Baba Nobuharu

Baba Nobuharu (馬場 信春, 1514/15 – June 29, 1575), also known as Baba Nobufusa (馬場 信房), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen".[1] When Takeda Shingen took Fukashi castle (now Matsumoto Castle) in 1550, he entrusted it to Baba.

Baba Nobuharu
In this Japanese name, the surname is Baba.

Baba fought in the Kawanakajima campaigns, and led the Takeda army that besieged and destroyed Katsurayama, a major Uesugi clan stronghold in 1557. In 1573, he took part in the Battle of Mikatagahara,[2] during which the troops under his command chased Tokugawa Ieyasu's army back to Hamamatsu fortress; upon seeing the gates open and braziers lit, Baba mistakenly suspected a trap, and did not press the fleeing army further.[3] Following Takeda Shingen's death, Baba served his successor Takeda Katsuyori.

Knowing Nobunaga's participation in the Battle of Nagashino, he advised Katsuyori to withdraw but Katsuyori rejected the idea.[4] He led the Takeda army's right-wing,[5] and was killed in combat during that engagement.[3] It is said that he served to cover the retreat and let Katsuyori go out of the battlefield.[4]

The Kōyō Gunkan states that Shingen often consulted Nobuharu on important matters. Prior to Nagashino, Nobuharu was reputed to have fought in 21 battles without receiving a single wound.

References
  1. Turnbull, Stephen. (2011). The Samurai and the Sacred: The Path of the Warrior, p. 85.
  2. Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. pp. 222–223. ISBN 1854095234.
  3. Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. London: Arms and Armour Press. pp. 77, 85, 91. ISBN 9780853688266.
  4. "世界大百科事典 第２版「馬場信春」の解説". kotobank. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. Turnbull, Stephen (1977). The Samurai. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 156–160. ISBN 9780026205405.

Further reading
  • Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
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