Nobuyuki Sanada (2 October 1566 – 12 November 1658) was the daimyo of the Kozuke-no-Sanada branch of the Sanada. He was the son of Masayuki Sanada, brother of Yukimura Sanada, and husband of Lady Ina, the daughter of Tadakatsu Honda. Nobuyuki became the daimyo of the Matsushiro Domain in 1616 after Tadakatsu Sakai was granted the new Shonai Domain, and he held the title until 1656, when he gave it to Nobumasa Sanada. Nobuyuki Sanada lived to the age of 92 and died in 1658.
Biography[]
The son of Masayuki Sanada, Nobuyuki was sent as a hostage to Shingen Takeda to prove his father's loyalty to the Takeda clan. When the Takeda were destroyed in 1582, the Sanada became independent and moved to Ueda Castle in Kozuke Province, where they repelled a Tokugawa attack in 1585. In recognition of the Sanada clan's bravery, Ieyasu Tokugawa married Lady Ina, the daughter of his retainer Tadakatsu Honda, to Nobuyuki. The two had met during the battle during a short duel before the battle that interrupted by his brother Yukimura Sanada's arrival, and Ina claimed that she had felt a connection with him since they first met in battle.
With the Sekigahara Campaign of 1600, fought between the pro-Tokugawa overlordship Eastern Army and the Toyotomi loyalist Western Army, Nobuyuki sided with his wife's Honda clan, while Yukimura and their father were supporters of the old Toyotomi Shogunate. His brother and father attempted to capture Numata Castle from him, but they failed, only due to the defeat of the Western Army at the Battle of Sekigahara. After the war he was made the daimyo of the Sanada, and the other family members were punished for their treason against the new shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa.
Nobuyuki was awarded the Matsushiro Domain in 1616 after the Sakai were moved to the new Shonai Domain in Dewa Province, and he lived to the ripe old age of 92. He was succeeded as the Matsushiro daimyo by Nobumasa Sanada.