In the early morning hours of 3 June 1615, Sanada Yukimura broke through the Tokugawa battle lines with his guard. He was 47 years old. The castle had now fallen, the fire was burning, and Yukimura fought his way forward \u2014 not to escape, but to reach Ieyasu’s headquarters.<\/p>\n\n
According to tradition, he came close enough to strike Ieyasu’s palanquin with his lance. The bodyguards stopped him. Exhausted, he paused, sat down, and was killed by an enemy. In Japan he is still called the country’s bravest warrior to this day.<\/p>\n\n
The Sanada clan came from Shinano Province \u2014 today Nagano Prefecture. Yukimura’s father, Sanada Masayuki, was a brilliant tactician who held Ueda Castle against Tokugawa Ieyasu twice \u2014 in 1585 and 1600.<\/p>\n\n
At Sekigahara (1600), the Sanada split the risk: Yukimura’s elder brother Nobuyuki fought on the Tokugawa side, while Masayuki and Yukimura stood with the Toyotomi. Conlan shows how this strategy of spreading the risk was a common pattern: when the outcome is uncertain, send one son to each side. Ieyasu won. Masayuki and Yukimura were banished to Kudoyama. The father died there in 1611. Yukimura lived on, in enforced passivity.<\/p>\n\n
In 1614, Toyotomi Hideyori \u2014 Hideyoshi’s son and the last heir of Toyotomi rule \u2014 called for the defence of \u014csaka Castle. Ieyasu had started a war on fabricated pretexts, whose true aim was the final destruction of the Toyotomi legacy.<\/p>\n\n
Yukimura came. Turnbull sees in his return a combination of genuine Toyotomi loyalism, the desire to escape the humiliating exile, and the recognition that this was the last chance to earn a place in history.<\/p>\n\n
Once in \u014csaka, Yukimura analysed the defences and identified a critical weak point: the southern gate was vulnerable. He asked to be allowed to build a forward fortification there. The Sanada-maru<\/strong> was built: a semicircular earthwork with palisades, firing trenches and deliberately positioned fields of fire, which dominated the southern approach to the castle.<\/p>\n\n In November 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s assault on \u014csaka began \u2014 the so-called Winter Campaign. The first major attack on the Sanada-maru was a disaster for the Tokugawa. The attackers underestimated the fields of fire, ran into prepared firing lines and suffered considerable losses. It was the most impressive defensive success in the entire Siege of \u014csaka.<\/p>\n\n Ieyasu’s response was symptomatic of his political style: instead of pressing the attack, he sent diplomats. He offered peace, on condition that the moats around the castle be filled in. The Toyotomi leadership agreed. It was a trap. Ieyasu’s troops filled in not only the outer moat but also the inner one \u2014 and the Sanada-maru was demolished as part of the agreement. Yukimura lost his defensive position without a defeat in the field.<\/p>\n\n Six months later, in the summer of 1615, Ieyasu’s second campaign began. \u014csaka Castle was now without its outer moats. Yukimura fought nonetheless. Turnbull describes the final day: Yukimura’s unit broke through the Tokugawa lines and charged towards Ieyasu’s headquarters. The bodyguards held firm. Yukimura, exhausted from hours of fighting and wounds, sat down. A warrior named Nishio Nizaemon killed him. Ieyasu’s reaction, according to tradition: reverence.<\/p>\n\n Sanada Yukimura became a legendary figure immediately after his death. Kabuki plays about his last stand appeared as early as the 17th century. The popular literature of the Edo period invented the ensemble of the Sanada-J\u016by\u016bshi<\/em> \u2014 the ten heroes, mostly ninja. Conlan analyses this pattern: losers who go down with dignity are regularly venerated more strongly in Japan than victors. The principle has a name: H\u014dganbiiki<\/em> \u2014 sympathy for the underdog, love for the tragic loser.<\/p>\n\n The Sanada-maru was more than an earthen mound. Turnbull describes the construction: a semicircular outwork with three small towers at the corners \u2014 from there, crossfire could be directed at all attackers. The fields of fire overlapped so that there was no blind spot. Anyone advancing on the Sanada-maru ran into fanned-out fire from several directions. The Tokugawa troops had no answer to it. Only Ieyasu’s political manipulation removed the structure without further fighting.<\/p>\n\n Three rows of two coins, six coins in total \u2014 Rokumonsen<\/em>. Six coins are the ferry toll for the crossing between life and death in Buddhist tradition. Anyone who went into battle bearing the Rokumonsen emblem signalled: I have already paid for my death. I fight without fear, because I have accepted the consequence.<\/p>\n\n Sanada Yukimura (1567\u20131615, actually Nobushige) was a Japanese warlord from Shinano Province. He is known for his defence of \u014csaka Castle against Tokugawa Ieyasu’s army (1614\u20131615) and his honourable death in the Summer Campaign. In Japan he is regarded as the “country’s bravest warrior”.<\/p>\n\n A forward fortification designed by Yukimura at the southern gate of \u014csaka Castle. A semicircular earthwork with palisades and deliberately positioned fields of fire. In the winter of 1614 it repelled a major Tokugawa assault \u2014 one of the most impressive defensive engagements in the history of siege warfare.<\/p>\n\n The Japanese concept of H\u014dganbiiki<\/em> \u2014 sympathy and reverence for the defeated fighter \u2014 often makes losers who go down with dignity into greater heroes than the victors. Yukimura fought against overwhelming odds, not to win, but because his struggle was morally necessary.<\/p>\n\n Six coins \u2014 the ferry toll for the crossing between life and death in Buddhist tradition. The Sanada crest communicates: these warriors have already accepted that they may die in the next battle.<\/p>\n\n Display case E01V at the Samurai Museum Berlin holds a mask from the \u014csaka battles of 1614\u20131615 \u2014 a direct object from the final chapter of the Sengoku period. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Auguststra\u00dfe 68, Berlin-Mitte.<\/p>\n\n \u2192 Tickets & Opening Hours<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u2192 All Exhibitions at a Glance<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u00a9 Samurai Museum Berlin \u2013 All rights reserved<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sanada Yukimura defended \u014csaka against Tokugawa Ieyasu’s army \u2013 and became an icon of the honourable last stand. History, myth and the Sanada-maru.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":51796,"template":"","wissen_category":[35],"class_list":["post-52566","wissen","type-wissen","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wissen_category-chronicles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wissen\/52566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wissen"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wissen"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wissen\/52566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wissen_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samuraimuseum.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wissen_category?post=52566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span>The Winter Campaign: Sanada-maru Holds<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
<\/span>The Summer Campaign: The Last Stand<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
<\/span>Myth and Reality: How a Hero Is Constructed<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
<\/span>Yukimura’s Tactics: What Made the Sanada-maru So Special<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
<\/span>The Rokumonsen: The Six Coins for the Ferry<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
<\/span>Frequently Asked Questions about Sanada Yukimura<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
Who was Sanada Yukimura?<\/h3>\n\n
What was the Sanada-maru?<\/h3>\n\n
Why was Yukimura venerated even though he lost?<\/h3>\n\n
What does the clan emblem Rokumonsen mean?<\/h3>\n\n
<\/span>Visit the Samurai Museum Berlin<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
Related Articles<\/h3>\n\n
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<\/span>References<\/span><\/h2>\n\n
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