Akiyama Nobutomo

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Akiyama Nobutomo
Coat of arms with name, as it is depicted on festivals and in history books.

Akiyama Nobutomo ( Japanese 秋山 信 友 ; * 1531 ; † December 23, 1575 ) was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period . He is known as one of the 24 generals . Nobutomo was a general of the Takeda clan and served under Takeda Shingen and his son Takeda Katsuyori . He also had the name: Angry bull of the Takeda ( 武田 の 猛 牛 , Takeda no mogyū ). Among other things, he fought in the first siege of Iwamura Castle, in the battle of Nagashino , and in the second siege of Iwamura.

Youth and advancement

He was born in 1531 in Tsutsujigasaki Hall ( 躑躅 ヶ 崎 館 ) in the province of Kai as the son of Akiyama Nobutō , who belonged to a respected house in the entourage of the Takeda. As a youth he entered the service of his feudal lord , Takeda Shingen, in the mountainous region in the middle of Honshu . In 1547, during the campaign around the Ina area, he was honored for his outstanding fighting style and received a fief as thanks. It covered the northern half of Ina, now the Kamiina District in Nagano Prefecture . Nobutomo continued to serve, mostly entrusted with defensive tasks, for example the defense of castles such as Takato Castle and Iida Castle . During this time he was nicknamed the Angry Bull of the Takeda ( 武田 の 猛 牛 , Takeda no mogyū ).

High point of his career

Around 1568 Nobutomo was a highly respected vassal who was entrusted with diplomatic duties. That year he was sent to Gifu Castle to represent his master Takeda Shingen at the wedding ceremony of Oda Nobutada , Nobunaga's eldest son , and Takeda Matsuhime , Shingen's biological daughter.

In 1571 Takeda Shingen prepared a campaign against Tokugawa Ieyasu , with the intention of occupying the flat coastal areas of Tōtōmi province and advancing further west to the fertile fields of Mikawa province . Nobutomo was called up from Iida Castle and appointed to lead the invasion of Mino Province . His advance was hampered by Saigo (clan) troops , led by Saigo Yoshikatsu . The two armies clashed at the Battle of Takehiro , and although Yoshikatsu was killed in the engagement, Nobutomo was forced to retreat.

In 1572 a new campaign was prepared in the Mikawa province, which finally led to the great battle of Mikatagahara in January 1573. It was planned that Takeda Shingen would advance south and west, and Nobutomo would descend at the same time to the north from the mountains down into the area to block the escape route for the enemy and to stop the reinforcements. To do this, Nobutomo besieged Iwamura Castle . When Toyama Kagetō , the lord of the castle, died of a sudden illness, the morale of the defenders collapsed and Otsuya no Kata , Kageto's widow (also aunt of Oda Nobunaga ), began negotiations with Nobutomo. They agreed in a contract to hand over the castle without bloodshed. Otsuya married Nobutomo to ensure the safety and protection of the capitulating defenders. The then seven-year-old biological son of Oda Nobunaga, ( 御 坊 丸 , Gobomaru ), an adopted son of Kageto, fell into the hands of the enemy. Nobutomo sent him hostage back to the Takeda homeland, Kai Province ; the boy would later become known as Oda Katsunaga . By fulfilling the terms of the contract, Nobutomo declared Iwamura Castle to be his seat and a line of defense directly at the front from which he supported the Takeda.

His last days

After the death of his master Shingen in the spring of 1573, he loyally supported his son Takeda Katsuyori in carrying out his war campaigns. In 1575, Katsuyori lost the Battle of Nagashino , a disaster for the Takeda, leaving Nobutomo in his castle without reinforcements. Under repeated sieges by Oda Nobutada , he was able to hold out with his troops until November, when Nobunaga finally marched in with his main army. When he realized that he had no chance to hold the castle any longer, Nobutomo signed a truce by which he gave up the castle. But Nobunaga broke the armistice in accordance with his aggressive approach and ordered the execution of Nobutomo, his wife (his own aunt) and the castle garrison.

On December 23, 1575, Nobutomo and his wife, Otsuya, died by crucifixion on the banks of the Nagara .

literature

  • Stephen Turnbull: The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co., London 1998.
  • Kobayashi Noboru, Sadayoshi Makino: 西 郷 氏 興亡 全 史 Saigōshi kōbō zenshi . Rekishi Chosakenkyu-jo, Tokyo 1994. (For example: History of the rise and fall of the Saigo clan ).
  • Shibatsuji Shunroku, Hirayama Masaru: 武田 勝 頼 の す べ て Takeda katsuyori no subete . Shin Jinbutsu Ōraish, a Tokyo 2007 (for example: All about Takeda Katsuyori ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Stephen R Turnbull: The Samurai sourcebook . Cassell & Co., London 1998, ISBN 1-85409-523-4 .
  2. ↑ Sadayoshi Kobayashi, Noboru Makino: 西鄉 氏 興亡 全 史 - Saigōshi kōbō zenshi . Rekishi Chosakenkyu-jo, Tokyo 1994, p. 372 (Japanese, The Complete Story of the Rise and Fall of the Saigo Clan).
  3. ↑ a b c Tatsuhiro Hayashi: 岩村 城 結婚 受 け 入 れ た 女 城主 ( Japanese ) In: 東海 の 古 戦 場 を ゆ く . Asahi Shimbun Corporation. 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ Shunroku Shibatsuji, Masaru Hirayama: 武田 勝 頼 の す べ て - Takeda Katsuyori no subete . Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha, Tokyo 2007, ISBN 978-4-404-03424-3 (Japanese).
  5. ↑ Stephen Turnbull: Nagashino 1575: Slaughter at the Barricades . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2000.
personal data
SURNAME Akiyama, Nobutomo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 秋山 信 友 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Samurai of the Sengoku period in Japan
DATE OF BIRTH 1531
DATE OF DEATH December 23, 1575