It is said that family businesses rarely last for more than 3 generations. Eventually, the business is either sold or simply closes its doors. Takeda Katsuyori (1546–1582) was the third and last of the most powerful daimyō, feudal lords, to emerge from Kai Province, modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, during the Sengoku period, Japan’s Warring States period. This is his story.

Katsuyori’s mother was from the Suwa clan. The Suwa clan were one of the feudal lords of Shinano, modern-day Nagano Prefecture, and were the highest ranking priests of Suwa-Taisha Shrine for generations. Although Katsuyori succeeded to the Suwa clan, with the downfall of his elder brother, he became the heir to the Takeda clan, despite being Shingen’s fourth son.

Katsuyori had many victories in battle, including his participation in the Battle of Mikatagahara, fought in the western part of modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture in what is now Hamamatsu City. In 1574, a year after his father’s death, Katsuyori captured Takatenjin Castle, also located in the western part of Shizuoka Prefecture, which even his father had not managed to do.

Despite early successes, Katsuyori suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 (in what is now Shinshiro City in modern-day Aichi Prefecture). In the battle, Katsuyori lost many of his most capable generals to the allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Katsuyori’s defeat is said to have been caused by an ill-considered attack on a position established by the Oda and Tokugawa forces, which exposed his army to the fire of the reported 3,000 firearms that Oda had prepared. The Oda-Tokugawa army’s use of 3,000 firearms to defeat Takeda’s cavalry tactics is often cited as a turning point in Japanese warfare. Katsuyori and his forces would never fully recover from this defeat and it was only a matter of time before the rule of the Takedas came to an end.

After this defeat, Katsuyori’s power waned. Nobunaga, who was more wary of the Takeda clan than anyone else, took advantage of this opportunity to launch an invasion of Kai, modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, and Shinano. The Takeda forces abandoned the Takeda residence in Kōfu and retreated to Shinpu Castle, which was under construction. On March 3, 1582, while being pursued by the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Katsuyori abandoned Shinpu Castle, set it alight, and attempted to escape with about 500-600 samurai and more than 200 women and children from his family and kin. They fled eastward through the mountains of Kai to a mountain fortress located in modern-day Otsuki City, where they hoped to find refuge with the Takeda retainer, Oyamada. However, they were denied access to the fortress as the road leading there was blocked. With no fortress to hold and no additional allies, the remaining Takeda servants and warriors lost hope. All along the way, men had dropped out until only 41 warriors and some 50 women were left, close kinsmen of Katsuyori who could not abandon him.

On March 11, 1582, a final battle was fought at Tenmokuzan in Kōshū City. It is said that the small Takeda force fought to the bitter end while being cornered by Oda’s forces. Among them, Tsuchiya Masatsune is said to have fought while grasping ivy with one hand to keep from falling down a cliff! His heroism was so legendary that he became known as, “The warrior who single-handedly cut down one thousand men.” This and other valiant sacrifices bought time for Katsuyori and his retinue, including his wife and son, to commit ritual suicide. The Takeda family of the prestigious Kai Genji clan had perished. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who assumed the rule of Kai Province, built Keitokuin Temple on the site where Katsuyori and the others are said to have committed suicide, to mourn the souls of those who died in the battle.