Sanada Nobuyuki
He teaches the patience required to survive an age of heroes and preserve a house. He explains the difficulty of keeping what one has won, but looks down on those carried away by battle fever.
Life
Keeper of the Sanada house
Ambition
Shoulder the burden while his father and brother pursue their daring course, and carry the Sanada bloodline safely into the Edo age.
His father and brother became famous for bold battles, but their house must survive. He will serve the Tokugawa and endure neglect if that is what it takes to preserve the Sanada line.
If he falls into the shogunate’s suspicion or a confiscation trap, the Sanada name will vanish into history.
- The danger of collective punishment because his father and brother fought for the Toyotomi at Osaka
- Constant scrutiny by shogunate inspectors
- Severe finances and household discipline after transfer to Matsushiro
Character and convictions
The endurance that carried him to ninety-three and secured the Sanada as a great house.
The painful “parting at Inubushi,” when he sided against his father and brother on the eve of Sekigahara.
His gratitude to Komatsuhime, a formidable wife remembered for turning away even her father-in-law Masayuki.
Risking the Sanada house’s survival for a moment of emotion or martial glory.
Historical path
Final chapter
1658 (aged 93)He lived to see six rulers—from Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, Hidetada, Iemitsu, and Ietsuna—and died peacefully in Shinano’s Matsushiro in Manji 1, aged 93.
His father Masayuki and brother Nobushige became legends through glorious deaths. The plainest and most patient brother was the one who preserved the Sanada bloodline and lands.