Hara Torayoshi

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Hara Torayoshi (原虎吉, Hara Torayoshi^?) was a retainer under the Takeda clan of samurai during the late Sengoku period of Japanese history.

Torayoshi was related by blood to two of the twenty-four elite generals beneath Takeda Shingen, Hara Masatane and Toratane, though these three belonged to separate family branches, they are said to have supported their lord as if brothers. Even though Torayoshi was not nearly as well known as Masatane or Toratane, he still became highly esteemed during the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, at which he acted as commander of the head encampment, initially being the protector of Takeda Shingen. As the battle raged on at a sudden pace, there arose the immediate time at which Uesugi general Arakawa Nagazane, who took the appearance of his lord, Uesugi Kenshin^{[citation needed]}, broke into the main camp, where he clashed his sword violently against Shingen's warfan, causing Torayoshi, without any hesitation, to grab a hold of his lord's spear and charge it into the assailant. However, as the spear grazed the rider's mount, Nagazane managed to flee, but Torayoshi, regardless, received both praise and gratitude for this achievement. As the life of Torayoshi is relatively unknown from this point onward, it can be assumed that he managed to live up until 1582, and was killed in the event of the Takeda's death.