Yukimura

Sanada Yukimura (1567 – June 3, 1615), also known as Sanada Nobushige, was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the losing side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years" and "Crimson Demon of War", and the famed veteran of the invasion of Korea, Shimazu Tadatsune, called him the "Number one warrior in Japan".

Yukimura was married to Akihime, a foster-daughter of Ootani Yoshitsugu. They had two sons. In 1575, the Battle of Nagashino claimed the lives of two of Yukimura's uncles. His father--a Takeda Clan retainer--inherited the Sanada clan and left for Ueda Castle. Yukimura also went, taking the Sanada name as well. By 1582, the Oda-Tokugawa forces had destroyed the Takeda clan. The Sanada initially surrendered to Oda Nobunaga, but it became independent again, drifting between stronger lords before settling on the Toyotomi.

In 1600, before the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu rallied various daimyo to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu. The Sanada clan complied as well, but when Ishida Mitsunari decided to challenge Ieyasu, Yukimura and his father joined the western forces, parting ways with Yukimura's older brother, Nobuyuki, who joined the eastern forces. The Sanada retreated from Sekigahara and fortified Ueda Castle. When Tokugawa Hidetada marched a sizable army, the Sanada resisted and were able to fight Hidetada's 40,000 men with only 2,000. However, as the castle did not fall in the short time that he expected, Hidetada gave up and joined the main Tokugawa army, too late, however to participate in the crucial Battle of Sekigahara. With Mitsunari's loss at Sekigahara, Yukimura's father lost the Sanada Clan and both he and Yukimura were exiled. Yukimura rose against the Tokugawa when the Winter Battle of Osaka Castle broke out in 1614. He built a fortress named the Sanada-maru and repelled Ieyasu repeatedly. In a battle the next year, he fought to the point of exhaustion. He faced his enemy and allowed them to take his head.