In some Edo-period texts (1603-1868), Shingen is described as “a general who was a master of Japanese archery,” and a model warrior who never lost a battle from the age of 16 to 53. Shingen was also an outstanding statesman, but more than that, he was feared by other warring feudal lords as the “strongest” among them. Shingen had a brilliant record of 49 wins, 20 draws, and 3 losses during his lifetime. The following are accounts of just a few of these battles.

In 1541, at the age of 21, Shingen ousted his father to become the head of the Takeda clan and began a full-scale invasion of Shinano Province, modern-day Nagano Prefecture, starting with the invasion of Suwa the following year. However, the Takeda forces, which had won successive victories, were defeated twice by the powerful Murakami Yoshikiyo. In the Battle of Uedahara in 1548, Shingen suffered a particularly serious defeat, losing some of his chief vassals, as well as being wounded himself. Two years later, at the Battle of Toishi Castle, Shingen suffered his second crushing defeat to the Murakami clan. However, the Takeda forces gradually gained the upper hand, and the Murakami clan withdrew to seek the protection of Uesugi Kenshin in Echigo, modern-day Niigata Prefecture.

Shingen was later portrayed as a victorious general because of his many significant victories in battle, his conquest of extensive territories, and the publicity his warlike prowess received through such historic chronicles as the Kōyō Gunkan. The Kōyō Gunkan describes each of Takeda Shingen’s major battles, chronicling not only the strategies and tactics but the outcomes as well. Shingen’s most famous battle, the Battle of Kawanakajima, is also described in detail. Shingen fought for control of northern Shinano with Uesugi Kenshin, both of whom were known as two great warriors of the Warring States period. In their 12 years of warfare, the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561 is said to have been the fiercest. There is also a rare anecdote of hand-to-hand combat between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. Having broken through Takeda’s forces, Uesugi Kenshin found his way to Shingen’s command tent and engaged him directly, slashing at him with his sword. While reaching for his own sword, Shingen deflected the attack with his iron war fan. A Takeda retainer then speared Kenshin’s horse, forcing him to retreat.

The chronicle also gives a detailed breakdown of the entire Takeda army, when Takeda Shingen was at the height of his power, counting everyone from pages and banner bearers to kitchen staff, horse doctors, and finance commissioners. According to the chronicle, the 33,736 members of Takeda’s army included 9,121 horsemen, 18,242 followers for the horsemen, 884 foot-soldiers (personal attendants to the lord), and 5,489 other foot-soldiers. The detailed breakdown of the army also provides an interesting look into the hierarchy of retainers or allies within such a force.

The battle with Uesugi Kenshin was the longest and most severe of Shingen’s life, but the battle with Tokugawa Ieyasu in his later years was both his last battle and largest military operation. The massive military operation known as Seijō-Sakusen, literally Operation Westward, in which Shingen moved an army of some 27,000 men, is said to have been initiated to assist the Ashikaga shogun in Kyōto to overthrow Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga, but the reason for the operation is actually not fully understood. Unfortunately for Shingen, after a series of victories and a great victory over the combined forces of Oda and Tokugawa at the Battle of Mikatagahara, his health deteriorated, making it difficult for him to continue further, and he was forced to withdraw his forces. On his way back to Kōfu, Shingen died in Shinano at the age of 53. The memory of this great victory, coupled with its lasting aftermath, may have heightened awareness of the legend of Shingen’s invincible spirit.