Sanada Nobushige (真田 信繁, 1567 – June 3, 1615), also known as Sanada Yukimura (真田 幸村), was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called “A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years”, “Crimson Demon of War” and “The Last Sengoku Hero”. The famed veteran of the invasion of Korea Shimazu Tadatsune called him the “Number one warrior in Japan”. A legend says that Yukimura had ten heroes who took an active role at the battles at Osaka Castle. They were called the Sanada Ten Braves, a group of ninja. A myth says he indeed managed to kill Ieyasu, but the Ogoshō was replaced by a kagemusha (a decoy or doppelganger) called Ogasawara Hidemasa. This myth is testimony to the respect modern Japanese have for Yukimura’s skills as a military commander. Another legend states that in the winter of 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu sent an envoy to Yukimura with a notice that, if he were to abandon the Toyotomi cause, he would give him the entire prefecture of Shinano and 400,000 koku. Yukimura laughed and posted the notice on the wall for all in the castle to see.
Alias Sanada Yukimura (真田 幸村)
Real Names/Alt Names Sanada Yukimura (真田 幸村), Sanada Nobushige (真田 信繁)
First Appearance Historical figure (b. 1567 – d. 1615)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Namba Senki / Ōsaka Gunki (17th c.; many later prints/editions) — Core Osaka Campaign war-tale source for Yukimura lore; Sanada Sandaiki (真田三代記, late Edo) — editions incl. Ehon Sanada sandaiki (1887) and Hobunkan “Zoku Teikoku Bunko” Sanada sandaiki (1907); Ehon Ōsaka Gunki (1887) — Illustrated Osaka war chronicle with plates of Sanada Nobushige (Yukimura); Tachikawa Bunko (Pocket Books, 1911–1925) — popularized Sanada fiction (Yukimura, Sarutobi Sasuke, Kirigakure Saizō, and ultimately the Sanada Jūyūshi cycle). Film: Early Sarutobi Sasuke silent films (1915-1922, some lost); Brave Records of the Sanada Clan (1963) by dir. Tai Katō; Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke / Samurai Spy (1965) by dir. Masahiro Shinoda.
Description Sanada Nobushige (真田 信繁, 1567 – June 3, 1615), also known as Sanada Yukimura (真田 幸村), was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called “A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years”, “Crimson Demon of War” and “The Last Sengoku Hero”. The famed veteran of the invasion of Korea Shimazu Tadatsune called him the “Number one warrior in Japan”. A legend says that Yukimura had ten heroes who took an active role at the battles at Osaka Castle. They were called the Sanada Ten Braves, a group of ninja. A myth says he indeed managed to kill Ieyasu, but the Ogoshō was replaced by a kagemusha (a decoy or doppelganger) called Ogasawara Hidemasa. This myth is testimony to the respect modern Japanese have for Yukimura’s skills as a military commander. Another legend states that in the winter of 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu sent an envoy to Yukimura with a notice that, if he were to abandon the Toyotomi cause, he would give him the entire prefecture of Shinano and 400,000 koku. Yukimura laughed and posted the notice on the wall for all in the castle to see.
