Battles of Kawanakajima The were fought in the Sengoku Period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province in the plain of Kawanakajima , in the north of Shinano Province . The location is in the southern part of the present - day city of Nagano . The five major battles took place in 1553 , 1555 , 1557 , 1561 and 1564 . The best known and most severe among them was fought on September 10 , 1561 . The battles started after Shingen conquered Shinano Province , expelling Murakami Yoshiharu and Ogasawara Nagatoki , who subsequently turned to Kenshin for help . The first battle . In the First Battle of Kawanakajima , in June 1553 , Takeda Shingen penetrated far into the Kawanakajima plain , his vanguard encountering the forces of Uesugi Kenshin at a shrine to Hachiman . They disengaged , and met up again a few kilometers away , but no decisive battle was fought . The second battle . In 1555 , the second battle of Kawanakajima , also known as the Battle of Saigawa , began when Takeda Shingen returned to Kawanakajima , advancing up to the Sai River . He made camp on a hill to the south of the river , while Uesugi Kenshin was camped just east of the Zenko - ji temple , which provided him an excellent view of the plain . However , the Kurita clan , allies of the Takeda , held Asahiyama fortress a few kilometers to the west ; they menaced the Uesugi right flank . Kurita Kakuju ' s defenses were bolstered by 3000 Takeda warriors . Kenshin launched a number of attacks against the Asahiyama fortress , but all were repulsed . Eventually he moved his army onto the plain , redirecting his attention on Takeda ' s main force . However , rather than attacking , both armies waited , for months , for the other to make a move . Finally , battle was avoided as both leaders retired to deal with domestic affairs in their home provinces . The third battle . The third battle took place in 1557 when Takeda Shingen captured a fortress called Katsurayama , overlooking the Zenkoji temple from the north - west . He then attempted to take Iiyama castle , but withdrew after Uesugi Kenshin led an army out of Zenkoji . The fourth battle . The fourth battle resulted in greater casualties for both sides , as a percentage of total forces , than any other battle in the Sengoku Period , and is one of the most tactically interesting battles of the period as well . In September 1561 , Uesugi Kenshin left his Kasugayama fortress with 18 , 000 warriors , determined to destroy Takeda Shingen . He left some of his forces at Zenkoji , but took up a position on Saijoyama , a mountain to the west of , and looking down upon , Shingen ' s Kaizu castle . To Kenshin ' s ignorance , the Kaizu castle contained no more than 150 samurai , and their followers , and he had taken them completely by surprise . However , the general in command of the castle , Kosaka Danjo Masanobu , through a system of signal fires , informed his lord , in Tsutsujigasaki fortress , 130 km away in Kōfu , of Kenshin ' s move . Shingen left Kōfu with 16 , 000 men , acquiring 4 , 000 more as he traveled through Shinano Province , approaching Kawanakajima on the west bank of the Chikumagawa ( Chikuma River ) , keeping the river between him and Saijoyama . Neither army made a move , knowing that victory would require the essential element of surprise . Shingen was thus allowed into his fortress at Kaizu along with his " gun - bugyō " ( army commissioner ) , Yamamoto Kansuke . At that time , Kansuke formed a strategy that he believed would prove effective against Kenshin . Kōsaka Danjo Masanobu left Kaizu with 8 , 000 men , advancing up Saijoyama under cover of night , intending to drive Kenshin ' s army down to the plain where Takeda Shingen would be waiting with another 8 , 000 men in " kakuyoku " , or " crane ' s wing " , formation . However , whether via spies in Kaizu or scouts looking down from Saijoyama , Kenshin guessed Shingen ' s intentions , and led his own men down to the plain . Kenshin descended from Saijoyama by its western flanks . Instead of fleeing Kosaka ' s dawn attack , Uesugi Kenshin ' s army crept down the mountain , quietly using bits of cloth to deaden the noise of the horse ' s hooves . With the beginning of dawn , Shingen ' s men found Kenshin ' s army ready to charge at them — as opposed to fleeing from the mountain , as expected . Uesugi ' s forces attacked in waves , in a " Kuruma Gakari " formation , in which every unit is replaced by another as it becomes weary or destroyed . Leading the Uesugi vanguard was one of Uesugi ' s Twenty - Eight Generals , Kakizaki Kageie . Kakizaki ' s unit of mounted samurai clashed into Takeda Nobushige ' s unit , resulting in the unfortunate loss of Nobushige . While the Kakuyoku formation held surprisingly well , the Takeda commanders eventually fell , one by one . Seeing that his pincer plan had failed , Yamamoto Kansuke charged alone into the mass of Uesugi samurai , suffering upwards of 80 bullet wounds before retiring to a nearby hill and committing " seppuku " . Eventually , the Uesugi forces reached the Takeda command post , and one of the most famous single combats in Japanese history ensued . Uesugi Kenshin himself burst into the headquarters , attacking Takeda Shingen who , unprepared for such an event , parried with his signalling fan as best as he could , and held Kenshin off long enough for one of his retainers , Hara Osumi - no - Kami , to spear Kenshin ' s mount and drive him off . The Takeda main body held firm , despite fierce rotating attacks by the Uesugi . Obu Saburohei fought back against Kakizaki ' s samurai . Anayama Nobukumi destroyed Shibata of Echigo , and forced the Uesugi main force back to the Chikumigawa . Meanwhile , Kosaka ' s stealth force reached the top of Saijoyama and , finding the Uesugi position deserted , hurried down the mountain to the ford , taking the same path they had expected the fleeing Uesugi to take . After desperate fighting , they punched their way through the 3000 Uesugi warriors defending the ford ( under the command of Uesugi general , Amakazu Kagemochi ) , and pressed on to aid Takeda ' s main force . The Kosaka force then attacked the retreating Uesugi from the rear . Takeda Shingen ' s many great generals , including his younger brother Takeda Nobushige and great uncle Murozumi Torasada were killed in the field . In the end , the Uesugi army suffered around 3000 losses , while the Takeda had about 4000 casualties . The chronicles seem to indicate that the Takeda made no effort to stop the Uesugi from retreating after the battle , burning the encampment at Saijoyama , returning to Zenkoji , and then to Echigo Province . The fifth battle . In 1564 , Shingen and Kenshin met for the fifth and final time on the plain of Kawanakajima . Their forces skirmished for 60 days , and then both withdrew . In popular culture . The rivalry between the two warlords was documented in the Japanese movie " Heaven and Earth " , which features the fourth battle as the film ' s climax . The fourth battle is also one of the most pivotal moments for many TV dramas centered on Shingen ' s life , such as " Fūrin Kazan " . As the fourth battle between Shingen and Kenshin was the most famous among all of them , it is one of the early stages in the " Samurai Warriors " series . Because of the 1 - on - 1 fight between Shingen and Kenshin , Shingen ' s weapon is a " dansen uchiwa " ( signalling fan ) . In both PC games " " , and its sequel , " " , one of the historical battles is the fourth Kawanakajima . The five battles are referenced in " Pokémon Conquest " ( Pokémon + Nobunaga ' s Ambition in Japan ) , in which Kenshin and Shingen share a similar rivalry and settle it with a bet : the first to take five kingdoms from their opponent is the victor . Shingen carries a war fan at all times in the game .