Favorite Historical Samurai

[Jordan]

Whereas the other thread is just for generalized discussion on the Sengoku-Jidai period, I figured I'd make this one for Sengoku fans just to discuss the different characters of the era, and list whatever ones are their favorite. For me...

1.) Otani Yoshitsugu: Was a leper, gradually began to lose his vision (but never completely lost it), and suffered from all sorts of maladies. Despite this, he was one of the best commanders at Sekigahara on the Western side, and even had predicted Kobayakawa Hideaki's betrayal in advance.

2.) Ishida Mitsunari: I have a soft spot for him, because I like his scheming nature and think that he was a good commander, despite what other texts say. His loss at Sekigahara was caused by the inactivity of many Western army units; the way he positioned the generals at Sekigahara was actually brilliant, and the Western Army could have won the battle had many officers not defected/did more to help the main core of the Western Army in the fighting.

3.) Date Masamune: Brilliant daimyo with an interesting personality. He also severed his eye, and was a pretty good commander. I also like how he was a patron of the arts and funded the Date Maru expedition.

4.) Uesugi Kenshin: Also an interesting man. He definitely was unique for his times. He didn't have any kids, was dedicated to living a somewhat monkish life, and increased his power effectively through both military campaigns and domestic affairs. If he had lived longer, the Uesugi would have put up a better fight against the Oda [because they would have been more united].

5.) Ryuuzoji Takanobu: Don't know why I like him, but I do. I guess I just love to conjure an image up of a fat man in a bear suit terrorizing the people of Kyushu (he was called the Bear of HIzen). In all seriousness though, I think he was a decent general, and think that the loss he suffered at Okitanawate wasn't so much his fault as it was the fault of nature and the senility he had developed with time.

[Antiochus]

Great! I got my list.

1-Niwa Nagahide: One of the best Oda officers (which is saying alot), he has shown great judgement through is career. Nobunaga trusted him with many important duties, such as the construction of Azuchi. He was both smart and loyal, as he shown during the power struggle between Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie(smart for siding with Hideyoshi and loyal by serving the Oda before his own interest).
He is believed to have suicided for the sake of the Oda when he saw that Hideyoshi gained too much power.

2-Takeda Shingen: If SlickSlicer mentionned Uesugi Kenshin, I have to mention Shingen. A great commander who struck fear into the heart of all his neighbours. Nobunaga himself saw the lord of the Takeda as his greatest threat, wich was only lifted with Shingen's death. He left a powerfull clan composed of great officers, which was sadly crippled at Nagashino.

3-Kuroda Kanbei: One of the main responsible for Hideyoshi's rise to power. Always gave good advice to his lord. He also was the ideal remplacement for Takenaka Hanbei, who died during the Hideyoshi's campaings.
Sadly, he ended up being too feared for his scheams and wit, so he was taken away from matters of state.

4-Baba Nobufusa: The very image of a valiant samurai. He served as one of Shingen's right arms and fought in many battles and was believed to be untouchable by his enemies. Nobufusa saw did not fell in Nobunaga's trap at Nagashino, where his unit remained undamaged until the later part of the battle. He charged in the Oda ranks to protect Katsuyori's retreat, dying like a true samurai.

5-Ikeda Terusama: A veteran general who managed to rise his clan to be the most powerfull one under the Tokugawa shogunate. His power was so great that he was known as "The Shogun of western Japan", since he ruled over Harima, Bizen, Awaji and Inaba.

[Long]

Oda Nobunaga, his efforts paved the way for the unification of Japan, and his farsightedness extended all the way across the continents. He was a patron of European influence, religiously diverse, and an expert in politics and military advancement. All cruelty and ruthlessness aside, he was perhaps the greatest man of the era. He had visions of conquering China after he united Japan and I believe if he had survived, he would have met with some success.

It's a bit tragic to me that for all of his genious, he couldn't foresee Akechi Mitsuhide's betrayal.

[Ricky]

Only got one Mitsuhide Akechi!!!!!!!

[Mitsunari]

In no particular order are three of my favourites from the Sengoku period:

Sanada Masayuki:

Known in his time as a master of strategy, and is greatly admired by many past and present, including myself.
Although his alliegances were many, this ultimately enabled the Sanada clan to survive the attacks of many opposing clans.
Anyone who could strike fear into Uesugi Kenshin by the merest mention of his name is indeed a worthy samurai in my book!

Maeda Keiji:

Served both the Oda and the Uesugi clans, respectively.
Extroverted and eccentric he may have been, but Maeda Keiji was a formidable warrior soul in my opinion. His exploits at Aizu and Mogami were legendary.

Miyamoto Musashi:

What can one possibly say about the man that isn't already know. One of the greatest swordsmen who ever walked the earth, and was known for his incredible duelling ability, even from a young age.
He also founded the Niten-ryu style of swordsmanship, and is immortalised in numerous works of literature, including Musashi by E. Yoshikawa.
Additionally, he was renowned for having a fierce rivalry with another outstanding swordsman of his time, Sasaki Kojiro.

Out of these three, I would place Miyamoto Musashi at the very top, for very obvious reasons.

[Koichi]

Interesting, this thread actually has no duplicated...

Favorite samurai? Hard to pick just one, how about this bad boy:

Ii Naomasa: Known for showing up in battle wearing bright red armor, distinguished himself on a number of occasions, including the first to engage at Sekigahara. His son Naotaka capably carried the family legacy, being able to scale the Sanada-maru (before being driven back) during the Winter siege of Osaka and defeating Toyotomi-loyalist Kimura Shigenari.

[Jordan]

Well in fairness, Naotaka's troops got pwned by the Sanadamaru during the Osaka Winter siege. But yes, his defeat of Kimura Shigenari is impressive, and there are pictures of the time that show the charge of the Red Devils against the Osaka loyalists. I actually like Kimura Shigenari, Ban Danemon and some of the Osaka loyalists [Yukimura!] for some reason as well.

Also, Yamagata Masakage started the tradition of having his men dress up in red (from what I've heard), but Naomasa continued it. I think both were brilliant for doing this, because it was a good psychological warfare tactic.

[FuguNabe]

These guys come to mind...

Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Oda Nobunaga
Honda Tadakatsu
Miyamoto Musashi
Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto no Shigenobu
Kondo Isami
Yagyu Jubei

[LKS]

Takayama Ukon: Was a decent commander and warrior , fought under Oda and then under Toyotomi , was paticularly impressive in the campaing against Shibata. However i personally like him because he was a devout Catholic and even moved from Japan when they closed up the borders and went to Fiji.

[The Zibbuto]

2.) Ishida Mitsunari: I have a soft spot for him, because I like his scheming nature and think that he was a good commander, despite what other texts say. His loss at Sekigahara was caused by the inactivity of many Western army units; the way he positioned the generals at Sekigahara was actually brilliant, and the Western Army could have won the battle had many officers not defected/did more to help the main core of the Western Army in the fighting.

Agree at all, I like Mitsunari too. I find admirable his loyalty to the Toyotomi. He had been misjudged because of his defeat at Sekigahara and his reputation had been damaged by the Tokugawa's propaganda, in my opinion.