Katsuyori Takeda

> *"Now it’s our turn to repay you for your aid! Join us under the flag of Takeda!"*
> - Katsuyori Takeda
>
>

Katsuyori Takeda is the son of the daimyo of Kai Province, Shingen Takeda.

## Description

Katsuyori ascends to head of the Takeda Clan after his father’s death. Like his father, he is a rival of Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa.

## Personality

Katsuyori is loyal to his father, putting himself in harm’s way to ensure his father’s safety. He is quick to see the correlation between the Demons and the chaos in the realm, and does his best to end the struggles within the Uesugi Clan.

## Plot

### Inakomaba (April, 1573)

After crushing the Tokugawa forces, Katsuyori’s father Shingen falls seriously ill, the two prepare to head back to Shinano but are trapped by Demons at Komaba. Katsuyori and Shingen manage to hold off the Demons, but soon more demonic reinforcements arrive. Just as they about to be overrun, Aoi and Inugami arrive. Katsuyori intends to cut a path through the Demons for Shingen to escape, aided by Aoi and Inugami. The group eventually succeed and Shingen is able to leave the battlefield. Katsuyori then leads the Takeda forces against the Demon horde, and with Inugami’s help, the Demons disperse. After the battle, Katsuyori kneels by his father to hear his final wish: to spread the Takeda flag across the land, and put an end to the chaos.

### Nagashino (May, 1575)

After succeeding his father, Katsuyori leads his army against the Tokugawa-Oda forces at the Battle of Nagashino, but is utterly defeated. He flees with his remaining force to Shinano, but soon encounters Aoi and Inugami. Realising the significance of their presence, Katsuyori looks to the hills, where a Demon horde are amassing. Despite their fresh defeat and exhaustion, Katsuyori urges his men to fight on against the Demons. With Aoi and Inugami’s help, the remaining Takeda army is able to make it to the entrance to Shinano.

### Shinestsu (May, 1578)

After Kenshin Uesugi’s death, Katsuyori leads his men to aid his brother-in-law, Kagetora Uesugi in his sibling war for leadership of the Uesugi Clan. However, he is stopped at the Echigo border by Demons. With the help of Aoi and Inugami, the Takeda army are able to cross the border. Katsuyori thanks Aoi, surmising that the feud between Kagetora and his brother is attracting the Demons. He surmises that his plan of aiding Kagetora will only cause more unrest, and promises to instead withdraw his troops and beg the two brothers to make peace with one another.

### Mt. Tenmoku (March, 1582)

After his army is decimated by Tokugawa-Oda forces, Katsuyori and his few remaining men are attacked by Demons. With Aoi and Inugami’s help, and in defiance against his defeat, Katsuyori rallies his men to fight on. To repay Aoi and Inugami for their interventions, he leads his men to attack the nearby blood crystals, in an attempt to slow the Demon advance. Fighting through waves of enemies, Aoi and Inugami are eventually able to lead Katsuyori and his remaining men to the safety of Mount Tenmoku. Faced with the conquest of Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa against the Takeda Clan, Katsuyori admits that he sees no end to the conflict. Having failed to negotiate peace, he tells Aoi that he shall watch over her duty from the heavens, and departs to make his final stand.

## True History

Katsuyori Takeda, son of Shingen Takeda, head of the Takeda Clan, was born in 1546.
After his elder brother Yoshinobu Takeda died in 1567, Katsuyori's son Nobukatsu became heir to the Takeda clan.

On January 25, 1573 Katsuyori and his father, Shingen, began the Battle of Mikatagahara and successfully defeated the army of Ieyasu Tokugawa. Shortly after, Shingen passed away and Katsuyori took control of the Takeda Clan.
Katsuyori later fought Ieyasu Tokugawa at Takatenjin in 1574, where he successfully captured the Tokugawa fortress of Takatenjin. However, in 1575 he suffered a terrible loss at Nagashino to Oda-Tokugawa forces, succumbing to one of the earliest recorded uses of volley fire, in which he lost a large part of his forces as well as a number of his generals.

Katsuyori incurred the wrath of the Hōjō family when he decided to change sides and help Kagekatsu Uesugi in his war of succession against Kagetora Uesugi who was Ujiyasu Hōjō 's seventh son.

In 1581, Katsuyori lost Takatenjin to Nobunaga Oda, causing various clans to withdraw their support of him. His forces were destroyed by the combined armies of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu at Temmokuzan in 1582. In a bid to hide from his pursuers, Katsuyori burned his castle and fled to another Takeda stronghold in the mountains called Iwadono. This was held by Nobushige Oyamada, an old Takeda retainer. Katsuyori was denied entry by Oyamada, and so he, his wife and son committed suicide while his army held off their pursuers.