, also known as , was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. He was known as one of the "

Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen 24 (twenty-four) is the natural number following 23 and preceding 25. The SI prefix for 1024 is yotta (Y), and for 10−24 (i.e., the reciprocal of 1024) yocto (y). These numbers are the largest and smallest number to receive an SI prefix to d ...

". When Takeda Shingen took Fukashi castle (now

Matsumoto Castle , originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. The building is also known as the due to its black exterior. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa ...

) in 1550, he entrusted it to Baba.

War Experience

Baba fought in the Kawanakajima campaigns, and led the Takeda army that besieged and destroyed Katsurayama, a major

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branc ...

stronghold in 1557. In 1573, he took part in the

Battle of Mikatagahara The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573. Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his ca ...

, during which the troops under his command chased

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

's army back to Hamamatsu fortress; upon seeing the gates open and braziers lit, Baba mistakenly suspected a trap, and did not press the fleeing army further. Following Takeda Shingen's death, Baba served his successor

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son in law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Early life He was the son of Shingen by the daughter ...

. Knowing Nobunaga's participation in the

Battle of Nagashino The took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for t ...

, he advised Katsuyori to withdraw but Katsuyori rejected the idea. He led the Takeda army's right-wing, and was killed in combat during that engagement. It is said that he served to cover the retreat and let Katsuyori go out of the battlefield.The deaths of Baba Nobuharu,

Sanada Nobutsuna was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He is known as one of the " Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He was the eldest son of Sanada Yukitaka, a castle lord in Shinano Province, who by the time of his son's coming-of-age, had pled ...

, Naito Masayo,

Yamagata Masakage also known as Obu Masakage was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He is known as one of the " Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". He was famous for his red armour and skill in battlefield, and was a personal friend of Taked ...

, and other brave warriors of Shingen's reign in the Battle of Nagashino led to the weakening of the Takeda family and its destruction in 1582.

Character

According to records, he was in charge of the Suwa area in Shinano from around 1553. This was a border area with the northern

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally t ...

, and was a defensive base to monitor invasions from the north. He was also an intermediary for the Shiina family of Etchu. In 1562, he was allowed to take the name of "Mino no Kami", the guardian of

Mino Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

, in honor of

Hara Toratane was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which c ...

, a former "Mino no Kami" who had retired the previous year, and changed his name to Baba Mino no Kami Nobuharu.The ''

Kōyō Gunkan The is a record of the military exploits of the Takeda family, compiled largely by the Takeda vassal Kōsaka Danjō Masanobu, and completed in 1616 by Obata Kagenori. It provides some of the most detailed descriptions and statistics of warf ...

'' states that Shingen often consulted Nobuharu on important matters. Prior to Nagashino, Nobuharu was reputed to have fought in 70 battles without receiving a single wound. For this reason, he is known today as "Baba Mino the Immortal" or "Oni Mino the Immortal".

References

External links

"Legendary Takeda's 24 Generals" at Yamanashi-kankou.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baba, Nobuharu 1575 deaths Samurai Japanese warriors killed in battle Takeda retainers Year of birth unknown

War Experience

Character

References

Further reading

External links