Baba Nobuharu

Baba Nobuharu (formerly named Kyōraishi Kagemasa; after succeeding to the Baba family he took the name Nobufusa, and later changed it to Nobuharu) is said to have been born around Eishō 11 (1514) in Kai Province, and was a senior retainer of the Takeda clan. He served three generations of the Takeda house, Takeda Nobutora, Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori, and took part in numerous battles without ever being wounded. From this anecdote, he is known in modern times as “the Undying Oni of Mino.” Enjoying the absolute trust of Takeda Shingen, he was counted, as a senior hereditary elder of considerable weight within the Takeda house, among the “Four Heavenly Generals of Takeda” together with Naitō Masatoyo, Yamagata Masakage and Kōsaka Masanobu.

Nobuharu took part in many of the major battles of Shingen's era, beginning with the Battles of Kawanakajima, and is said to have been skilled in castle architecture, building Takeda-side branch castles across the region, including Fukashi Castle, Makinoshima Castle and Ejiri Castle. He was a general who combined not only martial prowess but also skill in castle construction. After Shingen's death, he continued as a senior elder supporting the young lord Takeda Katsuyori, sustaining the house's difficult internal administration.

In Tenshō 3 (1575), at the Battle of Nagashino, the Takeda army suffered a crushing defeat against the arquebusier units of the combined Oda and Tokugawa forces. To help Katsuyori, who was retreating in defeat, escape, Nobuharu himself served as rearguard and, together with Naitō Masatoyo, held back the enemy pursuit. He is said to have died a fierce death in battle, aged 62. The loyal conduct of this elderly general, who had not suffered a single wound until Nagashino, is still recounted in later war chronicles as the ideal image of a Takeda warrior.