1.Shimazu Yoshihisa
Even though he became the 16th leader of his dynasty, he was considered as the most successful leader of all time. His personal life went through many up and downs like he has changed his name almost about 5 times and marrying his own aunt then one of his relative after her death. But as a leader he was unmatchable. He with his brothers made a plan and started working to unify Kyushu .Starting in 1572, he won against ito clan in the battle of kizaki. After then he was unstoppable. He was awarded with victories after victories. In 1578, he defeated Otomo clan at the battle of Mimigawa , in 1583, against Ryuzoji clan and in 1584 against Aso clan. By the middle of 1580s, most of the parts of Kyushu were controlled by Shimazu clan, brother of Yoshihisa. He once was called by Tokugawa Ieyasu at Fushimi castle and he was asked how he was successful to unify Kyushu, but he answered it was all his brother’s effort. After he left the castle , Tokugawa told his retainers that, ‘this is how great a leader should be’. After some years of his achievement , he surrendered to Hideyoshito become a Budhhist Monk.
2.Masamune Date
Masamune Date was the 7th head of the date clan. Even though his childhood was traumatizing like loosing his one eye due to some infamous reasons, he rose to prominence as the most dominating power in Oshu. He was reputed as one of the wisest figures of the time era, biting back his ambitions to stay as one of the wealthiest independent rulers of his time. He was famously named as ‘ONE/SINGLE EYED DRAGON’. Known for his lack of mercy and violence, he was one of the feared warrior his time. Once when his father was kidnapped by his enemies, Masamune retaliated with slaughtering all them, killing his own father during his mission. You can imagine the evilness.
3.Kenshin Uesugi
At the age of 14, kenshin was contacted by Usami Sadamitsu and a number of acquitances of his late father. They urged the young kenshin to go to Echigo and contest his elder brother. At first he was reluctant then finally when agreed , he won. This was the 1st achievement of the samurai warrior kenshin uesugi. In the winter of 1577-1578, kenshin arranged to put forth a grand army to continue his assaults into Nobunaga’s land. He was reported to be in horrid health during this time. He died 4 days after that.
4.Hattori Hanzo
Hattori Hanzo was a famous samurai and ninja of Sengoku era. Hanzo was known as an expert tactician and a master of spear fighting. Historical sources say that Hanzo was called in to act as the official second to end Nobuyasu’s suffering but he refused to take the sword with the blood of his own lord. Tales of his exploits often attributed various supernatural abilities, such as disappearing and appearing elsewhere and these attributions contribute to his continued prominence in popular culture. He died at the age of 55.
5.Takeda Shingen
Shingen’s first act was to gain a hold of the area around him. His goal was to conquer Shinano province. Upon securing Takeda control over suruga, northern shinano, and western Kozuke, Shingen moved to challenge the Oda-Tokugawa alliance, leading a formidable force over 30,000 into the latter’s territories in Totomi, Mikawa and Mino in 1572. Shingen was sometime referred as ‘The tiger of Kai’ for his martial arts on the battle field. The exact circumstances surrounding Takeda Shingen’s death is still unknown.
6.Honda Tadakatsu
Tadakastu was often referred as ‘The warrior who surpassed seath itself’ because he never once suffered a significant wound, despite being the veteran of over 100 battles by the end of his life, and because he was never defeated by another samurai. Tadakatsu is generally regarded as one of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s finest general and he fought in almost all of his master’s major battle. He was allegedly praised by Oda Nobunaga as ‘a true samurai, both inside out’ and be Toyotomi Hideyeshi as ‘the hero unsurpassed in all of history’.
7.miyamoto musashi
The name ‘Musashi’ was taken from the name of a warrior monk named ‘Musashibo Benkei’. He was an expert Japanese swordsman and ronin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through his stories of his excellent and unique double bladed swordmanship and undefeated record in his 60 duels.he was the founder of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu or Niten-ryu style of swordsmanship and in his final years authored the The Book Of Five Rings, book on strategy,tactics and philosophy that is still studied today.
8.Toyotomi Hideyoshi
After the assassination at Honno-ji of Oda Nobunaga and his son at the hand of Akechi Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved lord, made peace with Mori clan and defeated Akechi at a battle of Yamazaki. This was how Hideyoshi came to power. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a preeminent daimyo, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the sengoku period who was regarded as japan’s second ‘great unifier’. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restrictions that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. He financed the construction, restoration and rebuilding of many temples standing today in Tokyo.
9.Tokugawa Ieyasu
When he was 16 yrs old, he was allowed to return to his native Mikawa. When he returned, the Imagawa ordered him to fight the Oda clan in a series of battles. Tokugawa fought his first battle at the Siege of Terabe and later succeeded in delivering supplies to a border fort through a bold night attack. He was more agile with his brain than his sword. The Tokugawa shogunate ushered a new era of peace in japan and rulled till 1863.
10.Oda Nobunaga
He was a powerful samurai warlord of Japan in the late 16th century who initiated the unification of Japan near the end of the Warring states period. Oda Nobunaga is remembered in Japan as one of the most brutal figures of the Warring States period and was recognized as one of Japan’s greatest rulers. In 1560, he killed Yoshimoto Imagawa who attempted to take over Kyoto and set the foundation of the unification of Japan. At the end, Nobunaga committed suicide, a more honorable way to die