更新日：2021年1月1日

Whether we are great or few in number, our fate in battle shall be as heaven wills it.

The Takeda army outnumbered the Tokugawa army, and included a brave and resolute cavalry, so Ieyasu had tremendous disadvantages. While it seemed that the outcome of the battle was left to fate, here one can see the determination of a young army commander ready to risk his life on victory.

If I should ever leave Hamamatsu, then I shall stomp my own sword into pieces and put the way of the warrior behind me.

 Oda Nobunaga expanded west with the aim of unifying Japan under his rule, and Ieyasu expanded east in an alliance with Nobunaga. Even with the formidable enemy Takeda Shingen blocking Ieyasu to the east, Ieyasu’s alliance with Nobunaga meant that he could not take even one step back on his march forward.

No matter how fierce the Takeda clan may be, there is no reason to stand by and watch while they overrun our castle town. There is no greater shame in battle than this.

 As the Takeda army approached, one option was the tactic of staying in Hamamatsu Castle. However, Ieyasu saw enduring a siege inside the castle as shameful. In order to assert his authority as a commander, he ordered his hesitant vassals forward and boldly rode into battle.