was a daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

(feudal lord) of Shinano Province

Shinano Province

or is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...

 who became one of Takeda Shingen

Takeda Shingen

, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...

's 'Twenty-four Generals

Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen

The Twenty-Four Generals were just one of many historically famous groupings of battle commanders from Japan's Sengoku Period. These Twenty-Four were the most trusted commanders of the armies of Takeda Shingen...

' (his most trusted commanders), submitting to become Takeda's vassal after a long and difficult struggle against him.

Under Takeda Shingen, Sanada Yukitaka participated in the Battle of Odaihara

Battle of Odaihara

The 1546 Battle of Odaihara was one of many steps taken by Takeda Shingen, one of Japan's great warlords of the Sengoku period, in his bid to take over Shinano province. He met the forces of Uesugi Norimasa on the plains of Odaihara, and defeated Uesugi's army while devoting a portion of his own...

 in 1546 and the sieges of Toishi in 1550 and 1551, and was one of three generals to be named Danjōchū by Shingen.

He was the father of Sanada Nobutsuna

Sanada Nobutsuna

was a 16th century Japanese samurai who served the Takeda clan. He was born in Matsuo castle and was the eldest son of Sanada Yukitaka, a castle lord in Shinano Province who, by the time of his son's coming-of-age, had pledged his loyalty to the Takeda...

 and Sanada Masayuki

Sanada Masayuki

was a Japanese Sengoku period daimyo. He was the third son of Sanada Yukitaka, a vassal daimyo to the Takeda family in Shinano province. He is known as a master strategist. Sanada Nobuyuki and Sanada Yukimura were his sons.-Biography:...

 and grandfather of the legendary samurai warrior Sanada Yukimura

Sanada Yukimura

was a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki . His proper name was Sanada Nobushige , named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige, who was a brave and respected warrior. He and his father were known as being excellent military tacticians...

 of whom Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

once said "A hero appears once every hundred years".