Yukimura Sanada

Yukimura Sanada (真田幸村) is a character introduced in Samurai Warriors. Like Zhao Yun, he is the "poster boy" for the Samurai Warriors series usually being placed on the cover/manuals of the games. His full historical pen name is Sanada Saemon-no-Suke Yukimura (真田 左衛門佐　幸村). Masayuki Sanada is his father and his older brother is Nobuyuki Sanada. In the first game, he is nineteen years old. During the series, he's symbolized by cherry blossom petals and the kanji for "courage" (勇) and "fire" (焔).

Samurai Warriors
Yukimura throughout the game is mostly seen following the orders of Shingen Takeda. In the first Samurai Warriors, Yukimura has a strong friendship with Kunoichi, who follows him into many battles. His rival of sorts is Hanzō Hattori. After Shingen's death, Yukimura begins to lose hope and feels he should die. In one of his endings, he is sitting around when Kunoichi comes and the two of them begin to fight a multitude of Sky Ninjas.

However, in his real ending, he is shown surrounded by many soldiers, and does the impossible by getting into Tokugawa's main camp. Tokugawa bestows him the title of one of Japan's greatest heroes after marveling at his feat in reaching the camp. After hearing this, Yukimura smiles and dies due to exhaustion with the last moments of the ending showing his spear pointed to the sky. This is a dramatization of one of his historically significant achievements.

In Samurai Warriors 2, Yukimura begins his tale on the losing Takeda side during Nagashino. Moments before he is shot down by Oda troops, Keiji defects and saves the struggling youth. After they fight their way to safety, the wild man encourages him to find a reason for living besides honor and duty. Yukimura tries by believing in friendship and allies himself with Kanetsugu Naoe and Mitsunari Ishida.

Despite his efforts to hold these bonds of friendship, Mitsunari dies at Sekigahara and Kanetsugu severs their ties by allying himself with Tokugawa at Osaka Castle. Valiantly standing on the frail Toyotomi side, Yukimura leads the resistance and spares Kanetsugu's life. Moved by their friendship, Kanetsugu leads the victory charge against Ieyasu's camp. While the army continues to scatter the fleeing Tokugawa troops, Yukimura and Keiji have a one-on-one duel. Once Yukimura wins their bout, he thanks Keiji for teaching him to treasure the things truly important to him. Kanetsugu and him smile as they watch Keiji walk away.

In his dream stage, he arrives on time to support the Western cause at Sekigahara. Kobayakawa has already defected and several Toyotomi generals are heavily surrounded. Thanks to Yukimura's efforts, they change the tides of the battle and miraculously claim victory. Mitsunari thanks his friend for his support.

Warriors Orochi
The Orochi story mode in the sequel, which acts as prequel to the series, reveals that he was previously serving Shingen. However, after their defeat, he was separated from his lord.

In Warriors Orochi, he is lost and confused on the battlefield. After hearing a false rumor, he believes an evil ghost is terrorizing the land and goes to slay it. However, thanks to the sound reasoning from the Shu forces, he learns his folly and joins their cause.

Kessen
Yukimura appears as a hero mid to late game in the first Kessen. Early on, he is best known for leading a deadly army of kunoichi (female ninja). A trio of kunoichi -named Saizo, Sasuke, and Kosuke- serve him at all times. After the death of his father, he is revered as a shining star of hope for the Western army. If Josui Kuroda or Mitsunari lose their lives fighting for the Toyotomi side, Yukimura becomes the leading commander to replace them.

His prime battle is the defense of Osaka Castle. If he wins the battle, he will charge Ieyasu's camp and slay him. Sasuke quickly deduces the corpse to be a double so he declares Ieyasu an enemy of the State. They meet for one more decisive battle at Sekigahara. Should he fall at Osaka, his kunoichi will pay respects to his grave.

Development
The designers initially wanted him to represent the "standard yet cool hero" and adorned his armor red for historical accuracy and aesthetic tastes. They gave him a darker wardrobe underneath it to make it seem like he was cutting through darkness. For his redesign in the sequel, the team emphasized the symbolic significance of his crimson armor. With bold gold and white accents, they remark that he looked more ready for action and less generic.

Personality
Yukimura is a man who values duty above all else. He possesses unforeseen bravery even when he's faced with overwhelming odds or family from the enemy side. He is very devoted to his lord (from either the Takeda or Toyotomi families) and is humble in his presence. He highly respects the former and addresses Shingen as "great lord" (お館様, Oyakata-sama). A true warrior at heart, he believes every man's worth -including his own- can only be seen in the battlefield. In spite of his good deeds for the Toyotomi family, he hasn't gained the complete trust of its retainers, which causes some difficulties at Osaka.

Since he worries more about his lord than his own well being, Yukimura is prone to self-doubt and guilt if any of his lords are routed. He also has a hard time relaxing, which is sometimes seen as personal flaw by Kunoichi, Shingen, and Keiji. However, he is noble to his friends and will unquestionably come to their aid if they face danger.

His personality in Kessen is similar to his Samurai Warriors counterpart with a few exceptions. Yukimura aspires to gain his father's hard-earned approval by impressing him with his accomplishments in battle. When he learns that Masayuki was killed by Tokugawa's men, he swears vengeance whilst continuing to respect his father's last wishes. Like his father, he is a smart tactician and knows when and where to strike. To lift the spirits of his men at Osaka, he sets off fireworks the night before the battle and chooses to not trouble them with Ieyasu's movements.

Appearance
His Samurai Warriors alternate outfit has him dressed in traditional armor with a helmet adorned with antlers and his family crest. His second color scheme in Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends reverses his main color to be gold rather than red. His armor is tinted gold and accented by crimson. In Warriors Orochi, his alternate costume is the same as his default but it uses Zhao Yun's color palette.

Voice Actors

 * David Berón - Samurai Warriors (English)
 * Leroy Simon Bean - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Johnny Yong Bosch - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Dion Luther - Kessen (English)
 * Takeshi Kusao - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Hideyuki Hori - Kessen (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Yukimura Sanada returns to battle!"
 * "Spirit of the Sanada! Imbue my spear with power so I can cut open the belly of the beast!"
 * "Rest assured, Hanzō, that my spear will protect those dear to me... From your stained blade of darkness."
 * "Attempt to stop me if you wish. You will fail."
 * Yukimura and Hanzō; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "An army of millions and not a man among them. How pathetic. I shall end this war in one stroke!"
 * Yukimura the night before Osaka's defense; Kessen

Historical Information
Sanada Nobushige was the second son of Sanada Masayuki, the head of the Sanada clan. His mother was Yamanote-dono, one of Masayuki's beloved concubines. His famous name, Yukimura, is believed to be Nobushige's pen name as it was his signature for various books and shrine bells. It wasn't put into common use until about a hundred years after his death. "Sanada Yukimura" has various fictional exploits under his name, one of which includes the Sanada Ten Braves. Historians will usually refer to Nobushige under his pseudonym due to its popularity in Japanese culture (but will add his real name in parenthesis). He was praised as a "man amongst men" who had a true warrior's spirit.

When he was nine, the Battle of Nagashino claimed the lives of Masayuki's two elder brothers. His father was named as the clan's successor. By 1582, the Oda-Tokugawa forces had destroyed the Takeda clan. The Sanada initially surrendered to Oda Nobunaga, but, after the Incident at Honnōji, it became independent again, drifting between stronger daimyo such as the Uesugi clan, the Late Hōjō clan, and the Tokugawa clan. Eventually, the Sanada clan became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During this period, Hideyoshi treated Yukimura with extreme care and hospitality. Hideyoshi's fondness is shown by the fact that Yukimura was given the right to use the surname of Toyotomi Clan, which was the clan of the Kanpaku during that period. Thus, he is sometimes referred to (even by Yukimura himself) as Toyotomi Saemon-no-suke Nobushige.

Sekigahara Campaign
In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu rallied various daimyo to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu. The Sanada clan complied as well, but when Ishida Mitsunari decided to challenge Ieyasu, Masayuki and Yukimura joined the western forces, parting ways with Masayuki's eldest son and Yukimura's brother, Nobuyuki, who joined the eastern forces. The true motive of Masayuki and Yukimura's decision is disputed with many theories, but there are two main schools of thought: In one, Masayuki made the decision (and Yukimura agreed); he expressed the willingness to take a gamble, so that if he were to join the weak side and win the battle, the Sanada would gain much more power. The other theory is the opposite where they planned a safety net; Masayuki, Yukimura, and Nobuyuki discussed the situation when Ieyasu asked them to state their allegiance clearly, and they decided to join both sides separately, so that, regardless of the outcome of the battle, the Sanada clan would survive. It also believed that the clan's participation for the western army was partially due to Yamanote-dono being held hostage by Ishida Mitsunari.

The Sanada fortified Ueda Castle. When Tokugawa Hidetada marched a sizable army on the Nakasendō, the Sanada resisted and were able to fight back Hidetada's 40,000 men with only 2,000. However, as it took much longer to take the castle than was expected, Hidetada lost focus and never showed up on the battlefield during the Battle of Sekigahara where the main force was awaiting the arrival of his crucial army, a mistake that put the Tokugawa clan in jeopardy. After the Western Army lost the battle at Sekigahara, Masayuki and Yukimura were captured and sent to exile.

Osaka Campaign
During the Winter Siege of Osaka, Sanada Yukimura built fortifications south of Osaka Castle and called it Sanadamaru (known as the Sanada Ward in the games). It was surrounded by a five foot deep trench and fences, meaning that invaders would need to climb their way past the garrison. From there, he defeated the Tokugawa forces (approximately 30,000 men) with groups of 6000 arquebusiers. Two other minor gates were copied to fortify the castle's defense. When Sanadamaru fell, Yukimura retreated with his remaining troops to a nearby mountain and separated his army into three battalions. Near the end of the battle, his army made a miraculous charge for Ieyasu's camp, boldly ignoring several enemy armies along the way. Though they reached their destination, Yukimura's men were pushed back and he was forced to retreat.

Despite his efforts, the Toyotomi forces were greatly outnumbered and were eventually defeated. According to The Life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu by A.L. Sadler, in his intense fight against the wavering Echizen troops, Yukimura was badly wounded, leaving him exhausted. Soldiers from the Echizen army quickly went to Sanada. Now too tired to fight back, Yukimura allowed the men to kill him, reportedly saying, "Go on, take my head as your trophy". Sanada died honorably at age 49, leaving behind a legend. Though they were enemies, Ieyasu was impressed by Yukimura's bravery and posthumously called him "the greatest warrior in Japan".

His grave is now located in Osaka. His wife was Akihime (Chikurinin) a foster-daughter of Ōtani Yoshitsugu. He had eleven children, two of them being his sons, Daisuke (Yukimasa) and Daihachi (Yukinobu). Yukimasa is believed to have committed suicide with Toyotomi Hideyori.