, Nobushige, than his eldest son, Shingen.
Also, Nobutora and the Takeda family vassals did not agree with each other. Repeated overseas expeditions led to heavy taxes, and the country was exhausted.
It is said that Takeda Shingen and his vassals drove Nobutora out because of these interpersonal relationships.

Nobutora was driven out and was taken care of by Yoshimoto Imagawa. It is said that Takeda Shingen and Imagawa Yoshimoto had contacted each other in advance and had agreed to force Nobutora to become a monk. Nobutora's retirement expenses were paid by the Takeda family, and the Imagawa family also sent a letter urging him to do so. However, without Nobutora knowing, he was forced out of his position as the country's head.

Nobutora after exile

Nobutora Takeda, who was exiled from Kai Province by Takeda Shingen, took refuge with the Imagawa family in Suruga Province for a while. While he was in the Imagawa family, he was treated as Yoshimoto Imagawa's ``father-in-law'' and was treated with a higher status than the Imagawa clan.
Nobutora also became a monk around this time and retired from public life, calling himself ``Mujin Saidoyu.''