Shigenari Kimura

Shigenari Kimura is one of Hideyori's known retainers. He is best known for loyally fighting and dying for the Toyotomi family at Osaka Castle. Shigenari was so ready to accept his death that he prepared and cleaned himself for his decapitation before the final battle. The Tokugawa retainers realized this from his chopped head and were moved to tears. Legends posthumously honor Shigenari as a courageous hero and one of the most beautiful men of his time.

Role in Games
The Samurai Warriors series has him always appear at Osaka Castle and is often stationed within the castle's inner defenses. The second Empires title includes conversations highlighting the legends about him and has him share an anachronistic kinship with Shigeyuki Ono.

Often called "Kimura", he appears during the final battles in Kessen as a reliable spear unit. If the Toyotomis have suffered a string of losses, he will appear as one of the last defenders at Osaka Castle. He is one of the generals who enjoys Yukimura's fireworks display the night before their war council. Kimura may survive Osaka Castle to fight Ieyasu's forces again at the second Sekigahara.

The Nobunaga's Ambition series has his stats share parallels with Katsunaga Mōri. He is the slightly less intelligent one of the pair. Shigenari's fabled family relations with Hideyori is mentioned within his profile but not acknowledged within historical events; it is embraced only within an alternate and erased timeline of the series's online adaptation (Dokuganryu no Yabou). He tends to appear as a general only during scenarios taking place during the end of the era.

Voice Actors

 * John Murphy - Kessen (English)
 * Ryotaro Okiayu - Kessen (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Master Kimura, it is assuring to have your vast wisdom and courage as my ally."
 * "Nonsense. I am a lowly youth with some talent. I am but a mere fledging compared to you, Lord Sanada. Yet if we should require enemy intelligence, may I suggest that we impersonate as women for the deed?"
 * "Dress as a woman...!? I feel only someone as fair as you could accomplish this task, Master Kimura."
 * "Hardly, sire. You might be surprised by how well we would look together."
 * "Uh, um... I'm afraid I will need to decline your generous offer."
 * Yukimura and Shigenari; Hyakuman-nin no Sengoku Musou

Historical Information
Kimura Shigenari may have been celebrated after his death, yet nothing has been historically verified for him prior to the Osaka Campaigns. Aside from being one of Hideyori's pages, his history before the battle is a mystery and lost amidst legends. His political alias was Nagato-no-kami.

Shigenari became a name to be feared when he and his forces participated in the Battle of Imafuku in 1614, the largest open field battle during the Winter Osaka Campaign. Gotō Mototsugu and his forces were reinforcements for the Toyotomi regiment and were given the task of driving back Satake Yoshinobu's forces. It was Shigenari's first known battle (or his first ever charge), yet his troops were a force to be reckoned with and pummeled through the Satake troops. The Eastern front deteriorated when Yoshinobu's retainer, Shibue Masamitsu, perished in battle for his lord's defense. As the Satake forces fled and sought relief from Uesugi Kagekatsu and company, the Toyotomi forces withdrew to avoid unnecessary losses. Shigenari would later fight again for the Sanadamaru defenses. Both armies agreed to a truce by December the same year, and Shigenari was one of the envoys sent to witness its signing. He was the messenger who personally received the document from the shogun.

Around May 29, 1615, the Tokugawa armies resumed their march towards Osaka Castle. Shigenari led a regiment of 6,000 men to intercept them and was reinforced by Chōsokabe Morichika's army of 5,300. After a quick assessment of the terrain, Shigenari decided to position his regiment near Imafuku. Ieasyu's forces then changed course, causing the Toyotomi army to force themselves for the split at Wakae on June 1. While Morichika and company repelled the Tokugawa along the south at Yao, Shigenari's troops fought Tōdō Takatora and Ii Naotaka's troops head on at Wakae. The fighting for both battalions began on June 2. Shigenari stationed his artillery unit within the rice paddies and was able to repel the Tōdō army during the morning attack. Yet his formation fell apart by midday when Naotaka's army circled around the matchlock rifles from the west. Many of the samurai who fought within his battalion were annihilated by the Ii army. Shigenari resisted them and personally armed himself with a spear for the fight, resisting the Tokugawa troops to the bitter end. When his head was brought to Ieyasu, he saw Shigenari's hair was neatly trimmed and he smelled incense wafting from it. He reportedly realized the scent must have came from the cords of Shigenari's helmet and praised the fallen as a courageous warrior. He explained that the youth must have prepared for his death in advance, well aware that he would not live to see a day beyond this battle. The grave for his head currently rests at Sōan-ji, which is located in modern day Hikone. His body grave is buried with other generals at Yao city.

Japanese Folklore
The impact of Shigenari's brief track record gave birth to many legends about him. Edo period folklore celebrates him as a tragic hero based on their reading of his Buddhist name. He is one of the figures romanticized as a hero within Nanba Senkimono, the same narrative which is sometimes credited to have started the "Yukimura" boom for Sanada Nobushige. Depending on who is asked, some of the legends attributed to Yukimura were originally told in Shigenari's name.

Naotaka and the Ii generals were said to have been very impressed by Shigenari and kept records of his end for future generations to enjoy. They were responsible for taking care of his head after it was shown to Ieyasu. Since he was an enemy to the Tokugawa shogunate, however, he could not be publicly celebrated until the Meiji era. He was then given his posthumous Buddhist name, which can be roughly translated as "Dai-kōji, A Young Hero who matches the Integrity and Loyalty of Yore" (智覺院殿忠翁英勇大居士).

Given his status within historical records, it's difficult to verify the likelihood of these stories. The majority of these tales are considered fictional by modern historians, yet they continue to be celebrated to this day.