Baba Nobufusa

Baba Nobufusa (also known as Nobuharu) is believed to have been born around 1514 in Kai Province, and rose to become a senior retainer of the Takeda clan. He served three generations of Takeda lords — Nobutora, Shingen, and Katsuyori — and, according to legend, fought in countless battles without ever being wounded, earning him the nickname 'the Undying Oni of Mino.' Deeply trusted by Takeda Shingen, he was counted as one of the 'Four Heavenly Generals of Takeda' alongside Naitō Masatoyo, Yamagata Masakage, and Kōsaka Masanobu.

Nobufusa took part in most of the major battles of the Shingen era, including the battles of Kawanakajima, and was also renowned for his skill in castle construction; Shingen entrusted him with building Kaizu Castle (later Matsushiro Castle). He was thus a general of both martial and administrative accomplishment. After Shingen's death, he served as a senior elder supporting the young lord Takeda Katsuyori through the clan's difficult later years.

In 1575, the Takeda army suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Nagashino against the combined gun-armed forces of Oda and Tokugawa. To allow the retreating Katsuyori to escape, Nobufusa is said to have personally taken the rearguard, single-handedly holding back the pursuing enemy before falling in battle. He was 62. This loyal final stand, fitting for a veteran who had never known defeat, has been passed down in later war chronicles as an ideal of Takeda samurai valor.