Yokota Takatoshi

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Yokota Takatoshi (横田高松, Yokota Takatoshi^? died November 9, 1550) was a retainer beneath the Takeda clan throughout the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. As Takayoshi surmisably assisted Takeda Shingen initially at the time at which he began his mutual service beneath the Takeda flag, Takayoshi never held any notable rank, even though it can be justifiably stated that he was fervently trained within the martial arts at a very young age, and at length was specifically a master of the bow and arrow, which he displayed throughout many variable campaigns and conflicts, even gaining the admiration of his respective master. In subsequence to these circumstances, Takatoshi was made Captain of the Ashigaru and became respectively known as one Shingen's Twenty-Four Generals. Additionally backing such skill with intense bravery and conviction, Takayoshi became regarded as one of the primary generals of ability that Shingen possessed during the long years of conflict against the neighboring Murakami clan, which he elaborately showed within the Takeda's fight for Shiga castle in 1547.

With the arrival of 1550, a certain Murakami Yoshikiyo was seen as a primary threat to Shingen's aspirations to advance into Shinano province; and as Yoshikiyo would ultimately need to be eliminated, Takatoshi, along with Sanada Yukitaka, were appointed as expeditionary commanders, in which they would be ordered to besiege the Murakami's Toishi stronghold. As Takatoshi and his fellow comrade set out to do the bidding of their master, Takatoshi fervently drilled his soldiers spear-tips, ordering them to consecutively perform a certain maneuver on the battlefield: If a single line were to be formed with a depth of three ranks, they would level the tips of their spears while initially advancing. Upon arriving before the castle and beginning their besiegement, it is stated that Takatoshi wore distinct green do-maru armor with extensively long haidate thighguards. As their attack raged on even until the year of 1551, the Murakami forces would finally declare surrender after respectively losing 1,000 of their garrison, but Takatoshi would unfortunately lose his life within the initial conflict by some unknown means, causing great shock to the unweary and distressed Shingen, who then reportedly advised each of his younger retainers to aim to be like that of Takayoshi, a man that sacrificed everything to achieve reputation and prestige beneath the Takeda. And thus, even though Takayoshi was dead, he remained as a dominant social status figure that was relatively followed by many respective members of the Takeda.