Who Is Yamamoto Kansuke?
Takeda Shingen's legendary strategist
Yamamoto Kansuke is a military strategist said to have served Takeda Shingen. According to the Kōyō Gunkan, the Imagawa clan refused to hire him because of his appearance, but Shingen gave him an important role. Because there are few reliable records about him outside the Kōyō Gunkan, people long doubted whether he really existed. Later, an old letter naming a "Yamamoto Kansuke" was discovered, and it is now thought that a real person stood behind the legend.
Kansuke is the main character of Episode 3. At Kawanakajima, he proposes the "woodpecker strategy" to Shingen: a separate force would attack the Uesugi army on Mount Saijo from behind, and when the startled enemy came down the mountain, the main army waiting on the plain of Hachimanbara would trap them from both sides. But Kenshin sees through the plan, and Kansuke, as if taking responsibility, charges into the enemy and is killed.
Kansuke's inner thoughts in the manga are a creative addition not found in the original sources. His name is written in different ways depending on the record.
