Takeda Nobutora

Who was Takeda Nobutora?

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese daimyo who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen, who was originally named Harunobu, along with two other sons, Nobushige and Nobukado.

Nobutora fought Hiraga Genshin at the Battle of Un no Kuchi in 1536. He was forced to retreat, but his son Harunobu defeated Hiraga and took the castle. Nobutora nevertheless wished to pass on his domain to Nobushige, and so Harunobu overthrew his father and exiled him to Suruga. Nobutora didn't return to Shinano until the death of Shingen in 1573, invited by his grandson Katsuyori, on that time Nobutora was in his 80's, some reported that even as an old man he still managed to strike fear to people around him.

Nobutora was also a previous owner of a famous sword named "Soza Samonji", although he gave that sword to Imagawa Yoshimoto as a gift to secure an alliance. After Yoshimoto's death at the Okehazama, the sword came into possession of Oda Nobunaga. After the Incident of Honnoji, Toyotomi Hideyoshi recovered the sword whom he later gave to Tokugawa Ieyasu as a gift. The sword is currently a Cultural Properties of Japan