The one-eyed strategist who died standing. Yamamoto Kansuke served Takeda Shingen as military tactician despite being considered unmarriageable and unhireable - he was missing an eye, walked with a limp, and looked nothing like a warrior should. But his mind made him invaluable. When his strategy failed at the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, leading to devastating losses, Kansuke knew there was only one way to answer for it. He charged into the enemy lines to die fighting.

Kuniyoshi captures him in that final moment - badly wounded, arrows piercing his body, blood pooling at his feet, but still standing. He leans on his spear for support, one foot planted on a severed head, refusing to fall. His elaborate armor in turquoise, black, and red is battered but intact, his one good eye still fierce under that distinctive red face paint. This isn't victory - it's defiance. Kansuke knows he's dying, but he'll die on his feet, weapon in hand, having taken enemies with him.

This is from Kuniyoshi's 1848 series depicting the legendary generals who served the Takeda clan. Kansuke represents the warrior who redeemed failure with courage, who proved that honor wasn't about winning but about how you faced the consequences. He died because his plan failed, and he refused to outlive his mistake.

The one-eyed general Yamamoto Kansuke Nyudo Dokisai Haruyuki (山本勘助入道道鬼蔡晴幸) badly wounded leaning on spear with one foot on a severed head, from the series Koetsu yusho den (甲越勇將傳, Biographies of Heroic Generals of Kai and Echigo Provinces). This is print #3 from the first set in the series titles Takeda-ke nijushi-sho (武田家廾四將, Twenty-four Generals of the Takeda Clan) 1848.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳, 1798-1861)