Anayama Nobukimi



Anayama Nobukimi (穴山 信君), also known as Baisetsu Nobukimi, was a Japanese samurai. He was the son of Anayama Nobutomo and a nephew of Takeda Shingen. He became famous as one the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen".

He fought for his uncle at the Battle of Kawanakajima (1561), the Battle of Mikatagahara (1573), and the Battle of Nagashino before defecting to the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu, aiding him in his campaign against Takeda Katsuyori. He was rewarded by Tokugawa with a fief in Kai Province for his service, but was killed by Takeda sympathizers soon afterwards.

He was given a castle at Ejiri and land in Suruga province after it was taken by Takeda Shingen in 1569, and remained there for a decade. He maintained an important place in the Takeda hierarchy under Takeda Katsuyori, and led a large body of troops at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. He appeared to have had some falling out with Katsuyori, and this may have influenced his decision to betray the Takeda clan and join Tokugawa Ieyasu even before the issue was decided. His change of allegiance was fleeting, however. Just a few months later, he accompanied Tokugawa to the capital region and was forced to flee when Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled. He took a different route home than Ieyasu and the others, and was killed. One legend has it that vengeful Takeda men had committed the murder after tracking him for weeks. He had one son, Anayama Nobukimi, who lived for just fifteen years, 1572 to 1587.