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Japan, October 18, 1561. For the past five days the armies of Takeda Shingen, the tiger of Kai, and Uesegi Kenshin, the dragon of Echigo, have faced each other along either bank of the Chikumagawa river, which flows in the middle of the fertile Kawanakajima plain. The two adversaries know each other well, as they have already fought here three times over some dozen years for control of Shinto province. The day before, at the urging of one of his generals, Takeda Shingen has decided to take the initiative and lay a trap for his opponent. Part of his force (12,000 men under the command of Kosaka Masanobu) will be secretly sent at first light to the forested slopes of Mt. Saijo, to catch Uesegi Kenshin in his encampment. The plan is for this surprise attack to panic and put the Uesegi forces to flight. The rest of Takeda's army (8000 men commanded by Takeda in person) will lie in wait to attack the fugitives as they flee down the road. But when Masanobu reaches the Uesegi camp this morning, he finds it deserted. As he enters, he hears the sounds of battle - coming from the plain. It turns out that Uesegi Kenshin, under cover of the morning fog, has already left his camps and brought his army to face Takeda. And, discovering that he has numerical superiority, Kenshin is attacking!
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