Yoritsuna Yazawa

Yoritsuna Yazawa is a retainer of the Sanada and Masayuki's uncle. Initially at a young age, he went into priesthood, but was kicked out after liking martial arts too much. Using his favorite spear, he would serve Shingen and eventually his nephew. He would later defend Numata Castle.

Role in Game
The Samurai Warriors series usually stations Yoritsuna with his nephew at Ueda Castle. On Hanzo's infiltration of the castle, Yoritsuna is in a meeting with Shigenori Suzuki that Hanzo must eavesdrop.

In Samurai Warriors 2, Yoritsuna will be seen in the Fall of the Takeda, attempting to ambush Nobukimi Anayama with Nobutoyo Takeda.

In Samurai Warriors 3, he will appear alongside Kunoichi after the fire attack springs.

In Samurai Warriors 4, he appears along with his nephew in the Yazawa domain along the east side of Ueda castle during the first battle. If the player approaches the garrison, they get a bonus mission to rescue the Yazawa forces from a Tokugawa ambush

In Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, he, like most other Sanada retainers, gains a unique look and larger role and his first contribution in the story is assisting in the capture of Numata Castle. When the Hojo later attack, he must be protected at Numata Castle, or the battle will be lost.

Quotes

 * "There appears to be a lot of commotion as of late..."

Historical Information
The third son of Sanada Yorimasa, Yazawa Yoritsuna was originally known as Sanada Tsuno. In his youth, he was placed into a temple to live as a monk. Yoritsuna proved a poor fit for the life as a monk, as his masters determined his attraction to martial combat was deemed too great for a peaceful monk's life. He therefore joined his brother Sanada Yukitaka in serving the Takeda. In an effort to solidify the Sanada clan's homeland, Yoritsuna was adopted into the neighboring Yazawa clan to end animosity between the two clans. Yoristuna served his brother in the Takeda's efforts to unify Shinano province under their banner.

In 1541, Yoritsuna participated in the siege of Uehara under his brothers’ leadership. He continued to serve in alongside his family in battles like the siege of Toishi castle. After the fall of the Takeda, Yoritsuna followed his nephew, Sanada Masayuki, lead in keeping the Sanada clan independent and alive through the ensuing fallout. To this end, in 1582, Yoritsuna took up leadership at Numata Castle. While the castle's annual koku was only 200 at the time, by 1585, the efforts of Yoristuna and others had increased its value to 1,000 koku. That same year Yoritsuna had to defend the castle against Tokugawa and Hōjō forces. Yoritsuna died peacefully on May 7th, 1597.