Greatest Historical Figures of the Sengoku Period

A great warlord who managed to destroy many powerful clans in his day, including the Takeda and the Imagawa. His strange behavior and ruthlessness were well known, and he was feared for doing such things as destroying the Buddhist monasteries on Mt. Hiei simply because they opposed him. He paved the way for his vassal, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to unify Japan.

A mere peasant who worked his way up through the ranks in the Oda army to become one of Oda Nobunaga's most trusted generals. After Nobunaga's assassination, he became his successor and managed to unify Japan before his death.

The man who completed the unification of Japan and founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years. He was a loyal ally of Oda Nobunaga's, and afterwards, he was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rival until they agreed to a ceasefire. Then, after Hideyoshi's death, he defeated all his rivals and brought a close to the Sengoku Period.

The greatest Japanese swordsman of all time, famous for creating a style that involved using a katana in one hand and a wakizashi in the other. He fought at the Battle of Sekigahara, won many great duels, and wrote the Book of Five Rings, a philosophical tract still read today.

The famed general of the Tokugawa clan. It was said that, in over fifty-five engagements, he was never once wounded or even scratched. As such, he was a general of great reknown. His helmet, adorned with antlers, always warned those who saw it, and his spear, Tonbo-giri, is considered one of the Three Great Spears of Japan.

Was a daimyo who ruled the Asakura clan. He fought Oda Nobunaga with the Azai as his allies. He and the Azai had forced Oda Nobunaga to make peace with them. However, he died fighting the Oda.

Hattori Hanzō was a famous ninja of the Tokugawa clan and a legend of the Sengoku period. He had saved Tokugawa Ieyasu many times and helped him escape Akechi Mitsuhide. He had helped Tokugawa unify Japan and saved his life more than once, even though it would have been really easy to betray him.

He was the son of Suzuki Sadayu and was the final leader of the Saiki Ikki.

He is responsible for the most brilliant and ingenious maneuvers of the Sengoku Jidai. When his son, Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) was captured by the Oda, he had convinced them not to kill his son, and his son survived while many other hostages were killed. He had also allied with the Imigawa when his home province was attacked by the Oda.

Because he helped Tokugawa Ieyasu win the Battle of Sekigahara, which proved decisive to ending the Sengoku Jidai. He had betrayed the Ishida and charged his men down the hill to slam into the Ishida flank