Takeda Shingen

Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄), also known as the "Tiger of Kai", is the Daiymo of Kai, leader of the Takeda Clan.

A honorable but ruthless and cruel military genius, she is an aggressive and successful conqueror. After the defeat of Yoshimoto Imagawa at Okehazama, Shingen, Nobuna Oda and Kenshin Uesugi are considered the three most powerful warlords of Japan.

Shingen is also famous for her rivalry with Kenshin Uesugi and her superior martial arts.

Personality
Takeda displays two distinct personalities to her, one being Takeda Shingen, the warlord, and the other being Katsuchiyo, her guise when she decides to assume the role of a normal girl.

As a child she lacked confidence due to her father until she met her strategist, who vowed to give her the world, an act he performed under a whim of his own. After maturing through this phase of her life and overthrowing her father, she assumed the ruthless guise of Takeda Shingen for which she would hence be known, a powerful warlord in stark contrast to her weakness in childhood.

As Katsuchiyo, she is shown to be relaxed but cautious as she is shown to use a double to sneak away from her own troops to take a bath in a hotspring. However, she seemed to question her own destiny and wanted to meet the rumoured "Man from the Future" to see what he knows of her fate. After Yoshiharu mysteriously appears in her bath she displayed almost no shyness to his pressence, this seems to be a recurring trait, although she does casually warn people when she is likely to kill them for such things. After hearing about her assassination from him out of his own good will, she avoids her end and assumes the guise of her perfected Takeda Shingen, more ruthless and cunning than ever before as she has overcome her destiny.

As Takeda Shingen she is a ruthlessly efficient tactician, luring Motoyasu into a trap, forcing Saitou Dousan into a corner and generally overwhelming her foes with her cavalry without a hint of mercy. She is respectful of those with potential or those she holds dear, such as her strategist, and after his death she seeks to make Yoshiharu, the man who can change fate, her new strategist based on his dying words. This manifests later on, when Yoshiharu again greets her, the Four Generals of Kai, and Hojo Ujiyasu in yet another hotspring, where she was willing to go so far as giving him herself and her four female generals to persuade him to join her. She was visibly enraged by his presumed death, such that she appologised to Nobuna, one of her enemies and Yoshiharu's lord, and vowed to make up for the act. She was equally relieved to realise that he was still alive.

Even after becoming "perfect" as Takeda Shingen she is not above returning to her Katsuchiyo persona, when december came and her forces where put in a tight spot, she was willing to return to Kai and cease all hostilities.

She has a strong rivalry with Kenshin, a fellow Daimyo who is considered her only military equal.

History
After becoming Daiymo of Kai, Shingen Takeda soon used her powerful army, especially the famous cavalry of the Takeda clan to expand her domain. However, she soon met with resistance from the Uesugi Faction, led by Kenshin Uesugi. Both became sworn enemies and fought several brutal and destructive battles, is what weakened their vast armies and kept them from expanding their territories for years. In fact, it was said that if Uesugi and Takeda would join forces instead of fight each other, they would easily conquer Japan. Nevertheless, Kenshin and Shingen were too proud to end their feud.

However, when Nobuna Oda conquered Kyoto, Shingen and Kenshin made peace at Kawanakajima. With the Oda in the capital, they both realized that it was not the time to fight a pointless war, since Nobuna Oda threatened the independence of all Daiymos in her attempt to uniting Japan. That even the Takeda and Uesugi temporarily ended their feud proved how serious the danger was that emanated from Nobuna Oda.

Shingen began to prepare for a war with the Oda Faction, and with the end of the Incident at Mount Hiei, she attacked.

Trivia

 * She is based on the real life feudal warlord of the same name, Shingen Takeda, was reportedly one of the greatest rivals for conquest of Japan during the Sengoku Era. During his rise, Shingen came to clash often with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who requested aid from Nobunaga Oda during later campaigns. The exact conditions behind his death are an unsolved mystery. However, that death left his incompetent son to be in charge of his domain and ultimately led the Takeda Clan to it's demise as they lost to the Tokugawa-Oda Alliance Army at the Battle of Nagashino.