Itagaki Nobuhira

Itagaki Nobuhira (1489-1548) was one of the most senior retainers of Takeda Harunobu (Shingen) and is counted foremost among the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda. He served two generations—Takeda Nobutora and Harunobu (Shingen)—and played a key role in the coup that expelled Shingen's father Nobutora from Kōfu. He led the major military operations in the conquest of Shinano Province and fought valiantly as the vanguard of the Takeda forces at the Battle of Uedahara against Murakami Yoshikiyo in 1548, where he was killed in action. Revered as the warrior of the Takeda clan who most fully combined wisdom and valor, his death was said to be a severe blow to Shingen. He favored swords in the Sōshū and Kōshū traditions favored by the Takeda clan, and his combat-tested approach to sword selection had a lasting influence on the swordsmanship and sword culture within the Takeda clan.