• See also: List of Provinces

Shinano Province

Shinano Province (信濃国) was one of the many provinces of Japan.

Folktales

The folktale The Clever Boar and Monkey is set in this province.⁵

Legenedary Period

Yamanobe no Ohotaka passed through here on his way to catch a swan for the Prince Homutsuwake.⁴

Nara Period

Around 717AD we see the Priest Manzei promoted to the rank of Junior Fourth-rank Upper-grade and subsequently made General of Owari, Mikawa and Shinano Provinces.¹

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

The Provinces of Shinano and Echigo were attacked by Takeda Shingen after displacing his father Nobutora in 1541. In 1542 he was made shugo of Shinano by Ashikaga Yoshiteru. A series of later failed alliences led to the Battle of Mitakagahara in 1573 against Oba Nobunaga of which the Takeda were the victors.²

Takeda Katsuyori was daimyō of the Shinano, Kai, Suruga and Kōzuke Province during his lifetime.²

Edo Period

The poet Kobayashi Issa was born here in the village of Kashiwabara in 1736. Here he was educated by a village teacher, his teaching under the name of Shimpo writing haiku.³

Footnotes

1. Miller, R. A.. (1981) “The Lost Poetic Sequence of the Priest Manzei”. Monumenta Nipponica. Vol.36 No.2 pp.133-172
2. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
3. Carter, S.D. (1991) “Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology.” California, Stanford University Press.
4. Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
5. Ozaki, Y.T. (2015) “Japanese Fairy Tales” USA: Cavalier Classics.

Former Provinces of Japan
Kinai	Izumi * Kawachi * Settsu * Yamashiro * Yamato
Tōsandō	Dewa * Hida * Kōzuke * Mino * Mutsu * Omi * Shimotsuke * Shinano
Hokurikudō	Echigo * Echizen * Etchū * Kaga * Koshi * Wakasa
San’indō	Hōki * Inaba * Izumo * Tajima * Tamba * Tango
Tōkaidō	Ise * Kai * Kazusa * Mikawa * Owari * Sagami * Shimōsa * Suruga * Tōtōmi
Nankaidō	Awa * Iyo * Kii * Sanuki * Tosa
San’yōdō	Aki * Harima * Mimasaka
Saikaidaō	Bungo * Chikuzen * Hizen * Hyūga * Iki * Tsushima
Pre-Taihō Code	Kibi

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• Period: Muromachi Period
• Occupation: shugo / daimyo
• Family: Takeda Nobutora (father) Takeda Katsuyori (son)
• Birth: 1521AD
• Death: 1573AD

Takeda Shingen

Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄) was a daimyo of Kai Province living from 1521-73. Also going by the name of Takeda Harunobu, he was from long line of shugo of this province since Kamakura times.¹

In 1541 he expelled his father Nobutora and so succeeds him as Head of the Kai Branch of the Takeda Clan.¹²

After doing so he starts to conquer his neighbours. The following year in 1542 he overwhelmed the lords of Shinano and was appointed shugo of the province by Ashikaga Yoshiteru. His next attack was centered against Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo province, where after a series of battles between 1553-1564 Shingen was the victor.

He made attempts at alliances with Imagawa Yoshimoto but ultimately failed, and following a victory against him in 1560 he attempted an alliance with Oda Nobunaga.  Making oppositions against the Hōjo Clan caused Tokugawa Ieyasu to ally with Uesugi Kenshin against him and so he reconciled with the Hōjo Clan and moved to attack Uesugi once more.

This led to him defeating Nobunaga and Ieyasu in the Battle of Mitakagahara in 1573, but he ultimately died of disease the same year on May 13th. It was left to his son, Katsuyori, to continue his work.¹

During his lifetime the Clans hidden gold mine in the Kurokawa Kinzan Mountain reached its peak, with Shingen using the gold to build a large spy network, adept at using female ninja ‘ku-no-ichi‘.³

Footnotes

1. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
2. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
3. Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2012) “Yurei Attack: The Japanese Ghost Survival Guide” Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.

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