OK I have to ask As prolific as Kenshin is which earned him the name "God of War" and I absolutely love his exploits How did he become number one for you? I mean he did outsmart the more experienced Shingen
@@francelewiss7030 Peasant conscripts mostly. Farmers back then had to turn in almost all the crops they farmed as taxes and were allowed to keep very little for themselves to eat. It was pretty easy to entice a man whose family was starving to come join the army if it means him and his family would be eating well for the year.
I miss Kansuke Yamamoto the most famous of the 24 Generals of Takeda Shingen. I am confident that his tragic death in the forth Battle of Kawanakajima was the Beginning of the End of the Power of House Takeda.
If we analyze with calm, it really wasn't Yamamoto's fault. Wood pecker was indeed well planned, the fact that the Uesugi army moved (either by harbinger or by destiny) isn't his fault.
Kenshin's water trick in Tedorigawa was something that maybe nobody would ever expect. Defeating the unstoppable Oda army (while being outnumbered) as if it was just a warm up. If Kenshin had not died so young, who knows what other things would the _God of War_ have achieved Your list is very good, thanks again man.
If we're including politics and diplomacy as part of strategy, then I feel Matsunaga Hisahide gets a lot of score in my book. He managed to basically completely coup the Miyoshi and pit people against one another, and plotted against Nobunaga and got away with it. In terms of political machinations, he's certainly my top pick.
Hisahide was an evil genius no doubt... The funny thing is one of the acts he is blamed for (burning Todaiji temple) seems to have been done by a Christian soldier on the other (Miyoshi) side (Lois Frois wrote in the History of Japam that a Christian soldier in the Miyoshi army confessed to Frois that is was him who did it)... But because it was such a bad ass move, Hisahide seems to have accepted the blame for the incident.
I would personally still rank Motonari either #1 or #2 on the list, the Ouchi and Amago during his minor daimyo years were among the most powerful clans in all Japan; the Ouchi themselves dwarfed the Takeda or Uesugi in the 1530s and 40s. Motonari did a similar thing to Masayuki, in that he shifted allegiances when he needed to to stay alive between the Ouchi and Amago, using marriage alliances to secure other neighboring minor lords or outright absorbing them into the Mori. Motonari also established vital relations with the Inland Sea pirates of the Murakami families, which had extensive long-term benefits to the Mori's power and growth(the victory at Miyajima would have been impossible without the Murakami's help.) Rather than go toe-to-toe with these juggernauts, he patiently whittled at them over the course of years; several Ouchi vassals would shift allegiance to Motonari when Yoshitaka was killed in Sue Harukata's coup, for example. Sue was highly regarded as one of the best generals in Chugoku, so Motonari beating him with strategy is significant. Retiring early to allow his son to be his successor while Motonari could assist him was also a wise move, as it ensured stability in the clan(something that Kenshin suffered on since he didn't name a successor between his two adopted sons which led to the Otate no Ran, and is partly why I wouldn't put him near the top of a strategist list.) Even when Takamoto got assassinated, the Mori bounced back from that quickly since Motonari was still in a position of power and transferred the succession to Takamoto's son.
I concur, he was even a freaking VASSAL of the Ouchi at one point. Shingen had his "24 generals" to back him(and Kenshin wasn't exactly short on talent himself)...which isn't to say Motonari didn't have any talent around him, but not to near the extent that any of the rest of the strategists on this list had. Doing the most with the least...that was what Motonari did. Extraordinary strategist.
I mostly avoid major Daimyos because mostly strategy is their commanders work. 10-Hanbei Takenaga : Great mind died too early 9-Kanbei Kuroda : Mind behind Hideyoshi 8-Masanobu Honda: Not much known about this guy but he could be mind behind Tokugawa 7-Katakura Kojiro: He played really well during Hideyoshi-Hojo conflict, he is success behind Date Masamune 6-Yamamoto Kansuke: Woodpecker tactic is actually a brilliant tactic but sadly he couldn't see result. He is one of the key figure Shingen's rise. 5-Saito Dosan: An underrated mind, how he rose from oil merchant is fascinating story. 4-Ise Shinkuro: How he solved Imagawa succession, how he made his name he truely deserves all the glory. 3-Kobayakawa Takakage: Big key figure for Hdeyoshi's success. Another guy could change history if he didn't die early 2-Sanada Masayuki: One of the brightest mind in Sengeku era. He guranteed his clans survior even if he supported losin side 1-Mori Motonari: I can't describe how I admire his mind. How he survived against powerful enemies, how his clan became a giant. I always consider him most brilliant out of all the sengokuu era daimyos.
I would agree that Kenshin was probably the best individually, but collectively I would say the Shimazu brothers were the best when working together. They pulled off what Nobunaga did at Okehazama several times defeating armies many times their size. Shimazu Yoshihiro takes most of the credit for that and I would easily put him above Kenshin if the credit was all his.
I think Shimazu clans was famous for being true battle warriors who really inspire his men to fight harder when they personally go in the thick of a battle cracking skulls
@@TheShogunate can you please make video about the Shimazu Clan, especially when they encountered with the Ming's army which was more larger than them in terms of number at the Imjin War but they still managed to won the battle🙏🏻
Hideyoshi would lose points for the Korea campaign, for murdering his only adult heir and his family in favor of a child successor and for going after the women of his vassals which all contributed to cutting the reign of his newly-minted clan short.
I feel like Mori Motonari and Sanada Masayuki should've switched place, but at the same time I could see your reasoning of ranking them that way. Good job as usual.
@@Caffeine1010 so then lets talk about their fathers. mori's ambition was to expand teritory but sanada's ambition was defending their castls. this top 10 is about greatest strategist not expansionists. beside their is no doubt for anyone that confronting with tokugawa and hojo clans at the same time was harder and tougher than each of motonari's achievments you idiot
If Masayuki have enough resource and power, I think he can achieve more. In fact, Sanada clan just have 2 small castle and they have to deal with Tokugawa, Hojo and Uesugi at the same time, Sanada claim their land and independent without combat is really brilliant. Masayuki is also a brilliant castle builder and he pass his experience to Sanada Nobushige to build the legendady Sanada's ring that even use to fought against British army later on.
Hearing how Masayuki defeated (or humiliated, I'd rather say) the Tokugawa *twice with more or less the same tactics* is always music for my ears XD XD XD I would put probably Chousokabe Motochika in the rank given how he manage to unify all Shikoku, but I actually agree with all your points in this video n_n Would you make a video for Onna-Bugeisha's? I always find fascinating how even women could be badass warriors on their own. My top 3 favorite are Maeda Matsu (excellent in martial arts and literature, and a beauty), Akai Teruko (the strongest grandma of Sengoku Era) and Oohouri Tsuruhime (a miko priestess commander warrior who defended bravely part of Kouno province).
One of the greatest thing Kenshin has is that his army rallies to him. It is not fully covered here, but people fight for him. I don't know if it was a legit source, but they said that he even tried to retire from being a daimyo, but their general and their soldiers begged not to. Just imagine if there is a whole modern journalism at that era, they would've probably covered much of Kenshin's life and how people loved him. Also, unlike other daimyo who want to carve out huge domains or become shogun, Kenshin just remain as defender of an old useless title, but still held to it honorably. If only Nobunaga's soldiers or Hideyoshi's soldiers loved them like how Kenshin has, they could've surpassed him. Though strategy plays huge part in battles, the morale, and will of soldiers, and their happiness in campaign and trust to command plays a significant role that wasn't much seen. Kenshin has an aura and lives to his title even to his allies and enemies alike as "Dragon". This is like Erwin Rommel of WWII who shines in his men and his enemies that causes personal psychological factors as being titled with "Ghost Division". Being part of such entitled unit, troop, or being under command of such shining general makes logistics, strategists, minor commanders, and messengers be happier in their job, have trust in the orders given to them, move rapidly because of "Being part of this unit or under his commmand, I shall prove that I'm worthy of being here, and my commander is worthy of holding that title", units relay truthful messages, and even encourage people to share their knowledges as they knew that a wise commander listens to a wise .
He did step down from daimyo for a year to serve as a monk, but he was so effective as a leader, the clan begged him to return. Since he didn’t really try to conquer, many would respect him and ask for help from conquering daimyo. It’s interesting that for the “God of War,” he was more of a defender of others. It’s one of the reasons I see him so fascinating compared to other samurai of his time.
Great list my man! My last name is actually "Nagao" (no kidding) so I'm glad you put my long ancestor Kenshin on No. 1 haha! Although Takeda was a titan too.
I'm just going to say that I found this video very interesting. I can't quibble with your ranking because it's a very subjective topic. My knowledge of the strategists is not as in depth as I would need to argue effectively for or against of your choices. So your choices and rankings work for me.
Japanese themselves consider top 3 being Mori Motonaru, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. The best tacticians would be Kenshin or Shingen in battle. Motonaru is the undisputed strategist where he would turn clans against each other from inside out without fighting in battle, he faced ouchi and Amago that were the most powerful in early sengoku period. Also he might’ve won more battles than Shingen depends on how you count it
Thank you so much for uploding this:) i always wanted to see more about the more "strategic" samurai but at the same time always forget to say it. Also, happy 90k subscriber sir!
i have to disagree with you as hideyoshi being the best among the 3. remember, oda literally fought off against a coalition faction of shogun ashikaga, azai-asakura alliance, buddhist monk from honganji clan, takeda, uesugi and manage to survive and defend all of them. i doubt even hideyoshi at that time even with his full potential would be able to survive that coalition.
Out of all the creators that do the Edo period and Sengoku Jidai. This has always been the most accurate and rewarding series to follow. HANDS DOWN!!!!
I hate how video games put Kanbei Kuroda and Sakon Shima as the best strategists, when they didn't really had many accomplishments. That's why I enjoyed this video, it was well put together!
I'd even take Katakura Kojuro as well as he was Masamunes most trusted vassals alongside Shigezane and Oniniwa Tsunamoto Perhaps even Naoe Kanetsugu as well who was there for most of Kenshins campaigns and served under Kagekatsu as well.
Thank you for an interesting video. Considering some of the great figures in this period, i agree this must be a difficult video to make. I look forward to seeing your next video!
well in wikipedia the resources we cant trust lion already introduced by persian to chinese in han dynasti since chinese culture influence lot in japanese culture word of lion maybe spread through it altough they didnt know what real lion look like but they know the might
Lions weren't from Japan but the Japanese had stories about lions and wrote about lions even before the Sengoku period. Even in manyougana texts (8th century), the kanji for 16 (十六) was read as shishi which means lion in Japanese.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉) once stated: "Luck favors the bold. Leaders must fearlessly exploit the Secret of Decisiveness. Act boldly at critical moments"
All of the Top 3 strategists both defeated either one or two of the three great unifiers? Coincidence??? 🤔🤔🤔 Anyways, this is a great list! Shingen and Kenshin really deserves their spot! And also for no. 3 as well 😉
Kenshin defeated 0 (only Shibata, then again not an important battle) Shingen defeated 1 (Ieyasu) Masayuki defeated 1 (Ieyasu) So yeah, your claim is pretty much false.
@@michaelay4900 Hideyoshi was at Tedorigawa so that counts. And since Shibata Katsuie was under Oda Nobunaga that time, it can be considered as an Oda defeat.
@@TheIlustrado Wow you guys really love to exaggerate the impact of this minor battle which is still debatable that happened or not, and even if so, change nothing in the regard of the flow of history. Just to make Kenshin a better warlord. Fair enough.
Meanwhile Oda, Toyotomi, Tokugawa, and even Shimazu and Mori, fought tons many hard battles and won most of them in tougher positions, AND most importantly conquer chunk of land that is much more than their original size. And still they are considered worse than Kenshin who barely expand his land control. OK then.
I think, alltogether, Ieaysu did something that neither Hideoyshi and Nobunaga could. He waited in the side, built his strengths, his military power, his echonomic base, learnt from his mistakes (and from that lerning, would have never done somethig so foolish as to invade Korea), and waited until it was ripe to take power and build a dinasty. That shows greater strategical understanding than the other unifiers ever had. It wasn't tactical mastery, nor flashy generalship, but it's this kind of people (not heroes) throughout History, who end up claiming power. For me, he was the greatest strategist of the three.
Hideyoshis only mistake was killing his adopted heir after the birth of Hideyori ! Failed Korean invasion wouldn’t have created a rebellion against Toyotomi . As even after his death Iyeasu took a lot of time to manoeuvre
@@anandgupta1989 But it was one hell of a maneouvering. When you achieve the goal of having an important section of the enemy switching to sides in the biggest and most importan battle in Japan's History, that shows you're one hell of a schemer and strategist (and he accomplished by shooting directly to one of the would-be turncoats!!!)
@@saidtoshimaru1832 not denying the brilliant move by shooting at Kobayokawa this purely comes from experience . There is a reason why the modern Japanese state uses the Toyotomi crest as the emblem! It’s highly inspirational for all commoners like me to come from being a sandel bearer to becoming the Taiko it’s just too many odds stacked against you this feat cannot be achieved without stratagem. Iyeasu never dared to move against the Taiko even 2 years after he died says it all .
Regarding the Three Unifier of Japan, I would place Tokugawa Ieyasu on the top. Oda Nobunaga got himself killed and because of that the Oda clan lost it´s place in history., so he should be the lowest the Unifiers. Hideyoshi did lose the war against Korea losing also a lot of resources and his family´s prestige. Also, Hideyoshi´s successor plans were not well-thought because he left Japan to his six years old son. Ieyasu did have his flaws but he was able to establish a dynasty which ruled Japan for more than 250 years. Regarding Shingen and Kenshin I would point out that both of then died at the relatively young age when compared to Ieyasu or Hideyoshi. Shingen was 51 when he died and Kenshin was 48. Hideyoshi was 62 and Ieyasu was 73. One can only wonder what would have happened if Shingen or Kenshin would have live another decade or more. Regarding samurai strategists my special mention goes to Maeda Toshiie. He was originally the fourth son of Maeda Toshimasa, the castellan of the Arako castle in Owari. He was ultimate given for his service the Kaga domain which made him the wealthiest daimyo after Hideyoshi or Ieyasu. His family ruled the Kaga domain for the entire Edo period.
Nobunaga didn't get himself killed, an important retainer who had been loyal to that point back stabbed him. He went from being an unpopular son of a local warlord to the supreme power in Japan in the space of 20 years, Ieyasu couldn't even beat Hideyoshi after spending all that time building his powerbase in Nobunaga's shadow. He was fortunate that both of those men who were of the same age as him died first and no real challenger was left. Yes he did plan wisely by building an unstoppable position politically, militarily and financially during Hideyoshi's decline but lets not forget that he had to submit to him first.
My top 10: Mori Motonari Toyotomi Hideyoshi Sanada Masayuki Oda Nobunaga Takeda Shingen Uesugi Kenshin Hojo Ujiyasu Hojo Soun Chosokabe Motochika Ishida Mitsunari
I really wonder why Chosokabe is not in a list for unifying Shikoku. Maybe because it wasn't as challeging as what the Mori had to face in Chugoku? I wish people would talk more about it.
On the three great unifiers, my ranking on strategists is 3 - Ieyasu, 2 - Nobunaga, 1 - Hideyoshi. Ieyasu was a top strategist of his time and all-around best leader of the three, but he did make a lot of blunders (against Shingen, and the Sanada). He had the benefit of learning from the other two unifiers, he was the luckiest. Oda made mistakes too but he has to get credit for his amazing successes (as you said he had the harder road, that should go in his favour). He also revolutionised samurai warfare and set the example for the other two. Hideyoshi has an almost perfect military track record (when he takes to the field, so not including the Imjin war, but even that was almost a massive success). The only defeat I’m aware of for Hideyoshi was against Ieyasu, but it was minor and he still got what he wanted from the situation. Honestly Hideyoshi for his brilliance at siege warfare would be in my top 3, only behind the likes of Shingen & Kenshin. Glad to see Hojo Soun & Mori Motonari on the list. A list of just the early Sengoku generals would have those two near to or at the top.
I expect Nobunaga to be at the top because the big battles were the one who put the plan and the results were great and influential, as most of his battles were a big fall for his enemies and unmatched as far as I know, such as Motonri and Masioki, and even the Battle of Tedrigo was not present and when he arrived he took the appropriate step by retreating.
Best Samurai dynamic duos list? You've got some givens but two historic figures that could accomplish so much because they combined their talents to create advantage in warring times.
I would personally place both Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin at rank 1. You can't really compare an unstoppable force with an immovable object, as they're both as strong as each other but different in what they do. Shingen went on the offensive and consistently won, while Kenshin was on the defensive and consistently succeeded. The battles of Kawanakajima show what happens when both collide: a pyrrhic victory for the one who has the advantage in an attritional fight, yet a serious blow to the one who loses the battle. I think both are tied.
Kenshin was overall a more well-rounded Daimyo. Outside his skill as a commander, he also took care of the economy and was a patron of the arts. We don't hear much about Shingen, and it could be a case of having no extant sources, but the point still stands. Militarily? Yeah, they're probably more or less equal
Some major names like Kuroda Yoshitaka and Yamamoto Kansuke who could be considered to be at par with names like Takenaka Shigeharu and Sanada Masayuki in terms of strategic brilliance or commanders/daimyo like The Shimazu brothers, Chosokabe Motochika and Mogami Yoshiaki who managed to carve out large territories for themselves have unfortunately not been mentioned. But I highly recommend people to read up on their history as well.
I love sanada family Also love Shingen and Kenshin Always thinking about peace between them And cooperation for unify Japan Shingen to the west and Kenshin to the east or other ways ;) Sadly it didn't happen This IS the way of HISTORY
I enjoy your content immensely I know that it doesn't directly relate to the sengoku period but would you ever consider covering the boshin war and the satsuma rebellion or even saigo takamori the last true samurai just curious?
I thought this was about tactiticians at first so I expected the likes of Takenaka Hanbei and Kuroda Kanbei. But it was a wellcome surprise to see the daimyos.
This list show most samurais during Sengoku were very talented and very well trained, imo outside of this period, I pick Ashikaga Takauji, gigachad Shogun
Very good list, however I'm surprised that Kanbei didn't make the top 10. I personally ranked Kanbei and Hanbei roughly the same in terms of intelligence.
I had a funny video idea. 10 samurais that could win against Musashi? Such as Honda Tadakatsu who always wins, or Yoshihiro The Shimazu Devil or Kojiro? x3
@@TheShogunate I meant to say 24 not 25 lol I have since corrected it. But yeah man love the content and would love to see you dive deeper into that topic
Honestly, after watching this video I agree with all the choices in Kenshin & Shingen being 1 & 2 respectively, all of them were great choices, Kansuke would have been a good choice also, then there was Kanbei, Kuroda, or Jossuie (or however it's spelled in Kessen 1) although I'm not sure what he did exactly. As for Masamune was he a strategist I don't know myself figured it would have been Kojuro Katakura myself.
Can you do a history of how samurai clans rule their lands? I would like to know how these daimyos and the shogunate itself run as a government. While I can just Google it, I would like to see your take on it.
It is very difficult to find information about: “The famed warlord Uesugi Kenshin, daimyō of Echigo Province, is said to have had a special guard of retainers armed with nagamaki.” The nagamaki is an intriguing+ weapon AND the fact that an elite guard used same - please share info/resources regarding same. It would be much+ appreciated.
I am glad to see my two favorite Shingen and Kenshin are on 1st and 2nd place... although I would have placed Shingen as 1st while Kenshin as second. As Kenshin was more of a warrior, while Shingen was more of a Commander. Didn't it mentioned that Nobunaga was laughing happily when he heard the news of Kenshin have died? I think he mentioned something like "The world is finally mine!"
Ya, I thought you previously said samurai homosexuality was prevalent. How could anyone of them have a problem with him? Didn't most of them spend time as wakusha (spelling might be wrong)?
Being a homeosexual is one thing, being effeminate is another. He simply displayed traits that were deemed unmanly. Chosokabe Motochika was another great warlord who was critised for being effeminate in his youth. Homosexuals in those times would have shared nothing in common with those today who adopt "gay culture", back then homosexuals would have been pretty much the same as hetrosexuals other than their preferences. Takeda Shingen was a noted bisexual and he was among one of the most ferocious warriors of the time.
I will agree with top :D maybe I would put Sanada Masayuki on the first place, because everybody feared his talent as a strategist and were wanting to be counseled by him during sieges.
Oda nobunaga=best in tactics Toyotomi hideyoshi=best in strategies Tokugawa ieyasu=best in politics. Well at 3 is hideyoshi, he was hallf as good as nobunaga in tactics, strategies and half as good as ieyasu in politics, he mostly lerned from nobunaga, before battle, he made shure that he could stop conflick with politics and before main fight making his enemies to submit to him. Menwille at 2 is ieyasu who was accualy better in politics and accualy stoped the fight even before it could happend. He was patient tactician and betwen hideyoshi and him better in battles and hideyoshi better in sieges. And at 1 is ofcourse oda nobunaga. When hideyoshi fought battles on his own, he won most of the time because he had 3 times bigger army(at time of his unification of japan) and when he came to some challange (imjim war) he lost. But his best time was in mori campaing at siege of takamatsu. If you compare siege of takamatsu and mt. Hiei, nobunaga burned down the fortress menwile hideyoshi drowned the fortress so he could just copied this but probabky no. Nobunaga was most of the time outnumberd and still won against asakura-azai coalittion, takeda, uesegi( after kenshins deqth), mori, matsunaga, ikoiiki, imagawa, saito, ashikaga, hatano.... his brutall tactics were negative and positive. It gave warning and hatred to enemies. And because he killed everyone the there could ther be no rebellion. Overrall: nobunaga is at 1, ieyasu at 2, hideyoshi at 3
0:39-1:00 Well, there are also a lot of cases where you can't separate strategists from their lords, because a lot of daimyos were their own strategists. A lot of these daimyos who were their own strategists appear on this list.
I really don't feel comfortable when people recognize Kagetora as Uesugi. He purposely weakened the original Uesugi and stole the title of Kanto Kanrei with the money he made from slave trades. Since the ranking is based on strategies and not on war tactics, why the regional daimyos are on top of national unifiers... I feel bad for daimyos like Mogami Yoshiaki. When people judge daimyos on who killed who and burned down how many villages, rather than flood controls and cultivations.
so mich subjectovity we would need examples for statemensts such as: " bit off more tha he could chew" "a gambler", need examples to back up statements everywhere. its almost as if you were there. taking notes
So if this is just a ranking for strategists of the Sengoku Period, does that mean we may one day get a ranking of strategists from the earlier periods?
Most reliable sources of the Ueseugi at Kenshin time point out that he was indeed a man,not a woman.If he had been a woman he would not have been in a great role of the Ueseugi.
Good video, It's impossible not to be biased in lists like this, for me I think ultimate victory in the larger theatre of wars matters more than winning legendary battles or getting yourself out of horrific situations, like with shingen for example (who i agree is a legend), it isnt a strategic plus that he had enemies on all sides and did well, that's a strategic failure for the most part precisely because of how avoidable it is with diplomacy. There's an old saying, you win first with diplomacy, then go to war. Like sun tzu said the victorious warrior wins first, then begins the battle, diplomacy is the foremost form of strategy, I think would be cliche and have the unifiers at my top 3 I also agree with motonari mori, i highly disagree about sanada I think he's a slippery opponent but wouldnt make the list, he merely survived he didn't acomplish much.
Well Uesugi Kenshin was a 僧兵=Sohei/warrior monk though a daimyo he was not really a Samurai though in the age of samurai. ''Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will be alive; wish to survive in the battle and you will surely meet death''-Uesugi Kenshin. Dragon of Echigo has some contested battles but no proven defeats so is quite likely among the ranks of undefeated generals in human history. Uesugi Kenshin followed Bishamon 1 of the 4 heavenly kings. I was going to argue with many of your picks till I saw Takada Shingen 2nd & Uesugi Kenshin 1st. A top 10 does the sengoku jidai many great general little Justice but I doubt many people would watch all the clans & their leadership broken down!
Sorry for a really long reply...and this will be long... Especially on the oversight of the guy was literally referred to as the strategist. Taigen was a stud very underrated. Had Yoshimoto not been killed (and remember Taigen had already passed on) his legacy would be better appreciated. But his understanding of military, diplomatic and political interaction was sublime. Hanbei`s family eventually became a hatamoto house with 5000 koku of income Also, Hanbei has a great reputation in part to the famed castlejack of Inabayama castle with him and 13 men. Legend has it he did it as a wake up call to Saito Tatsuoki and after a period of time to allow Tatsuoki to reflect and then Hanbei gave back the castle. I find this total BS. What is known for sure is that Hanbei`s father in law Ando Morinara occupied the base of the mountain with 2000 troops. My guess is that Ando failed to get support from other large stakeholders in Mino and deal was done to peacefully have Hanbei/Ando go back to their territory in exchange for the castle. No arguements about Motonari, he was a genius, especially at misinformation. Several times he got opposing daimyos to execute top generals (the Mori spreading false rumors of desertion) and with the battle of Miyajima, Sue`s first thought was to attack the Mori main castle at Yoshida-Koriyama castle but Motonari realized he could not hold so then let out false info that the Mori could be crushed at Miyajima... By far the best practioner of sending out false information in the sengoku period Masayuki was a truly a stud. There is legit criticism of Shingen (and Kenshin) for having their war drag out so much.... The criticism is had they come to some kind of agreement earlier, they could have then focused on other, easier to defeat enemies and thus been in a stronger position. Shingen would have been in great position to take on the Oda/Tokugawa and go for Kyoto. Also, the latest research indicates that while romantic, the idea that Shingen took a bullet at the siege of Noda castle is BS... There are letters between Takeda generals talking about that Shingen was ill and going downhill. So it was disease that took down the Tiger of Kai. And sadly for the Takeda, a comment by Robert E Lee about Gen Sam Hood (Lee opposed the idea of Hood taking control of the Confederate forces at Atlanta) rings true about Katsuyori.... All lion but none of the fox..... The criticisms of Kenshin are similar to Shingen (too long fighting each other)... Also, the invasion of the Hojo seems a strategic blunder as well (I think had Kenshin been more limited in his goals (take a few chunks of Hojo land and then consolidate) it would have been much more successful. But yeah, Kenshin was kick@ss in battle. Tedori was a masterpiece I would give Yamamoto Kansuke an honorable mention as he was considered (Until his suicide by combat at 4th Kawanakajima) Shingen`s top strategist. That should count for something. The biggest disagreement I have is over not including Hideyoshi`s top strategist Kuroda Yoshitaka (Kanbei). There was a recent Taiga drama about him (and quite good too) called 軍師官兵衛... Literally Strategist Kanbei。。。 Strategist Kanbei must be on a top 10 list of strategy studs! Kanbei was not only a tactical genius (he once defeated an 5-6000 man Mori army with a mere 500 soldiers and some peasants.. The Mori needed to make an amphibious landing... They were to land 1000 troops for the bridgehead, and then land the rest... At that time, Kanbei was part of the Kodera and only allotted 500 troops... So he had his 500 troops guard the beach... The Mori vanguard landed and soon a very balanced fight was taking place... But then, from the nearby hills and forest thousand of Kodera flags and troops could be seen in the distance coming to the beach and the Mori wisely departed.. But... not so wisely as all those troops and banners were just peasants under Kanbei`s orders giving the impression of a large army. Of course then Kanbei entered service for Hideyoshi and understood the strategic situation and also was used by Hideyoshi for many diplomatic missions (though he would be interred by Araki Murashige for a year at Arioka castle... At the siege of Miki castle, one of the opposing generals was so impressed by Kanbei, that as part of the peace negotiations the general (along with the other major members of the Bessho clan) committed seppuku. But his son was given to Kanbei to raise and the son became the famed Goto Matabei The brilliant water siege of Takamatsu castle was supposedly Kanbei`s idea and according to legend, once the news of Honnoji happened it was Kanbei who bitch slapped Hideyoshi out of his hysteric stuoor and said wake up, this is the chance to hit the big time. Kanbei was also the one who was negotiating with the Mori face to face (of course under Hideyoshi`s instructions) Kanbei would serve as Hideyoshi`s chief military strategist during his rise to power. He also often used in diplomatic missions as well (He represented Hideyoshi in talks in surrender negotiations with the Hojo. And there is ample evidence that Hideyoshi was afraid of Kanbei`s brilliance. It is recording that in a discussion with some of his other vassals, one made the comment that Kanbei`s holdings were around 50,000 koku but given what he had done for Hideyoshi 500,000 koku would seem appropriate. Hideyoshi then sternly replied that if he gave Kanbei 500,000 koku of land that in 6 monthsKanbei would take over Japan.... In another discussion it was argued what would happen if Hideyoshi suddenly died and Hideyoshi piped up "That cripple would take over" (Kanbei needed a cane because he was kept in a very small dungeon in Arioka castle that lead to permanent damage. After hideyoshi`s death he (and his son Nagamasa) fell in with Ieyasu. Nagamasa would be well rewarded as not only did he put up a solid fight at Sekigahara but also was the point man in getting Kobayakawa Hideaki to defect. Kanbei (before the campaign) mentioned to Ieyasu (twho was camped outside of Osaka castle) that he was more vulnerable to assassination outside of the castle than inside... Some time after moving inside the castle at Kanbei`s suggestion an assassination plot by (most likely) Mitsunari was foiled Kanbei would raise an army from scratch in Kyushu and with Kato Kiyomasa attack and take over all of Kyushu that supported Mitsunari with the exception of Shimazu land (the thinking goes that Kanbei was trying to set up an independent realm should Ieyasu be killed or severely defeated. Before he could invade Shimazu land (but after Sekigahara) Ieyasu thanked Kanbei for his good work but added that it best Kanbei stop the attack as Ieyasu was worried about Kanbei`s health in the winter coldKanbei was smart enough to get the joke/point (it was Kyushu, winter is pretty warm there). Ieyasu was gently commanding him In a final act of shrewdness and understanding the overall situation, Kanbei at firs asked for a large area of Kyushu for his own.. Nagamasa had already been bumped up from 110,000 koku to 550,000 koku... But when Ieyasu`s representative arrived for direct negotiations Kanbei just asked that he be given a small stipned paid out of his son`s territories (550,000 koku go a long way!) and be allowed to live and party in Kyoto... Ieyasuand Hidetada were both impressed by Kanbei`s conduct.... Of course Nagamasa`s conduct was a large part of the reason, but the Kuroda (unlike the the Kato and Fukushima) were one of the few Toyotomi vassals to keep their holdings through the entire Edo period... The upshot is that for non daimyo samurai, Kanbei was the gold standard of military/political strategy.
While I applaud Ieyasu's patience and diplomacy, I can't help but conclude he's just deceptive and stole the sovereignty from the Toyotomi, which was unnecessary and caused more battles and deaths just so he could take over for himself. He wouldn't have if it weren't for Mitsunari's unlikeable personality or Samurai status ego of the Toyotomi vassals ... Silly, but I would've rode with Yukimura in the Osaka campaign and surge to take that thief's head 😅🤣 Although to think about it... it may just be karma at play as Hideyoshi did a similar fashion with the Oda...
Placing Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Hideyoshi back to back is pretty fitting, actually. Because while they great strategists on their own, they were different from others in the Sengoku period because they had each other's backs, which was rare in an era where there was so much distrust between the nobles at that time.
When Nobunaga was starting to rise, Hideyoshi was a mere ashigaru who rose to the ranks and Nobunaga noticed his talents and elevated him to the next level and as for Ieyasu, he and Nobunaga became buddies during their younger years and when Yoshimoto fell, Ieyasu pledged his allegiance to Nobunaga and he became a reliable ally to Nobunaga despite the fact that the latter told Ieyasu to whack his wife and eldest son “The monkey may look like a snot nosed punk but he has talent, yes, he has remarkable talent and as for that fat tanuki, he and I are buddies and he is patient and has a great sense of composure, a perfect counterpart to my brash and reckless nature. If ever I perish, something that I hope will never happen, these two shall finish what I started, not Gonroku (Shibata Katsuie), Inuchiyo (Maeda Toshiie), Niwa (Niwa Nagahide), and not even Jubei (Akechi Mitsuhide). That is all!” -Oda Nobunaga
I placed SANADA MASAYUKI BEHIND ODA, TOKUGAWA AND TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI BECAUSE HE WAS IN ALMOST SAME POSITION (small lord with stronger warlords around) LIKE ODA, TOKUGAWA AND TOYOTOMI... BUT HE STILL WASN'T AVABLE IN GETING LARGE TERITORY(by this I mean large province not castle) like them. AND ALSO MORI (BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAD BIGGER TERITORY (LIKE THEM) ODA ( MOST OF CENTRAL JAPAN, TOKUGAWA , AND HIDEYOSHI ( ENTIRE JAPAN )
