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Takeda Shingen's Real Name: Takeda Harunobu
history
Takeda Shingen (武田信玄) 本名: Takeda Harunobu (武田晴信)
Answer: Takeda Shingen's given name was Harunobu (晴信). "Shingen" (信玄) is the Buddhist name he took around 1559; his childhood name is recorded as Katsuchiyo (勝千代).
Shingen was born in 1521 in Kai Province (now Yamanashi), son of Takeda Nobutora. His childhood name is recorded as 勝千代 (Katsuchiyo). At his coming of age he received the name 晴信 (Harunobu), with the character 晴 granted by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
In 1541 he took control of Kai by exiling his father. Around 1559 he became a lay Buddhist monk and took the name 信玄 (Shingen), the name history remembers.
He is famous for his rivalry with Uesugi Kenshin at the battles of Kawanakajima and for his banner reading 風林火山 ("swift as wind, quiet as forest, fierce as fire, immovable as mountain"), taken from Sun Tzu. He died in 1573.
FAQ
Is Shingen a real name? It is a Buddhist name; his given name was Harunobu.
What does Shingen's 風林火山 banner mean? "Wind, forest, fire, mountain," from Sun Tzu's Art of War.