Mt. Tenmoku

The Battle of Mount Tenmoku (天目山の戦い) also called the ‘’Battle of Tenmokuzan’’ is the last stand of the Takeda clan. With the Oda and Tokugawa forces closing in all around him, Katsuyori Takeda found himself betrayed and forced to seek refuge at Mt. Tenmoku, a sacred mountain for the Takeda, where he takes his wife, son, and own life, bringing an end to the Takeda clan.

Role in Games
This battle first appeared in Samurai Warriors 2 under the name Fall of the Takeda for Nobunaga Oda and No's story modes, Xtreme Legends also gives this stage to Katsuie Shibata. The battle takes place at Ueda instead of Mt, Tenmoku, since Katsuyori chooses to shelter with Masayuki Sanada instead of Nobushige Oyamada. The main focus of the conflict is protecting Nobukimi Anayama, Nobushige Oyamada, and Yoshimasa Kiso. These three officers are important for the Oda because they are recently surrendered Takeda officers, and their morale is not yet well established.

Partway through the siege, Uesugi forces under Kanetsugu Naoe will sally out to hunt these traitors in specific, starting with Oyamada. Katsuyori himself can only be accessed once every officer outside of the castle is defeated. However, with Katsuyori's defeat, Masayuki launches an ambush on the Oda main camp, which will need help after a short period of time. Even defeating Masayuki and ending the battle has one last layer of defence, with Kotarō Fūma casting illusions to trick the Oda forces into a final ambush.

Mount Tenmoku returns in Samurai Warriors 4, this time from the perspective of the Sanada trying to protect Katsuyori and escort him to Mt. Tenmoku. The very first mission issued is to defeat Nobukimi Anayama, Nobushige Oyamada, and Yoshimasa Kiso. Alongside this first threat, the Takeda supply lines are threatened by Nagayoshi Mori and Hideyori Mori. Mitsuhide Akechi joins the conflict with those officers' defeat, opening up the central garrison for Katsuyori to continue his path towards the mountain.

While Katsuyori continues his path, the Sanada brothers secure the Suraga River garrison to clear the way to Kogakuji, the safest path to Mt. Tenmoku. The Hojo will appear under the leadership of Ujiyasu Hōjō to contest control of the garrison once the Takeda secure it, while ninja masters will ambush Katsuyori at the same time. Kotaro Fuma adds insult to injury as Katsuyori Takeda makes his way up the mountain by inciting peasants to attack their former lord. Two further Oda ambushes, the first led by Ranmaru Mori and the second my No, finally overwhelm Katsuyori and he falls to a hail of bullets. The battle ends with Yukimura Sanada and Nobuyuki Sanada fleeing the battle by driving off Keiji Maeda.

In Spirit of Sanada, the battle returns, this time with Masayuki leading the efforts to escort Katsuyori Takeda to safety, not his sons. The battle begins at night, with a Takeda retainer missing his rendezvous with Katsuyori. When Masayuki goes to investigate what has gone wrong, he is met by an Oda ambush led by Katsuie Shibata. Toshiie Maeda attempts to catch the fleeing Takeda in a pincer movement, but can be foiled by misinformation from Masayuki. Several more Oda ambushes are launched, with even Hisahide Matsunaga getting in on the ambushes along Katsuyori's path to the mountain peak. Once he reaches it, Ranmaru and Mitsuhide rush the Takeda from two different directions, strengthened in their motives to finish off the Takeda. The final foe before the battle is won is a phantom Nobunaga, who continues to reappear with each defeat (with less health each time).

Historical Information
In 175, the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu soundly defeated Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino. With pressing threats in the west from the Mōri and Ikko Ikki at Ishyama, Nobunaga left the continued fighting against the Takeda to Ieyasu. Katsuyori found himself fighting a losing battle, trying to hold off the Tokugawa, keep his remaining retainer loyal, and mend his old alliances with the Hōjō and Satake. The Tokugawa slowly chipped away at the Takeda lands, which in turn led several key retainers to turn traitor and join Ieyasu. Both negociations with the Hojo and Satake fell through, with only the Uesugi remaining interested in an alliance. Katsuyori tried to buy some good will from the Oda in 1580 with the return of Nobunaga's fifth son, Oda Katsunaga, who had been a hostage of the Takeda since 1572.

In 1582, Kiso Yoshimasa betrayed the Takeda for the Oda. When Katsuyori sent Takeda Nobutoyo to kill Kiso's family for his rebellious actions, Oda Nobunaga used this event as justification for invading the remaining Takeda lands. This invasion went terribly for the Takeda, with only Takato Castle, under Nishina Morinobu, actually attempting to hold out against the massive Oda army. Katsuyori was forced to flee to Shinpu Castle, but he did not think he could hold the fortress against the approaching Oda and Tokugawa armies. Sanada Masayuki recommended Katsuyori take refuge with him in the north at Iwabitsu Castle, while Nagasaka Mitsukata recommended holing up at Iwadono Castle, which was under the care of Oyamada Nobushige.

Unfortunately for Katsuyori, Nobushige had already surrendered to the Oda, forcing the Takeda leader to change his course, aiming for Tenmokuzan. Takigawa Kazumasu caught up with Katsuyori's forces at the mountain on March 11, 1582. Katsuyori's few remaining retainers, Tsuchiya Masatsune, Tsuchiya Tomoharu, and Abe Tatsutaka held the narrow mountain pass to give their lord time to prepare and commit seppuku and preserve his clan's honor. Legendarily, Tsuchiya Masatsune was said to have seized some hanging foliage and leapt about the narrow pass, using the vines to more easily reach dozens of foes. Abe Tatsutaka is said to have cut his way down the pass, right into Takigawa's camp before being cut down.