戦国武将
Thirty figures from the age of war — who they were, and why each one is remembered.
The Sengoku period is easiest to understand through its people. This page groups the thirty figures covered in English on this site, with a line on each explaining what they actually did.
Every name links to a full page with their life, their battles, and the parts of their story that are legend rather than record.
The men who ended the wars. See The Three Great Unifiers of Japan for how their careers fit together.
織田信長 · 1534–1582
Broke the old order and brought roughly a third of Japan under one command before being killed by his own general.
豊臣秀吉 · 1537–1598
Born a commoner, completed the unification of Japan in 1590 and ruled as imperial regent.
徳川家康 · 1543–1616
Won at Sekigahara, became shogun in 1603, and founded the government that ruled Japan for 265 years.
Each of these men ruled a territory outright and could have unified Japan if geography and timing had been different.
武田信玄 · 1521–1573
The "Tiger of Kai": feared cavalry commander, rival of Uesugi Kenshin, and the one man Nobunaga did not want to face.
上杉謙信 · 1530–1578
The "Dragon of Echigo", who fought Takeda Shingen five times and claimed to fight for justice rather than land.
伊達政宗 · 1567–1636
The one-eyed "Dragon of Oshu" who built Sendai and sent an embassy across the Pacific to Rome.
毛利元就 · 1497–1571
Turned a small Aki house into the ruler of ten provinces, mostly by out-thinking his opponents.
北条氏康 · 1515–1571
Held the Kanto plain against Takeda and Uesugi from the strongest castle in Japan.
今川義元 · 1519–1560
The most powerful lord on the Tokaido road until Nobunaga killed him at Okehazama.
長宗我部元親 · 1539–1599
Conquered all four provinces of Shikoku, then lost three of them within a year.
大友宗麟 · 1530–1587
Kyushu's greatest lord, a Christian convert, and the man whose appeal brought Hideyoshi south.
The commanders whose names are attached to specific battlefields.
真田信繁（幸村） · 1567–1615
Died attacking Ieyasu's command post at Osaka in 1615, and was called the finest warrior in Japan by his enemies.
本多忠勝 · 1548–1610
Ieyasu's most famous warrior, said never to have taken a serious wound in a lifetime of fighting.
井伊直政 · 1561–1602
Commander of the "Red Devils", the scarlet-armoured unit that led Tokugawa attacks.
島津義弘 · 1535–1619
Escaped Sekigahara by charging straight through the winning army instead of retreating.
柴田勝家 · 1522–1583
Nobunaga's senior general, beaten by Hideyoshi in the struggle over the succession.
前田利家 · 1539–1599
Founded the richest domain in Japan after Tokugawa, and was the only man who could restrain Ieyasu.
武田勝頼 · 1546–1582
Inherited his father's army, lost it at Nagashino, and saw the Takeda destroyed within seven years.
The people who won wars away from the front line — and the two foreigners whose careers are documented in Japanese service.
明智光秀 · c. 1528–1582
Killed Nobunaga at Honnoji in 1582 and lost everything thirteen days later.
石田三成 · 1560–1600
Hideyoshi's chief administrator, who assembled the coalition that lost at Sekigahara.
黒田官兵衛 · 1546–1604
Hideyoshi's planner, and the man Hideyoshi is said to have feared.
服部半蔵 · 1542–1596
A spear-fighting Tokugawa officer who commanded Iga men — not the black-clad ninja of fiction.
弥助 · dates unknown; recorded in Japan 1579–1582
An African man who arrived with the Jesuits and entered Oda Nobunaga's service in 1581.
三浦按針 · 1564–1620
The English pilot who reached Japan in 1600, advised Ieyasu, and never went home.
Houses that survived by splitting themselves, and women whose documented authority does not fit the popular image of the era. See Women of the Sengoku Period.
真田昌幸 · 1547–1611
Beat Tokugawa armies at Ueda twice with a fraction of their numbers.
真田信之 · 1566–1658
The brother who chose the Tokugawa, and the reason the Sanada name survived.
細川忠興 · 1563–1646
Warrior, tea master, and husband of Hosokawa Gracia.
細川ガラシャ · 1563–1600
Daughter of the man who killed Nobunaga; chose death in 1600 rather than become a hostage.
井伊直虎 · birth date unknown–1582
Held the Ii house together after its men were killed — and the sources are still argued over.
豊臣秀頼 · 1593–1615
Hideyoshi's son and heir, who died at twenty-two when Osaka Castle fell.
If you are new to the period, start with Oda Nobunaga for the shape of the whole story, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin for the great rivalry, and Sanada Nobushige for how it ends.
If you arrived from a game or a drama, the pages for Date Masamune, Hattori Hanzo and Yasuke each explain in detail which parts of the popular version are documented and which are invented.
1560
Aichi Prefecture
The upset that made Nobunaga and freed Ieyasu.
1553–1564
Nagano Prefecture
Five campaigns, eleven years, and no decision: the era's most famous rivalry.
1600
Gifu Prefecture
One day of fighting that decided the next 265 years.
1614–1615
Osaka
The last battle of the samurai wars, and Sanada Nobushige's final charge.