Yasushi Inoue - The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan

Kansuke joined the bridal procession. Everyone who came from the Takeda stayed in Odawara until the New Year; everyone, that is, but Kansuke. He went back to Kofuchu and reported to Shingen on how the procession went.

“Well, finally we have nothing to worry about. Now we can plan the campaign for the Kiso invasion.”

“When will be the best time to attack Kiso?”

“I believe that around August will be the best time. The Kiso River will be filled and flooded with snow-fed water until April,” answered Kansuke.

So until August, the preparations proceeded for the campaign to attack Kiso.

When Kansuke returned from Kofuchu to Suwa, he visited Princess Yuu. By this time, she had lost even more color, and her skin was so white that it was almost transparent. Her dark eyes looked large and her beauty was so striking that it would have brought any man to his knees. From that position Kansuke told her, “The daughter of our Lord’s legitimate wife has married into the Hojo family.”

“The next obstacle will be the war against Kiso and then the war against Echigo. 71I would like to live until that time,” said Princess Yuu gravely.

“What are you saying? You have to be strong. Once we conquer Echigo, then we will attack the Hojo, then the Imagawa.”

“I will not be alive when you attack the Hojo and the Imagawa.”

“If you do not live until then, you will not be able to see Master Katsuyori inherit the Takeda.”

“I would love to see that,” Princess Yuu cast her dreamy eyes skyward for a moment.

“You have to tell yourself that you are going to live until then.” Recently, even in Kansuke’s eyes, the approach of her death was clear.

It was at the end of August of that year when Shingen moved his first army into position to attack Kiso. Since Seba, a castle town which was right at the entrance to the Kiso district had surrendered, Shingen had pulled his army back to Kai for the time being.

The next year, the twenty-fourth year of Tenbun, when the leader of Seba visited Kofuchu to give his New Year’s greetings to the Takeda, his procession numbered 213 retainers. Shingen attacked them and destroyed every single one of them. Although Seba had surrendered, Kansuke was afraid that when the time came to attack Kiso, there was a good chance that Seba would betray the Takeda and try to take the side of Kiso. This was why Kansuke suggested this attack to Shingen, although it was cruel, to remove them.

On March the seventh, Shingen raised his army for a full-scale attack against Kiso. The Takeda army pushed through the Kisoniekawa River, over Narai Sunset Point, and made camp at Yanehara. Kansuke had realized that this was the best place to build their fortifications.

While the Takeda were preparing for the Kiso attack, Uesugi Kenshin Kagetora entered into the area of Kawanakajima.

Shingen sent an army to northern Shinano to prevent Kagetora’s advance, but nothing serious happened. As soon as Kagetora withdrew his army, Shingen settled his camp at Yanehara and began, once again, to prepare for the Kiso attack. Amari Saemon-no-jo was assigned commander-in-chief of the vanguard, and Baba, Naito, Hara, and Kasuga were appointed the four commanders of the second formation. The Takeda army targeted a castle in the Ontake Mountains as their first point of attack.

From the beginning, the Takeda’s forces had been swallowing up their enemies with ease. This war was no different. The Takeda’s army overcame all the notably difficult cities and castles such as Kokiso and Mizoguchi and stampeded toward Kiso Yoshimasa’s Castle. They advanced and charged as quick as lightning and as swift as the whirling wind. Within a day’s battle, the castle fell and Kiso Yoshimasa, who had been resisting the Takeda for a long time, finally surrendered.

Shingen gave his second daughter from his legitimate wife, Sanjo-no-Uji, to Kiso Yoshimasa as his wife and promised the security of his land. In November of that year, the Takeda marched to their home of Kai in triumph. As soon as Kansuke returned to Kai, he led his own 500 troops to northern Shinano.

Over ten years had passed since Kansuke had begun his service under the Takeda. To him, this expedition was the most brilliant moment of his life. Now Uesugi Kenshin Kagetora in Echigo was the only enemy which the Takeda had to face and destroy. For a long time, they had been prudent and cautious and had restrained themselves, taking a passive strategy against the Uesugi army, but it was no longer necessary to do so. Kai, of course, and the entire area of northern Shinano had all submitted to the powerful Takeda army.

In addition, the Takeda had very strong alliances with the Hojo and the Imagawa. Right now, the Takeda’s only worry was Uesugi Kenshin. The time for an aggressive strategy had come.

Kansuke led his troops into northern Shinano despite the fact that there were no indications of Kagetora invading Takeda’s territory. Kansuke was determined to fight a great war leaving his fate to providence. This was why he wanted to survey the prospective battlefields of all of northern Shinano from a totally different point of view.

When Kansuke’s troops entered Komuro and made their camp on the gentle slopes of the district, a messenger arrived on a post-horse from the Takashima Castle of Suwa. It was a messenger from Princess Yuu. The letter said:

Your presence is requested as soon as you can possibly come. I would appreciate your presence.

Kansuke had just settled at Komuro, but without a moment of hesitation he decided to go back to Suwa alone. He was not expecting a war at this moment, and there were no indications that the army of Echigo would attack northern Shinshu.

It was three days later that Kansuke entered Takashima Castle. Princess Yuu was waiting for him there, having come from Kan-non-in Temple. Kansuke went swiftly to her in her room.

“I am very sorry to have summoned you all the way from Komuro,” said Princess Yuu quietly. “I have really nothing special to talk about. I simply wanted to see you.”

Sake and food were brought in. Kansuke lifted his cup as Princess Yuu served him sake, and he immediately poured it into his fatigued body.

“How old are you now, Kansuke?”

“I am sixty-three years old.”

“It has been ten years since I first saw you in this very castle,” said Princess Yuu with emotion.

“How old are you now, Princess?”

“I am twenty-five.”

“Well, time goes quickly, does it not?”

“Katsuyori is ten years old.”

After saying that, Princess Yuu had her maid bring Katsuyori into the room. Kansuke had seen Katsuyori only two or three times a year in the past ten years. He was too busy with the constant wars his master was involved in; he had no time to spend with the boy. This was only the second time that Kansuke had seen Katsuyori this year.

The prince came in after he was called by his mother and sat beside her in silence. Although he was a reticent and delicate-looking boy, to Kansuke he looked excellent in every aspect. He did not resemble Shingen at all, except for his eyes. They were the exact replica of his father’s eyes.

“Please look after him,” said the princess. “This is what I wanted to say to you tonight. I suddenly had a desperate urge to ask you to do this. I am so sorry to make this demand of a sixty-year-old man who has just come back all the way from such a far away place. Please forgive my selfishness.”

“I am used to your capricious behavior, Princess,” Kansuke answered with laughter. Although he did not say it, there was nothing which made Kansuke more joyful than Princess Yuu’s whimsy.

That night Princess Yuu did not look sick at all. Her face was radiant, and her eyes were luminous and lively. Kansuke stayed at Takashima Castle and early the next morning, he galloped back to Komuro where he had left his troops.