 Stephen Turnbull , in " <unk> <unk> " , relates the tale of the Takeda clan 's involvement with a fox @-@ woman . The warlord Takeda Shingen , in 1544 , defeated in battle a lesser local warlord named Suwa <unk> and drove him to suicide after a " humiliating and <unk> " peace conference , after which Shingen forced marriage on Suwa <unk> 's beautiful 14 @-@ year @-@ old daughter Lady Koi — Shingen 's own niece . Shingen , Turnbull writes , " was so obsessed with the girl that his superstitious followers became alarmed and believed her to be an incarnation of the white fox @-@ spirit of the Suwa Shrine , who had bewitched him in order to gain revenge . " When their son Takeda <unk> proved to be a disastrous leader and led the clan to their devastating defeat at the battle of <unk> , Turnbull writes , " wise old heads <unk> , remembering the unhappy circumstances of his birth and his magical mother " . 
