Kawanakajima 1553-1564: Samurai Power Struggle (Campaign, 130) [Paperback]

Stephen Turnbull (Author), Wayne Reynolds (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: November 21, 2003

Kawanakajima is unique in history. In the space of 12 years, between 1553 and 1564, this valley deep in the mountains of central Japan witnessed no fewer than five battles between two of Japan’s greatest warlords. Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin were both descended from great families and were highly skilled tacticians. Both had taken the tonsure and risen to high rank in their respective Buddhist sects. When Shingen attempted to seize control of Shinano province they were set on a collision course. Stephen Turnbull chronicles the see-saw struggle between two men who epitomize the warrior daimyo from Japan’s ‘Warring States’ period.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Books in Osprey's 'Campaign' series stand out at both secondary and college levels as works' that will engage and sustain student interest ... sophisticated maps and comprehensive graphics complement the texts without overwhelming them.

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First edition (November 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841765627
• ISBN-13: 978-1841765624
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.3 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #976,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Effort On A Major Sengoku Battle, May 6, 2004

By 

Randy Schadel "Kurotatsunoshi" (Norwood, OH/Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kawanakajima 1553-1564: Samurai Power Struggle (Campaign, 130) (Paperback)

Considered by the Japanese to be one of their 4 most signifigant Sengoku era battles (along with Nagashino, Sekigahara, and Osaka Castle), Kawanakajima and its related campaigns have been the subject of at least two major big budget films, television miniseries, woodcuts and other artwork, popular board games, video games, and dozens if not hundreds of Japanese language books. As with most Asian battles, it has been largely ignored by Western historians until now. Stephen Turnbull's new book rectifies that situation most nicely.
Turnbull sets the table with the background of perhaps Japan's two greatest tactitians, Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. Their respective rises to power are outlined and juxtaposed, showing their impending collision at what was to become the most fought over ground in Japan, Kawanakajima. The individual battles are given their proper context within the campaign at large, helping to explain the sometimes confusing advances and withdrawals of the two combatants. As with most Osprey books, there are copious illustrations. The maps are particularly outstanding, with the most helpful being the map of the Takeda campaign to conquer the province of Shinano (where Kawanakajima is located). The 3-D maps are quite well done as well, giving the reader a good idea of the terrain fought over and its effects on the movements of the two armies. There are many nice modern day shots of the battlefield which are far more helpful in picturing the battlefield than the most elaborate written descriptions. Photos of reenactments give you a feel for period forces and there are also many shots of scrolls and woodcuts made around the time of the battles. Overall, one of Turnbull's best recent works, especially in a year that saw the release of at least 6 of his samurai themed books.
Another reviewer has stated that this battle does not pass the historical relevancy test since the two clans involved had little to do with the impending unification of Japan. Not so. Turnbull's book points out why. The Takeda were far and away the most powerful and ambitious clan in Japan, known for their political, economic, and administrative skills as well as martial adeptness. It was a forgone conclusion to many that it would be Takeda Shingen who would unify the country. What kept the Takeda from doing so were the constant campaigns in Kawanakajima, draining their manpower and resources. This gave the Tokugawa and Oda clans time to put their plans into effect and see them thrive, rather than be crushed by the Takeda war machine. When the Takeda steamrolled and scattered the Tokugawa army at Mikata-ga-hara, there was nothing standing between the Takeda and the back of Oda Nobunaga who was already surrounded by enemies in the west. So why did Shingen withdraw his army back to Shinano? Fear of Kenshin striking his unprotected flank and rear areas-fear that had been installed by Kawanakajima. The 4th battle of Kawanakajima in particular was the epitome of the Phyrric victory-although the Takeda won, they teetered close to complete disaster, and the huge losses of men and high ranking generals (particularly Shingen's brother, and his chief strategist) were to be felt for many years. In fact, many historians feel the groundwork for the Takeda debacle at Nagashino stemmed directly from Kawanakajima. The historical relevancy of these battles was that the Uesugi clan was able to halt the advance of the most powerful clan in Japan, forcing them into a war of manuver and attrition that destroyed their momentum and mystique, giving the Oda and Tokugawa clans time to develop into major clans instead of becoming historical footnotes.
Excellent work by Dr. Turnbull, who one would hope to see develop a similar book dealing with the Winter and Summer campaigns of Osaka.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of little known battle, January 9, 2004

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Kawanakajima 1553-1564: Samurai Power Struggle (Campaign, 130) (Paperback)

Stephen Turnbull's Kawanakajima is about a battle that very few Americans would ever know about or heard about during their life time. Mr. Turnbull did great justice with probably limited reference material (mostly in Japanese no doubt) in trying to revealed what this 12 years of campaigning between two great Japanese warlords - Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin - over the same territory was all about. I believed Mr. Turnbull did accomplished his goals within the frame work of the short Osprey format. I thought the book was pretty well broken down into easy to read sections, each of them going through each of the five campaigns that took place in and near Kawanakajima area. It was ironic that all the efforts and time both leaders put into their Kawanakajima campaigns probably ultimately weaken their respective clans in the face of up and coming warlords like Oda Nobunaga. While Takeda Shingen did appears to win the overall 12 year struggle, it was all for nothing since his clan didn't survived his own death for long. I thought the book was pretty well written by Mr. Turnbull and anyone who is interested in this time period of Japanese military history should enjoyed this addition to the Osprey Campaign series. Overall, a pretty good book of a little known set of campaigns - little known in this country that is.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very informative book on an interesting battle, February 13, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Kawanakajima 1553-1564: Samurai Power Struggle (Campaign, 130) (Paperback)

Kawanakajima...the island between the rivers. High on the Japan Alps lay a valley fought over between two of Sengoku Japan's most prestigious warlords, Uesugi Kenshin (the celibent) and Takeda Shingen (the multiplier). So what makes this battle so interesting? After (unsucsessfully) browsing the internet for scant, but interesting, information, I first leared that over 5 battles where fought here. Interesting. Second, that the main battle of Kawanakajima (4th) had one of the most horrendous casualty rates in all the battles in the exceedingly bloody Sengoku era of Japan. Even more interesting. So I said what the heck, Ill get this book...and what a book it was.

Turnbull cuts to the good stuff immediatley, and I don't mean the campaign. He gives a brief, but meaningful, summary of the two different daimyo and their rises to power (both gained by usurping immediate family members, hmmmm...), and the organizations of the two armies, all of which is very enjoyable to read. Note however, that basic knowledge of medival Japan isn't suggested (by me, at least), its MANDATORY. Turnbull dosent gloss over who samurai or ashigaru or daimyo or the whole Sengoku period as a whole is, so if you are new coming to Japan, go elsewhere.

Before the actual campaigns of Kawanakajima came the slow, but steady, Takeda drive into the mountains of Shinano. Six whole pages and a wicked map are given in this section (ok, I admit, I have a fancy towards maps) about the invasion. Its easy to get lost in the number of engagements, via seige or open battle, that this section covers but personally I found it quite enjoyable mapping Takeda Shingens slow drive north. The tension builds, and in a very cliff-hanging phrase at the end of that section "The Shinano campaign was over, the Kawanakajima campaign was about to begin."

The battles...ahh. The first three and the fifth, to put it in context, where large-scale skirmishes and maneuvers and are not given much information because, as the author states, there simply wasn't enough contemporary records about them. In essence, the whole myth of Kawanakajima being foolsplay and not true combat stems from these four encounters, and Turnbull gives plenty of evidence (and inferrence as a good tactician) why the two commanders never fully engaged in those confrontations, which I truly must commend him on. The Fourth Battle is where it all is, and when I first saw that 2 of the good, but not mind-blowing, 3-D maps are on maneuvers and not combat, I was pretty turned off. Alas, I saw later that the fourth battle of Kawanakajima is DEFINED by the movements, positions, and maneuvers instead of the combat that resulted from them, attesting greatly to the millitary skills (if I daresay genius, but I know Nappy and Old Fritz would be ticked off at me if I said that) of the two warlords. I suggest buying the book solely for the purpose of seeing two grand strategists doing what they do best and seeing how different scenarios played out on the same field five times.

So why do I rate it a four if you see me raving about it the whole time? I do it for numerous reasons, all concerning troop positions and movements pre-ceding and during the climatic (or anti, since it was a Phyrric victory for the Takeda and niether warlords could get the other's heads) fourth battle. If you buy this book please note the main problem...HOW can a FORD MOVE during a battle!? Preceding the battle, the ford was crossed, re-crossed, and mentioned numerous times, but on the 3D battle maps, it moves or maybe there was another 'invisible' ford that the author didn't mention. I highly doubt that as one of the most important parts of the battle happened at that ford (or fords). Regardless, it is still very possible to peice out the battle despite the difficulty with that. My last complaint(s) is that he didn't even give a hint of the Takeda casualties (but they gave Uesugi down to the number: 3,117 heads exact) and they didn't even MENTION the Uesugi withdrwal that he expects us to guess happened. So much for that.

Regardless, if any of you are into such scenarios where the same men fight each other again and again under great strategists, I HIGHLY recommend this book. The maps (both 2D and 3D) are wicked, the whole flow of the book very smooth, and the battles exciting to read even if a few fords decide to move to a different neighborhood one mile down the river. Turnbull, I commend you for this effort to enlighten our minds on one very interesting battle.

By the way, I'm 15 and the only way I can avoid this spam amazon and co. sends us is by cutting of 3 years from my ID :).