Sanada Yukimasa

真田幸昌

Sanada Yukimura's eldest son, who died with his father at Osaka Castle in his mid-teens

Era

Early Edo period

Lifespan

1600?-1615

Associated Sword Tradition

Description

Origins

Sanada Yukimasa, also widely known by his popular name Daisuke, was the eldest son of Sanada Nobushige (Yukimura). His mother was Chikurin-in, a daughter of Ōtani Yoshitsugu. His birth year is disputed, with theories placing it in 1600, 1601, 1602 or 1603, and no account is settled. He is said to have been born during the period when Nobushige lived in enforced retirement at Kudoyama in Kii Province following the Battle of Sekigahara.

Entering Osaka Castle

In 1614, with the outbreak of the Siege of Osaka, Yukimasa escaped Kudoyama together with his father Nobushige and entered Osaka Castle, joining the Toyotomi side at his father's side and throwing himself into battle while still young.

The Battle of Dōmyōji and His Father's Order

In the 1615 Summer Campaign, Yukimasa fought at the Battle of Dōmyōji, where he is said to have taken an enemy commander's head, though he himself was wounded. On hearing rumors that Toyotomi Hideyori was considering peace negotiations, Nobushige is said to have ordered Yukimasa to return to Hideyori's side, watch over him, and try to dissuade him from making peace. Though Yukimasa wished to fight alongside his father to the end, he could not disobey the order and reluctantly returned to Osaka Castle.

Death

On 4 June 1615 (Keichō 20, fifth month, eighth day), as Osaka Castle fell, Yukimasa refused to flee and took his own life within the castle grounds (traditions differ as to whether this was in the San-no-maru or the Yamazato-maru). He is said to have declared, "I am the son of Sanada Saemon-no-suke Nobushige," before being assisted in death by Katō Yahei ta acting as his second (other accounts say the two died fighting side by side). Depending on which birth-year theory is followed, he was between thirteen and sixteen years old at his death.

Legacy

Yukimasa appears under the name Sanada Daisuke in later kōdan storytelling and war chronicles such as the "Ten Sanada Braves," remembered as the tragic young warrior who shared his father Yukimura's fate to the last.