Waiting for all the "Where is Date Masamune?" comments.

I miss Kansuke Yamamoto the most famous of the 24 Generals of Takeda Shingen. I am confident that his tragic death in the forth Battle of Kawanakajima was the Beginning of the End of the Power of House Takeda.

I would agree that Kenshin was probably the best individually, but collectively I would say the Shimazu brothers were the best when working together. They pulled off what Nobunaga did at Okehazama several times defeating armies many times their size. Shimazu Yoshihiro takes most of the credit for that and I would easily put him above Kenshin if the credit was all his.

I love the Shingen/Kenshin rivalry. The stuff of legends.

Kenshin's water trick in Tedorigawa was something that maybe nobody would ever expect. Defeating the unstoppable Oda army (while being outnumbered) as if it was just a warm up. If Kenshin had not died so young, who knows what other things would the _God of War_ have achieved Your list is very good, thanks again man.

I mostly avoid major Daimyos because mostly strategy is their commanders work. 10-Hanbei Takenaga : Great mind died too early 9-Kanbei Kuroda : Mind behind Hideyoshi 8-Masanobu Honda: Not much known about this guy but he could be mind behind Tokugawa 7-Katakura Kojiro: He played really well during Hideyoshi-Hojo conflict, he is success behind Date Masamune 6-Yamamoto Kansuke: Woodpecker tactic is actually a brilliant tactic but sadly he couldn't see result. He is one of the key figure Shingen's rise. 5-Saito Dosan: An underrated mind, how he rose from oil merchant is fascinating story. 4-Ise Shinkuro: How he solved Imagawa succession, how he made his name he truely deserves all the glory. 3-Kobayakawa Takakage: Big key figure for Hdeyoshi's success. Another guy could change history if he didn't die early 2-Sanada Masayuki: One of the brightest mind in Sengeku era. He guranteed his clans survior even if he supported losin side 1-Mori Motonari: I can't describe how I admire his mind. How he survived against powerful enemies, how his clan became a giant. I always consider him most brilliant out of all the sengokuu era daimyos.

I would personally still rank Motonari either #1 or #2 on the list, the Ouchi and Amago during his minor daimyo years were among the most powerful clans in all Japan; the Ouchi themselves dwarfed the Takeda or Uesugi in the 1530s and 40s. Motonari did a similar thing to Masayuki, in that he shifted allegiances when he needed to to stay alive between the Ouchi and Amago, using marriage alliances to secure other neighboring minor lords or outright absorbing them into the Mori. Motonari also established vital relations with the Inland Sea pirates of the Murakami families, which had extensive long-term benefits to the Mori's power and growth(the victory at Miyajima would have been impossible without the Murakami's help.) Rather than go toe-to-toe with these juggernauts, he patiently whittled at them over the course of years; several Ouchi vassals would shift allegiance to Motonari when Yoshitaka was killed in Sue Harukata's coup, for example. Sue was highly regarded as one of the best generals in Chugoku, so Motonari beating him with strategy is significant. Retiring early to allow his son to be his successor while Motonari could assist him was also a wise move, as it ensured stability in the clan(something that Kenshin suffered on since he didn't name a successor between his two adopted sons which led to the Otate no Ran, and is partly why I wouldn't put him near the top of a strategist list.) Even when Takamoto got assassinated, the Mori bounced back from that quickly since Motonari was still in a position of power and transferred the succession to Takamoto's son.

If we're including politics and diplomacy as part of strategy, then I feel Matsunaga Hisahide gets a lot of score in my book. He managed to basically completely coup the Miyoshi and pit people against one another, and plotted against Nobunaga and got away with it. In terms of political machinations, he's certainly my top pick.

Hideyoshi would lose points for the Korea campaign, for murdering his only adult heir and his family in favor of a child successor and for going after the women of his vassals which all contributed to cutting the reign of his newly-minted clan short.

I feel like Mori Motonari and Sanada Masayuki should've switched place, but at the same time I could see your reasoning of ranking them that way. Good job as usual.

Hey shogunate I have recently put my attention to Romans as I love history but I studied samurai four about a year and it was sooooo interesting and I leaned a lot and a lot from you and metatron

Hearing how Masayuki defeated (or humiliated, I'd rather say) the Tokugawa *twice with more or less the same tactics* is always music for my ears XD XD XD I would put probably Chousokabe Motochika in the rank given how he manage to unify all Shikoku, but I actually agree with all your points in this video n_n Would you make a video for Onna-Bugeisha's? I always find fascinating how even women could be badass warriors on their own. My top 3 favorite are Maeda Matsu (excellent in martial arts and literature, and a beauty), Akai Teruko (the strongest grandma of Sengoku Era) and Oohouri Tsuruhime (a miko priestess commander warrior who defended bravely part of Kouno province).

Absolutely agree with you on Kenshin taking the top place, he is my favorite daimyo.

Fantastic video! Uesugi Kenshin is definitely deserving of that ranking!

I'm just going to say that I found this video very interesting. I can't quibble with your ranking because it's a very subjective topic. My knowledge of the strategists is not as in depth as I would need to argue effectively for or against of your choices. So your choices and rankings work for me.

Great list my man! My last name is actually "Nagao" (no kidding) so I'm glad you put my long ancestor Kenshin on No. 1 haha! Although Takeda was a titan too.

Uesugi Kenshin has always been my favorite. The God of War in an era of warring states. That's badass

One of the greatest thing Kenshin has is that his army rallies to him. It is not fully covered here, but people fight for him. I don't know if it was a legit source, but they said that he even tried to retire from being a daimyo, but their general and their soldiers begged not to. Just imagine if there is a whole modern journalism at that era, they would've probably covered much of Kenshin's life and how people loved him. Also, unlike other daimyo who want to carve out huge domains or become shogun, Kenshin just remain as defender of an old useless title, but still held to it honorably. If only Nobunaga's soldiers or Hideyoshi's soldiers loved them like how Kenshin has, they could've surpassed him. Though strategy plays huge part in battles, the morale, and will of soldiers, and their happiness in campaign and trust to command plays a significant role that wasn't much seen. Kenshin has an aura and lives to his title even to his allies and enemies alike as "Dragon". This is like Erwin Rommel of WWII who shines in his men and his enemies that causes personal psychological factors as being titled with "Ghost Division". Being part of such entitled unit, troop, or being under command of such shining general makes logistics, strategists, minor commanders, and messengers be happier in their job, have trust in the orders given to them, move rapidly because of "Being part of this unit or under his commmand, I shall prove that I'm worthy of being here, and my commander is worthy of holding that title", units relay truthful messages, and even encourage people to share their knowledges as they knew that a wise commander listens to a wise .

Japanese themselves consider top 3 being Mori Motonaru, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. The best tacticians would be Kenshin or Shingen in battle. Motonaru is the undisputed strategist where he would turn clans against each other from inside out without fighting in battle, he faced ouchi and Amago that were the most powerful in early sengoku period. Also he might’ve won more battles than Shingen depends on how you count it

i have to disagree with you as hideyoshi being the best among the 3. remember, oda literally fought off against a coalition faction of shogun ashikaga, azai-asakura alliance, buddhist monk from honganji clan, takeda, uesugi and manage to survive and defend all of them. i doubt even hideyoshi at that time even with his full potential would be able to survive that coalition.

Surprised Yamamoto Kansuke isn't mentioned, but love this list! Awesome work!

Great rankings, loved this video. You have put together quite a channel that always gets me in the mood for this time period.

Thank you so much for uploding this:) i always wanted to see more about the more "strategic" samurai but at the same time always forget to say it. Also, happy 90k subscriber sir!

This has nothing to do with the subject of the video, but I like your narration. Your choice of words and their delivery is quite good.

Pretty cool to see some vintage 1st Edition L5R art in the video

I'd even take Katakura Kojuro as well as he was Masamunes most trusted vassals alongside Shigezane and Oniniwa Tsunamoto Perhaps even Naoe Kanetsugu as well who was there for most of Kenshins campaigns and served under Kagekatsu as well.

Fantastic !

I'm glad I found this channel! You're the only youtuber I know who consistently makes videos on Japanese history. Luv your vids 😁

Where is date masamune ?

I'm biased in favor of Uesugi Kenshin but the details of all the top 10 is incredibly impressive.

Out of all the creators that do the Edo period and Sengoku Jidai. This has always been the most accurate and rewarding series to follow. HANDS DOWN!!!!

your works are fantastic

Thank you for an interesting video. Considering some of the great figures in this period, i agree this must be a difficult video to make. I look forward to seeing your next video!

The art of deployment is to put the wrong forces at the right time.

Some say uesugi kenshin 's rotating attack is us in the Russo Japanese war the battle of tushima by admiral togo

This channel always rocks.

I hate how video games put Kanbei Kuroda and Sakon Shima as the best strategists, when they didn't really had many accomplishments. That's why I enjoyed this video, it was well put together!

wait lions aren't from japan so how did Hojo Ujiyasu got the nick name lion of sagami?

Seems pretty solid.

I wanted to suggest a different order... that included Masamune... but your logic is pretty solid. Luv your Sengoku series!

Best Samurai dynamic duos list? You've got some givens but two historic figures that could accomplish so much because they combined their talents to create advantage in warring times.

I agree, Kenshin was one of a kind, and Shingen was also a great one!

All of the Top 3 strategists both defeated either one or two of the three great unifiers? Coincidence??? 🤔🤔🤔 Anyways, this is a great list! Shingen and Kenshin really deserves their spot! And also for no. 3 as well 😉

This was a great one

3:45 That horse is making the greatest troll face I've ever seen

Some major names like Kuroda Yoshitaka and Yamamoto Kansuke who could be considered to be at par with names like Takenaka Shigeharu and Sanada Masayuki in terms of strategic brilliance or commanders/daimyo like The Shimazu brothers, Chosokabe Motochika and Mogami Yoshiaki who managed to carve out large territories for themselves have unfortunately not been mentioned. But I highly recommend people to read up on their history as well.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉) once stated: "Luck favors the bold. Leaders must fearlessly exploit the Secret of Decisiveness. Act boldly at critical moments"

I expect Nobunaga to be at the top because the big battles were the one who put the plan and the results were great and influential, as most of his battles were a big fall for his enemies and unmatched as far as I know, such as Motonri and Masioki, and even the Battle of Tedrigo was not present and when he arrived he took the appropriate step by retreating.

Shouldn't Chosokabe motochika be in the list he conquered his island with mostly peasants if im not mistaken

On the three great unifiers, my ranking on strategists is 3 - Ieyasu, 2 - Nobunaga, 1 - Hideyoshi. Ieyasu was a top strategist of his time and all-around best leader of the three, but he did make a lot of blunders (against Shingen, and the Sanada). He had the benefit of learning from the other two unifiers, he was the luckiest. Oda made mistakes too but he has to get credit for his amazing successes (as you said he had the harder road, that should go in his favour). He also revolutionised samurai warfare and set the example for the other two. Hideyoshi has an almost perfect military track record (when he takes to the field, so not including the Imjin war, but even that was almost a massive success). The only defeat I’m aware of for Hideyoshi was against Ieyasu, but it was minor and he still got what he wanted from the situation. Honestly Hideyoshi for his brilliance at siege warfare would be in my top 3, only behind the likes of Shingen & Kenshin. Glad to see Hojo Soun & Mori Motonari on the list. A list of just the early Sengoku generals would have those two near to or at the top.

You should link your video about the rise of the Late Hojo clan around the time you start talking about Soun

I would personally place both Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin at rank 1. You can't really compare an unstoppable force with an immovable object, as they're both as strong as each other but different in what they do. Shingen went on the offensive and consistently won, while Kenshin was on the defensive and consistently succeeded. The battles of Kawanakajima show what happens when both collide: a pyrrhic victory for the one who has the advantage in an attritional fight, yet a serious blow to the one who loses the battle. I think both are tied.

THANK YOU!

I'd swap 7 & 6, but it's not my list so... yeah...

My top 10: Mori Motonari Toyotomi Hideyoshi Sanada Masayuki Oda Nobunaga Takeda Shingen Uesugi Kenshin Hojo Ujiyasu Hojo Soun Chosokabe Motochika Ishida Mitsunari

Top 10 Samurai Castles next?

And before the samurai? which were the best Gempei warriors strategists? 🧐

this good vid

Regarding the Three Unifier of Japan, I would place Tokugawa Ieyasu on the top. Oda Nobunaga got himself killed and because of that the Oda clan lost it´s place in history., so he should be the lowest the Unifiers. Hideyoshi did lose the war against Korea losing also a lot of resources and his family´s prestige. Also, Hideyoshi´s successor plans were not well-thought because he left Japan to his six years old son. Ieyasu did have his flaws but he was able to establish a dynasty which ruled Japan for more than 250 years. Regarding Shingen and Kenshin I would point out that both of then died at the relatively young age when compared to Ieyasu or Hideyoshi. Shingen was 51 when he died and Kenshin was 48. Hideyoshi was 62 and Ieyasu was 73. One can only wonder what would have happened if Shingen or Kenshin would have live another decade or more. Regarding samurai strategists my special mention goes to Maeda Toshiie. He was originally the fourth son of Maeda Toshimasa, the castellan of the Arako castle in Owari. He was ultimate given for his service the Kaga domain which made him the wealthiest daimyo after Hideyoshi or Ieyasu. His family ruled the Kaga domain for the entire Edo period.

I'm going to share this on my main page

I thought this was about tactiticians at first so I expected the likes of Takenaka Hanbei and Kuroda Kanbei. But it was a wellcome surprise to see the daimyos.

I've always interested in the Mori clan I hope you can make a video about it

I enjoy your content immensely I know that it doesn't directly relate to the sengoku period but would you ever consider covering the boshin war and the satsuma rebellion or even saigo takamori the last true samurai just curious?

I love sanada family Also love Shingen and Kenshin Always thinking about peace between them And cooperation for unify Japan Shingen to the west and Kenshin to the east or other ways ;) Sadly it didn't happen This IS the way of HISTORY

I think its awesome you had Sanada Masayuki in your list!

Very good list, however I'm surprised that Kanbei didn't make the top 10. I personally ranked Kanbei and Hanbei roughly the same in terms of intelligence.

You so good mate

I think, alltogether, Ieaysu did something that neither Hideoyshi and Nobunaga could. He waited in the side, built his strengths, his military power, his echonomic base, learnt from his mistakes (and from that lerning, would have never done somethig so foolish as to invade Korea), and waited until it was ripe to take power and build a dinasty. That shows greater strategical understanding than the other unifiers ever had. It wasn't tactical mastery, nor flashy generalship, but it's this kind of people (not heroes) throughout History, who end up claiming power. For me, he was the greatest strategist of the three.

I wouldn't normally place Kenshin this high on the list, but when you point out all of his amazing accomplishments, I have to agree.

Have you guys noticed how all of these figures are neighbors? Oda, Tokugawa, Sanada, Uesugi, Imagawa, Hojo... My point is that their domains would've been a lot larger, but they had such fantastic opponents. This is probably why Masamune is not here, because not being from this region, deprived him of crossing swords with the best of the best. I think that if Shingen would've lived longer, first place would be a draw ... But he didn't live long enough to defeat the Oda while Kenshin did. This is why I support the list here. Another turn of events would've been if Oda lived longer. We're talking about a guy that in the middle of Sengoku Jidai, had the invasion of China already planed. The mind really flew far away on this one.

I had a funny video idea. 10 samurais that could win against Musashi? Such as Honda Tadakatsu who always wins, or Yoshihiro The Shimazu Devil or Kojiro? x3

This list show most samurais during Sengoku were very talented and very well trained, imo outside of this period, I pick Ashikaga Takauji, gigachad Shogun

Interesting list... You should've mention Kuroda Kanbei, Kobayakawa Takakage, and Katakura Kojuro as honorable mentions as well...

Can you do a history of how samurai clans rule their lands? I would like to know how these daimyos and the shogunate itself run as a government. While I can just Google it, I would like to see your take on it.

I am glad to see my two favorite Shingen and Kenshin are on 1st and 2nd place... although I would have placed Shingen as 1st while Kenshin as second. As Kenshin was more of a warrior, while Shingen was more of a Commander. Didn't it mentioned that Nobunaga was laughing happily when he heard the news of Kenshin have died? I think he mentioned something like "The world is finally mine!"

It is very difficult to find information about: “The famed warlord Uesugi Kenshin, daimyō of Echigo Province, is said to have had a special guard of retainers armed with nagamaki.” The nagamaki is an intriguing+ weapon AND the fact that an elite guard used same - please share info/resources regarding same. It would be much+ appreciated.

I'd put Hojo Ujiyasu in this list too. To be able to resist the Takeda and the Uesugi is no mere feat!

This list is very accurate. Kenshin and Shingen deservedly ranked first and second.

Takenaka Shigeharu is my top strategist

Does strategy really include diplomacy? because otherwise placing Tokugawa Ieyasu over Oda Nobunaga is a big mistake.

You should make a video about the 24 generals of Takeda shingen

I'm curious, what do you mean when you say he was, "effeminate"? Could you explain that a bit more? Thank you.

0:39-1:00 Well, there are also a lot of cases where you can't separate strategists from their lords, because a lot of daimyos were their own strategists. A lot of these daimyos who were their own strategists appear on this list.

Kept waiting for Masayuki Sanada to appear and Top 3 ain't bad at all.

The Red boss junior "Look at my horse my horse is amazing" Some silly dude and his bois "Bois... let get start to bang bang"

I will agree with top :D maybe I would put Sanada Masayuki on the first place, because everybody feared his talent as a strategist and were wanting to be counseled by him during sieges.

Honestly, after watching this video I agree with all the choices in Kenshin & Shingen being 1 & 2 respectively, all of them were great choices, Kansuke would have been a good choice also, then there was Kanbei, Kuroda, or Jossuie (or however it's spelled in Kessen 1) although I'm not sure what he did exactly. As for Masamune was he a strategist I don't know myself figured it would have been Kojuro Katakura myself.

Underrated person Miyabe Keijun

So if this is just a ranking for strategists of the Sengoku Period, does that mean we may one day get a ranking of strategists from the earlier periods?

aww Yamamoto Kanusuke didnt make it

Did Kenshin expand Uesugi territories outside of his clan holdings ? I don’t remember . Nice video nevertheless . Maybe we could add Shinazu Yoshihiro and Kato Kiyomasa too

Good video, It's impossible not to be biased in lists like this, for me I think ultimate victory in the larger theatre of wars matters more than winning legendary battles or getting yourself out of horrific situations, like with shingen for example (who i agree is a legend), it isnt a strategic plus that he had enemies on all sides and did well, that's a strategic failure for the most part precisely because of how avoidable it is with diplomacy. There's an old saying, you win first with diplomacy, then go to war. Like sun tzu said the victorious warrior wins first, then begins the battle, diplomacy is the foremost form of strategy, I think would be cliche and have the unifiers at my top 3 I also agree with motonari mori, i highly disagree about sanada I think he's a slippery opponent but wouldnt make the list, he merely survived he didn't acomplish much.

I really don't feel comfortable when people recognize Kagetora as Uesugi. He purposely weakened the original Uesugi and stole the title of Kanto Kanrei with the money he made from slave trades. Since the ranking is based on strategies and not on war tactics, why the regional daimyos are on top of national unifiers... I feel bad for daimyos like Mogami Yoshiaki. When people judge daimyos on who killed who and burned down how many villages, rather than flood controls and cultivations.

It only need kenshin to be number 1 that i will agree this list and you did😅

If you are looking for ideas for these ranking videos, may I suggest traitors, ranked either by the damage they did to their former lords or allied or by what thay gained by betrayal.

I wonder if people like Minamoto No Yoshitsune, or Taira No Kiyomori with Taira No Tomomori could make it here. However, I still agree with your list.

Oda nobunaga=best in tactics Toyotomi hideyoshi=best in strategies Tokugawa ieyasu=best in politics. Well at 3 is hideyoshi, he was hallf as good as nobunaga in tactics, strategies and half as good as ieyasu in politics, he mostly lerned from nobunaga, before battle, he made shure that he could stop conflick with politics and before main fight making his enemies to submit to him. Menwille at 2 is ieyasu who was accualy better in politics and accualy stoped the fight even before it could happend. He was patient tactician and betwen hideyoshi and him better in battles and hideyoshi better in sieges. And at 1 is ofcourse oda nobunaga. When hideyoshi fought battles on his own, he won most of the time because he had 3 times bigger army(at time of his unification of japan) and when he came to some challange (imjim war) he lost. But his best time was in mori campaing at siege of takamatsu. If you compare siege of takamatsu and mt. Hiei, nobunaga burned down the fortress menwile hideyoshi drowned the fortress so he could just copied this but probabky no. Nobunaga was most of the time outnumberd and still won against asakura-azai coalittion, takeda, uesegi( after kenshins deqth), mori, matsunaga, ikoiiki, imagawa, saito, ashikaga, hatano.... his brutall tactics were negative and positive. It gave warning and hatred to enemies. And because he killed everyone the there could ther be no rebellion. Overrall: nobunaga is at 1, ieyasu at 2, hideyoshi at 3

I'm in awe of Uesugi Kenshin

so mich subjectovity we would need examples for statemensts such as: " bit off more tha he could chew" "a gambler", need examples to back up statements everywhere. its almost as if you were there. taking notes

Kenshin is the most fascinating of the era , a man (or woman?) of mystery and intrigue