Sanada Nobushige (真田信繁)
Nobushige SANADA was a busho (Japanese military commander) over the Azuchi-momoyama in the early years of the Edo period. His year of birth is said to be 1567, which is back-calculated from his age at death (49), but the month and date aren't known.
He was a grandchild of Yukitaka SANADA, a vassal of Shingen TAKEDA. He performed brilliantly in Osaka no Eki (the Siege of Osaka). Particularly, in regard to Osaka no Eki, it is said that he pushed into the headquarters of Tokugawa with outnumbered troops and was just one step away from hunting down Ieyasu TOKUGAWA. In and after the Edo period, he was spotlighted in kodan storytelling and novels as a genius strategist Yukimura SANADA, who challenged his arch enemy Tokugawa with an entourage of Sanada Juyushi (ten Sanada braves), and became widely known among the public.
About his name
Nobushige's father, Masayuki SANADA, asked a son of Nobushige TAKEDA, who was a younger brother of Shingen TAKEDA, to let him use the name Nobushige, and he was allowed to do so, so Nobushige did not change his name.
Origin of 'Yukimura SANADA'
Although he is widely known as 'Yukimura SANADA' due to the influence of kodan storytelling, there are no historical materials from the years when Nobushige was alive, including letters written by Nobushige himself, in which the name 'Yukimura' is used. Therefore, 'Nobushige' is proper as the name of the historical character. For the successes of 'Yukimura' told in kodan storytelling, etcetera, refer to the section on Yukimura SANADA described below.
Yukimura' first appeared in a war chronicle "Nanba senki," which was established in 1672 during the Edo period. Because that book sold in huge numbers, the name 'Yukimura' became more common, and later 'Yukimura' was adopted even in the history book of the Matsushiro Domain, who were descendants of his older brother Nobuyuki.
In Hankanpu (Genealogy of the Protectors of the Shogunate) written by Hakuseki ARAI, there is a description of 'Yukimura.'
Yuki' is the tsuji (distinctive character used in the names of all people belonging to a single clan or lineage) of the Sanada family (specifically, the Unno family, the master's house of the Sanada family). For 'mura,' there are theories such as that the origin is Nobushige's older sister Muramatsu, head of the Date family Tsunamura DATE, whom Nobushige's descendants served, or the yoto (a mysterious sword) Muramasa, which was alleged to curse the Tokugawa family.
Because the name 'Yukimura' spread within 100 years after Nobushige's death, it is assumed that he actually called himself 'Yukimura,' inheriting Kataimina (taking a character from a person in the family) of Masayuki SANADA after Masayuki's death. Although it is possible, no historical materials containing the name 'Yukimura' has been found, so it is impossible to verify it as matters now stand.
There is another theory that he changed his name to 'Yukimura' two months before his death in Osaka Natsu no Jin (the Summer Siege of Osaka), but there are no existing historical materials to verify it. In the letter to his uncle written in February 1615, in between Osaka Fuyu no Jin (the Siege of Osaka in Winter) and Osaka Natsu no Jin, and in letters to his older brother and sister, the name Nobushige is used.
The period as a vassal of the Takeda clan
He was born in 1567 as the second son of Masayuki SANADA (then Kihei MUTO). His mother was Masayuki's lawful wife, Yamanotedono.
In 1575, when Nobushige was nine years old, Katsuyori TAKEDA, who was the master of the Sanada clan and was governing Kai and Shinano provinces, was defeated by the Oda and Tokugawa allied forces in the Battle of Nagashino. His father Masayuki's two older brothers died at that time, so Masayuki succeeded the Sanada family; thus Nobushige left Kofuchu (Kofu City) and moved to Joshu (Iwabitsu-jo Castle), following his father. Since then, Shigenobu also called himself Sanada.
On April 13, 1582, when the Oda, Tokugawa and Gohojo allied forces invaded Kai and destroyed the Takeda clan, the Sanada clan obeyed Nobunaga ODA. On April 21, the property inheritance of the Takeda clan was divided and the Sanada clan was authorized for land ownership.
After the Honnoji Incident
After Nobunaga was killed by his vassal Mitsuhide AKECHI on July 1, 1582 in the Honnoji Incident, Kazumasu TAKIGAWA, who was the Oda family's Kanto Kanrei (a shogunal deputy for the Kanto region) was defeated by the Gohojo clan in the Battle of Kannagawa River and retreated to Ise. The Sanada clan, which had lost Nobunaga's backup, was forced to cross between the umbrellas of neighboring territorial lords such as the Uesugi clan, Hojo clan and Tokugawa clan in order to keep shoryo (territory). At this time, Nobushige, the son of the head of the family, wandered from one territorial lord to another as a hostage. The first battle of Ueda against Ieyasu TOKUGAWA occurred in or around this period, and they reached a settlement at the mediation of Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI.
Because Masayuki eventually obeyed Hideyoshi, Nobushige stayed at Hideyoshi's side, and later he married his lawful wife, a daughter of Hideyoshi's vassal Yoshitsugu OTANI. On December 13, 1954, he was appointed to Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) Saemon no suke (assistant captain of the Left Division of Outer Palace Guards) in the name of the Toyotomi clan.
The Battle of Sekigahara
In 1600, after Hideyoshi's death, when Ieyasu Tokugawa, a member of the Gotairo (Council of Five Elders), rose in arms against another member of the Gotairo, Kagekatsu UESUGI, in Aizu, he took part in the campaign. When one of the Gobugyo (five major magistrates), Mitsunari ISHIDA, rose in arms during their absence and caused the Battle of Sekigahara, he backed up the Western Camp with his father, parting ways with his older brother Nobuyuki SANADA, who sided with the Eastern Camp because his wife (Komatsuhime) was a daughter of Tadakatsu HONDA.
The Eastern Camp, the Tokugawa side, split up and advanced along Tokai-do Road and Nakasen-do Road, while Masayuki and Shigenobu remained secluded in their stronghold, Ueda-jo Castle, to fight against Hidetada TOKUGAWA's army, which belonged to the Eastern Camp and advanced along Nakasen-do Road at Ueda-jo Castle (the second battle of Ueda). Hidetada's army, which was bothered by the outnumbered Sanada clan, gave up on capturing Ueda-jo Castle and left, but as a result they could not join the decisive engagement in Sekigahara, Mino, which was the main battlefield.
However, the Western Camp led by Mitsunari was defeated by the Tokugawa side on October 21, without Hidetada's army. Nobuyuki and Shigenobu were supposed to be ordered to commit seppuku (suicide by disembowelment), but thanks to a plea by Nobuyuki, they were ordered exiled to Kudoyama Town, Kii Province (under normal circumstances, they would have been exiled to Koyasan, but it is said that they were exiled to Kudoyama because Nobushige was with Chikurin-in and Koyasan was prohibited to women).
His father, Masayuki, died in 1611 during their stay. In 1612, Nobushige became a priest and called himself Denshin Gesso.
Entrance to Osaka-jo Castle
In 1614, 'the Hoko-ji Temple Incident' worsened the relations between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi clans. Because the Toyotomi family could not expect the backup of daimyo (feudal lords), they collected ronin (masterless samurai) and sent an envoy to Nobushige in Kudoyama to give 200 pieces of gold and 30 kan (a unit of weight, with one kan equaling approximately 3.7 kg) of silver. Nobushige called for former vassals of his father Nobuyuki SANADA to join the battle, escaped from Kudoyama and entered into Osaka-jo Castle with his child, Daisuke YUKIMASA. However, it is said that Nobushige was without teeth, had some gray hair and stooped when he entered the castle, so the gatekeeper mistook him for a bandit. It is said that the army led by Nobushige in Osaka wore red armor (Akazonae (red arms)). However, Nobushige himself had been underestimated until then because he had been overshadowed by his father Masayuki and older brother Nobuyuki as a second son of the Sanada clan, so it is said that Ieyasu TOKUGAWA was relieved knowing that it was the uncelebrated Nobushige, not Masayuki, who had entered Osaka-jo Castle.
Osaka Fuyu no Jin (Winter Siege of Osaka)
In Osaka no Eki (the Siege of Osaka), which started in 1614, Nobushige was against the siege and insisted on fighting aggressively at Seta in Uji (Otsu City) (around Seta Bridge, which spanned the Uji-gawa River) at first (some say it was the strategy of his father Nobuyuki who was a knowledgeable warrior). However, when the siege was decided Nobushige built a (crescent-shaped) branch castle made of dirt called the Sanada-maru (Sanada Barbican) outside Tamatsukuriguchi and the south of Sannomaru (outer part of the castle) which was the weak point of the Osaka-jo Castle, and provoked the Tokugawa side using troops with firearms, and gave the advance party a black eye. However, when he was building this Sanada-maru, other busho suspected that it might be a preparation for Nobushige to switch to the Tokugawa side and were somewhat cautious. At this time, he defeated the armies of the Echizen Matsudaira family and the Maeda clan of the Kaga Domain, and introduced himself as a commander "Nobushige SANADA" for the first time (it is confirmed only in Osaka no Jin that Nobushige took the initiative in hoisting a flag).
After the pacification of Fuyu no Jin, this Sanada-maru was destroyed first when the moat was filled in.
Ieyasu, who tried to weaken the Osaka side, sent Nobutada SANADA, an uncle of Nobushige in February 1615, as an envoy, hoping to persuade them to switch sides based on the condition of 'giving them 10,000 koku in Shinano.'
However, Nobushige refused this.
Then, Ieyasu again sent Nobutada as an envoy, who tried to persuade them, saying they'd be given 'the whole province of Shinano.'
It is said that Nobushige, upon hearing this, rejected it again, saying, 'Do you think I, Nobushige, would not become disloyal for 10,000 koku but would be for a province?'
Osaka Natsu no Jin (Summer Siege of Osaka)
In the Siege of Osaka the following year, he had an exchange of fire with the spearhead army of Masamune DATE and made them temporarily retreat in the Domyoji War. Due to these frequent triumphant battles, Tokugawa's army was gradually forced to hold attacks against Sanada's army, and Nobushige, seeing it, made a temporary but lordly withdrawal to Osaka-jo Castle. At the withdrawal, it is said that as he rode a horse he jeered Tokugawa's army, saying, 'Although there are a million warriors in Kanto, there are no men,' and calmly withdrew.
However, Mototsugu GOTO's spearhead army had been wiped out in the Domyoji War, before the reinforcement of Sanada's army came, and Mototsugu died on the battlefield. Before this war, Ieyasu sounded Mototsugu for betrayal, so there was a rumor of Mototsugu's rebellion in Osaka-jo Castle. It is said that Mototsugu had desperately volunteered the spearhead army for that reason. Also, Nobushige didn't have the command authority at the time but Harunaga ONO did. Therefore, Mototsugu's death can't be attributed to Nobushige alone, but it is said that the delayed arrival of the Sanada army was one factor in the annihilation of Goto's army or that he deliberately delayed the reinforcement army, understanding Mototsugu's feelings. Actually, Nobushige was lost because of dense mist on that day and could not make it on time, and reluctantly Mototsugu engaged the battle.
Toyotomi's army was ravaged by the deaths of major commanders, including Mototsugu GOTO and Shigenari KIMURA. As a strategy to lift the morale, Nobushige requested that Hideyori TOYOTOMI himself depart for the front, but he was prevented from doing so by Hideyori's close advisers and mother Yodo-dono (Lady Yodo). As the Toyotomi clan's defeat was likely, Nobushige made a last strategy. It was to deploy Sanada's army as the right wing and Katsunaga MORI's army as the left wing of Toyotomi's side around Chausuyama Tumulus at Shitenno-ji Temple (Osaka City), repeat the firefight and offensive in order to isolate the headquarters of Tokugawa's army, and send light cavalry troops of Takenori AKASHI get around to attack the headquarters of Ieyasu from the side. However, because the warlords at the front of Mori's army started fire without his order, he had to give up that strategy. Consequently, in desperation he started an offensive upon the headquarters of Ieyasu TOKUGAWA from the front. In this offensive, not only Sanada's army but also Katsunaga MORI, Takenori AKASHI and others made a great effort and closed in on Ieyasu's headquarters. It is said that Katsunaga defeated Honda's army and made several charges up to the headquarters.
Sanada's army defeated Echizen Matsudaira's army, attacked the headquarters of Ieyasu and defeated hatamoto (direct retainers of the bakufu, a form of Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) of Ieyasu, who were famous for their brawniness (it is said that it was the second time since 'the Battle of Mikatagahara' when Ieyasu's headquarters was attacked and Uma-jirushi (massive flags used in Japan to identify a daimyo or equally important military commander on the field of battle) was brought down and Ieyasu prepared to kill himself, having seen the fierceness of Sanada's army; time was vengeful, and Ieyasu's uma-jirushi was brought down twice by commanders related to the Takeda family).
Eventually, however, they were closed in by Tokugawa's army, which was more numerous, and finally he was attacked at Yasui-jinja Shrine near Shitenno-ji Temple (Tennoji Ward, Osaka City) when he was taking care of injured warriors and gave up his head to Nizaemon NISHIO, who belonged to the matchlock infantry of Echizen Matsudaira's army. He died at the age of 49.
On June 4, the day after Nobushige's death in the field of battle, Hideyori TOYOTOMI and his mother Yodo-dono killed themselves in Osaka-jo Castle, and the castle, of which Taiko (father of the imperial advisor) Hideyoshi was so proud, fell and went up in flames. At this, Osaka Natsu no Jin ended with Tokugawa's victory. It is said that soon a rumor emerged that Nobushige was still alive, helped Hideyori and Yodo-dono, and remained at large in Kishu, and there was another rumor that he fled to the Shimazu family's domain in Satsuma, where is grave is located (another rumor states that he had descendants). Actually, they found the bodies of Hideyori and Yodo-dono, but they couldn't distinguish which were Hideyori and Yodo-dono's heads and could not identify severed heads.
Graveyard
As Nobushige SANADA's graveyards (more precisely, memorial tombs and towers), the following are identified:
Ryoan-ji Temple Tacchu daijuin (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Nobushige's seventh daughter Okane's husband, Sadakiyo ISHIKAWA (Sorin), is also known for supporting Nobushige's bereaved family including Chikurin-in; he built a graveyard for Nobushige and his wife at Ryoan-ji Temple. It is said that this graveyard exists on Benten-jima Island in Kyoto-chi Pond, but it isn't open to the public.
Graveyard of the Tamura clan (Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture)
Because his fifth daughter 阿昌蒲 was married to Sadahiro KATAKURA (a child of Muneaki TAMURA, who was a nephew of Kiyoaki TAMURA) from the Tamura family, his grave was built in the graveyard of the Tamura family.
Chokoku-ji Temple (Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture)
Family temple of the Sanada family in the Matsushiro Domain
There are memorial towers of Nobushige and his legitimate son, Daisuke.
Koken-ji temple (Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture)
A vassal of the Echizen Matsudaira family, Nizaemon NISHIO, who killed Nobushige, built a Kubi-zuka (burial mound for heads) in his family temple. It isn't known whether Nobushige's head was actually buried (it is said that the head was placed in another spot in fear of recapture by the Sanada clan).
Myokei-ji Temple (Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture)
A temple built by his fourth daughter, Onda-hime (Oden-hime) (Kensho-in), as a family temple of the Sanada family (Nobushige line). There is not a grave, but ihai (ancestral tablets) remain.
Isshin-in Temple (Odate City, Akita Prefecture)
It derives from the legend that he didn't die in Osaka no Jin but fled to Kagoshima in order to seek help from the Shimazu clan. According to the legend, he wandered around various places after the Shimazu family obeyed Tokugawa, lived in Odate from 1625 under the patronage of the Satake clan, into which his fourth daughter Onda-hime (Oden-hime) had married, and died in 1641 at age 75 (there is also a grave of his legitimate son Daisuke).
Evaluation of Shigenobu in Osaka Natsu no Jin
Tadatsune SHIMAZU (the Shimazu clan didn't join this battle, but he told the following, presuming Nobushige's hard fight based on hearsay).
On June 3, Saemon SANADA attacked the headquarters of Gosho-sama (Ieyasu) and drove out or killed warriors.'
Warriors who broke away about three ri (a unit of length, being about 500 meters) all survived.'
At the third time, Sanada also died on the battlefield.'
Sanada is Japan's best soldier.'
Unheard-of in stories from an ancient age.'
The Tokugawa side half lost.'
I say only this in general.'
Saemon no suke (assistant captain of the Left Division of Outer Palace Guards) died on the battle field.'
It is the highest achievement in the history.'
Tadataka OKUBO (Hikozaemon)
Except in Mikatagahara, your flag never fell in battle; it would be ashame if you, the ruler, fell right now at the age of seventy.'
Osakagojinoboegaki
Sanada was brave and his horse run like thunder so that people had to cover their ears.'
Okina gusa
Sanada had thousands of tricky moves that would be told for a thousand years.'
Since when he was in Shinshu he had fought against Tokugawa several times, and he never blundered; people say he is a venomous insect for Tokugawa; who would be a hero in this age but Sanada.'
Unrivaled and the greatest of the age; until now, even women and children know his name and beauty.'
Kitagawa oboegaki'
During the battle which was like hard rain wiping out wheel axis, Sanada took command and no one run away but stayed there to protect robustly.'
Everyone chanted mantra in desparation to take away their attention from the battlefield.'
Genwa senporoku'
There are many strange things about the battles of Saemon SANADA; on this day he first emerged in Mt. Chausu, then led an ambush in Hirano-guchi gateway, then fought in Okayama.'
Later he died on the battlefield in front of Tenno-ji Temple.'
The remains of cryptoporticus are there to this day; written in a very artificial way.'
Yamashita hiroku'
He stubbed the hatamoto of Ieyasu and slashed; he brought down Ieyasu's uma-jirushi.'
Foreign countries aside, unprecedented bravery in Japan; mysterious bows killed all of Sanada's soldiers.'
After the battle ended, there was no one who knew Sanada's command.'
They all died together on the battlefield.'
The name of Sanada's army became everlasting, and it is said that warlords who wanted to follow the example of his Bukun (deeds of arms) rushed to take his hair from Nobushige's head in order to make charms.
Personal profile
The emblem on his flag--six one-mon coins--is said to represent the money for the world of the dead. Six one-mon coins are placed in the coffin when the deceased is entombed, as the fee for a boat to cross Sanzu-no-kawa (Sanzu River, or the River of Three Crossings). It is said that using them as the emblem on a flag means 'fushakushinmyo' (to generously devote one's body and life to the Buddhist law).
According to his older brother Nobuyuki, Nobushige was dovelike, patient, quiet and rarely angered, which is far from the image of a brave commander.
Additionally, Nobuyuki said in "幸村君伝記," 'There is a huge difference between us: Yukimura is a real samurai (warrior) who governed Kokugun (provinces and counties), while we are tool holders who maintain a facade and try to look big.'
Consequently, he was landed on as 'you are just a ronin!' in Osaka Natsu no Jin.
The public in the Edo period knew him as a great commander; the Bakufu didn't prohibit that, although he was against Tokugawa. As for this, there are theories such as the story that 'cleaving to the master until the last moment' was accepted by the Bakufu, as well as a penetrating view that it was convenient to say 'the father and son of Sanada were great commanders' in order to cover up the delay of Hidetada, who became the second shogun, for Sekigahara.
Ieyasu felt that Nobushige, who was most active among warlords on the Osaka side, was dangerous and ordered Nobushige's older brother Nobuyuki SANADA to persuade Nobushige to switch sides for 400,000 koku of Shinano Province, but he wasn't interested in this preferential condition at all and persisted in his loyalty to the Toyotomi family (according to one theory, Ieyasu ordered Nobushige's uncle Nobutada SANADA and offered 100,000 koku of Ueda).
Some disagree in regard to Nobushige's loyalty.
It is said that Nobushige and the Tokugawa clan were 'inveterate enemies,' but this is an effect of earthen books and novels.
Even for the few daimyo (Japanese feudal lords) who joined the Western Camp in Sekigahara, they were punished by being deprived of their fiefs, but some were then restored, such as Muneshige TACHIBANA and Nagashige NIWA; those given shoryo (territories) were Tanagura, Mutsu 10,000 koku for Muneshige and Futsuto, and Hitachi 10,000 for Nagashige. It is unlikely that Nobushige, who was less famous and had fewer achievements than Muneshige or Nagashige, was given Shinshu 400,000 koku. It is inferred that Nobushige didn't take it at face value.
It can't be proved that he refused the preferential condition proposed by Ieyasu because of loyalty to the Toyotomi family, but adversely, based on the fact that Nobushige's older brother and uncle were vassals of the Tokugawa family, it is said that there was defamation from vassals of Toyotomi that 'Shigenobu is a spy of the Tokugawa side.'
As mentioned above, it is impossible that Nobushige said 'Yukimura' instead of 'Nobushige' because the Yukimura name was created later, so it seems to be a dramatization of later generations. There is a trend to deify Shigenobu as 'Yukimura' in documents about Sanada in later generations, and the credibility of documents about Nobushige SANADA is open to question.
Although Nobushige might have been grateful to the Toyotomi family for taking him as a commander when he was supposed to die in obscurity in Kudoyama, it is doubtful that he was so grateful to the Toyotomi family even though he wasn't a hereditary vassal of Toyotomi.
There is another theory that Nobushige SANADA was actually the oldest son and Nobuyuki was the second son, but they were switched because Nobushige's mother was of lower birth. It is said that the mystery of the switched order of Genzaburo and Genjiro is an item of collateral evidence.
There is an anecdote that Ieyasu TOKUGAWA said he wanted to drink with Nobushige in the afterlife.
Nobushige's favorite spear was a 'Jumonji Yari' (a cross-shaped spear), a relatively thin weapon made by enhancing ryokamayari (a spear with two hooks). The hilt of the spear was painted bright red, and it was an excellent weapon that lived up to Sanada's Akazonae.
There is a penetrating remark that the appreciation of Nobushige in Osaka no Jin indirectly implies a somewhat poor view regarding the achievements of Tokugawa's army.
Family record
Nobushige had many children, but as Nobushige SANADA's family in the Sanada clan he was already confined to Kudoyama when his legitimate son Daisuke (Yukimasa SANADA) was born; moreover, Yukimasa killed himself in Osaka-jo Castle without having a child, so this line failed.
His second son Daihachi (Morinobu SANADA) was protected with his older sisters under Shigenaga KATAKURA, a senior vassal of the Date family; he later married his third daughter 阿梅 and subsequently celebrated his attainment of manhood to become Morinobu KATAKURA. Since then, the line remains until now as the only official line of Nobushige, the Sendai Sanada family. The family name was restored from Katakura to Sanada at the generation of Tatsunobu SANADA, Morinobu's child.
Yukimura SANADA
Yukimura SANADA is an ordinary name for Shigenobu SANADA in the novels and kodan storytelling that were popular in and after the Edo period. He served outstandingly in 'the first battle of Ueda' (there is no evidence that Nobushige SANADA joined this battle, but it is likely that he was at the Uesugi family as a hostage) and in 'the second battle of Ueda,' which was a preliminary skirmish of 'the Battle of Sekigahara' leading ninja (professional spies in feudal Japan, highly trained in stealth and secrecy) armies, including Sanada Juyushi; he then fought hard in 'Osaka no Eki,' but was at the end of his physical life and died on the battlefield of Osaka Natsu no Jin.
Legends
It is said he died at the age of 49 on June 3, 1615, but there is a common theory that Yukimura had many Kagemusha (body doubles), so he protected Hideyori TOYOTOMI and escaped from Osaka-jo Castle, watched the castle fall and ultimately died full of years.
It is said that a children's song with the words, 'Devilish Sanada takes flower-like Hideyori to retreat and retreat to Kagoshima,' became popular.
Sanada Sandaiki' (three generations of the Sanada family)
"Sanada Sandaiki," a historical novel from the Genroku era of the Edo period, is a story in which the three generations of Masayuki, Yukimura and Daisuke SANADA fight hard against Tokugawa. Among the ten Sanada braves, eight (excluding Sasuke SARUTOBI and Rokuro MOCHIZUKI) are in the story. This is considered to be the prototype of the ten braves and led to the popularity of Sanada as well as the circulation of kodan storytelling about Sanada.
A translation into modern Japanese by Jiju DOBASHI is published by PHP Books.
Sanada Juyushi
It is said that 'Sanada Juyushi,' famous as ninja of Yukimura SANADA, have their origin in the title of an omnibus of 'Sasuke SARUTOBI,' a book in the "Tachikawa Bunko" series, which was based on 'Sanada Sandaiki' and 'Nanba senki' and lauded throughout the world in the Taisho era. There is a similar case of 'ten brave warriors of the Amago clan' (there are some differences among documents).
Major names include Sasuke SARUTOBI, Saizo KUMOGAKURE, Jinpachi NEZU, Kamanosuke YURI, Juzo KAKEI, Masayasu MIYOSHI, Masakatsu MIYOSHI, Rokuro MOCHIZUKI, Rokuro UNNO and Kosuke ANAYAMA (in some cases his son Daisuke SANADA is also included).
The current so-called legend of Yukimura and the members of the ten braves around him have been established since the "Tachikawa Bunko" series, which was popular among children from the end of the Meiji to the early Taisho. While Sasuke SARUTOBI and Saizo KIRIGAKURE are fictional, the roots of family names of Rokuro UNNO, Jinpachi NEZU and Rokuro MOCHIZUKI are the same as the family names of the Shigeno family under control of the Sanada family (for Nezu, there is a theory that Iyori ASAI, who is said to be a bereaved child of Nagamasa AZAI, was the model), and Masayasu MIYOSHI and Masakatsu MIYOSHI are said to be models of the Mishoshi brothers respectively (however, Masakatsu joined the war on the Ieyasu side).