Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga (June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582) was a powerful daimyō in the late 16th century who was the first of the three great unifiers of Japan.
Japan had been through over a century of warfare called the Warring States Period (Sengoku Jidai, 1467-1600). Toward the end of the 16th century, three great warlords appeared who unified the country: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616).
Nobunaga is said to have quarried the stones, for the imaginary castle of a unified Japan, Hideyoshi to have shaped them, and Ieyasu to have laid them in place.
Oda Nobunaga was born in the Owari domain. His father, Oda Nobuhide, was a large landholder in Owari Province and deputy shugo (military governor). In his youth he was known for his bizarre antics, earning him the moniker of Owari no Ōutsuke (The Big Fool of Owari).
In 1551, Oda Nobuhide died unexpectedly. Though Nobunaga was the eldest, there was a faction backing his well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki, for clan leader. At that time, the Oda clan was divided into many factions, and the clan was technically under the control Owari’s shugo, Shiba Yoshimune. In the ensuing struggle for rule over Owari, Nobunaga’s uncle, Oda Nobutomo murdered Shiba Yoshimune, Nobuyuki (Nobunaga’s brother) led a rebellion, and Nobunaga killed both Nobutomo and Nobuyuki, taking over Kiyosu Castle, and banishing the new shugo Shiba Yoshikane. By 1559, Nobunaga had eliminated all opposition not only within his clan but also within Owari Province.
In June 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto attempted to overthrow the Ashikaga shogunate. On the way to Kyoto, Imagawa’s army of 25,000 to 40,000 passed through the territory of Oda Nobunaga. Imagawa’s forces took a couple of border fortresses and made camp in the narrow gorge. Nobunaga set up his forces of about 2,000 to 3,000 a short distance away. Nobunaga created a ruse. He had a large number of banners placed and dummy troops made of straw and spare helmets gave the impression of a large host while his main force went through the woods in a rainstorm undetected. After the storm, his forces attacked the enemy who were celebrating their recent victories. In the ensuing chaos, Imagawa Yoshitomo emerged from his tent attempting to end what he thought was drunken revelry. He was caught off guard and killed (head severed). Oda Nobunaga was victorious in the Battle of Okehazama.
The Battle of Okehazama greatly enhanced Oda Nobunaga’s prestige. He gained many new allies, including Imagawa’s former retainer, Matsudaira Motoyasu, the future Tokugawa Ieyasu and many master-less samurai. Nobunaga also formed alliances with the Takeda and Azai clans through marriages.
In 1565, there was an attempted coup by assassinating Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru and installing Ashikaga Yoshihide as the 14th Ashikaga shogun. A group of shogun retainers recruited Nobunaga’s aid in backing Yoshiaki, the younger brother of Yoshiteru. In 1568, Nobunaga drove rebel clan out of Kyoto and installed Yoshiaki as the 15th Ashikaga shogun.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki wisely feared and distrusted Oda Nobunaga’s intentions. Nobunaga had refused the post of Kanrei (the Shogunal deputy), and eventually began to restrict the powers of the shogun. It was clear Nobunaga intended Yoshiaki as a puppet. Nobunaga revealed his thoughts by changing the name of Inabayama Castle and the surrounding town to Gifu, after the legendary Chinese mountain on which the Zhou dynasty originated and began using a new personal seal that read Tenka Fubu which means “All the world by force of arms” or “Rule the Empire by Force.” Yoshiaki formed an alliance of daimyō who bordered Oda’s territory, Takeda Shingen (Nobunaga’s brother-in-law), and the warrior monks of Mt. Hiei.
Joining the anti-Oda forces, Azai Nagamasa (who had married Nobunaga’s sister Oichi) re-entered the ancient Asakura-Azai alliance with Asakura Yoshikage and together with Buddhist ikko rebels and sōhei (warrior monks) rebelled. At the Battle of Anegawa, Nobunaga’s forces won a great victory, then came retribution.
In 1571 Nobunaga attacked Enryakuji with its sōhei. His forces methodically burnt buildings and massacred monks and anyone else they came across on Mt. Hiei, slaughtering thousands. Nobunaga defeated the Azai and the Asakura clans. Both clan leaders, Azai Nagamasa and Asakura Yoshikage committed seppuku.
Yoshiaki’s ingratitude was neither forgotten nor forgiven. On August 27, 1573 Nobunaga forced Yoshiaki out of office and did not choose a successor. Yoshiaki took tonsure, shaved his head, and became a Buddhist monk. Thus the Ashikaga Shogunate came to an inglorious end.
Nobunaga’s success also depended on a bit of luck especially after defeats, namely the deaths of adversaries. Three warlords who defeated his forces in battle died shortly afterwards. Saitō Yoshitatsu the victor in the Battle of Nagara-gawa died in 1561; Takeda Shingen after leading the most powerful army in Japan and defeating Ieyasu in the Battle of Mikatagahara died in 1573; and Uesugi Kenshin the victor in the Battle of Tedorigawa died in 1578. Nobunaga recovered and defeated the Takeda and Saitō clans and did not have to make concessions to Uesugi.
Nobunaga crushed the Takeda clan in 1575, led by Takeda Katsuyori, Shingen’s son, in the Battle of Nagashino. Oda forces faced the powerful cavalry charge of the Takeda, which Nobunaga answered by his innovation of wooden stockades and rotating volleys of gun fire. It was a huge victory.
Oda Nobunaga began the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War to suppress the Kaga ikki state (the religious based regime). Taking place from 1570 to 1580, it was a campaign against a network of fortifications, temples, and communities of the Ikkō-ikki resulting in the slaughter of tens of thousands of people. Eventually the Kaga ikki lost support from their allies. In 1580, upon receiving a letter from the emperor (who was prodded by Nobunaga) the Abbot Kōsa surrendered.
Nobunaga had policies that were in dramatic contrast to the Ashikaga regime. Nobunaga sought to counter Buddhist based independent groups, like the ikki, with Christians by encouraging the Jesuits and a small Christian community developed. International trade was expanded beyond China and the Korean Peninsula, and the nanban (southern barbarian) trade with Europe, the Philippines, Siam, and Indonesia began. He instituted economic reform, removing barriers to commerce, such as ending the monopolies held by shrines and guilds and promoting free markets and currency regulations. He made internal improvements to roads and bridges. He also created a merit system for the army and his retainers.
Near Kyoto, Nobunaga constructed Azuchi Castle, a magnificent structure serving not only as a military fortification and display of his wealth, power, and prestige, but also as a symbol of unification. Azuchi Castle was covered with gold, had statues on the outside, and was decorated on the inside with standing screens, sliding doors, and paintings of Kanō Eitoku. He built extensive gardens. Nobunaga and tea master Sen no Rikyū popularized the tea ceremony as a way to talk politics and business. The Azuchi–Momoyama period takes its name from Nobunaga’s Azuchi Castle and Hideyoshi’s Momoyama Castle in Kyoto.
Nobunaga’s radical changes did not come about without incurring opposition. In 1582, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi requested his military assistance, Nobunaga went to his aid. En route Nobunaga stayed at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, with only a light guard. His son Nobutada stayed at Myōkaku-ji, a temple on the grounds of Nijō Palace.
At Honnō-ji Akechi Mitsuhide, one of Nobunaga’s most trusted generals betrayed him. On June 21, 1582, Mitsuhide’s forces surrounded Honnō-ji while another unit of Akechi troops attacked Myōkaku-ji, killing Nobutada. At Honnō-ji, Nobunaga’s small entourage was soon overwhelmed and he committed seppuku. Only his teen-age page, Mori Ranmaru, remained at his side. He attended to Nobunaga as he sought a moment of peace to carry out his last act, then Ranmaru likewise committed seppuku.
Following the incident, Akechi Mitsuhide declared himself master over Nobunaga’s domains. But just eleven days after the coup, Mitsuhide was killed at the Battle of Yamazaki and his army was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who eventually became heir to Nobunaga’s legacy. Oda Nobunaga’s successful subjugation of much of Honshu enabled the later successes of his allies Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu toward national unification.
The cause of Mitsuhide’s betrayal is subject for debate. Mitsuhide may have heard a rumor that Nobunaga would transfer Mitsuhide’s fief to the page, Mōri Ranmaru, with whom Nobunaga is alleged to have been in a ritualized homosexual relationship, a form of patronage, known as shudō. Other motives include revenge for Nobunaga’s numerous insults and derisive treatment, or Mitsuhide’s jealousy as Nobunaga had shown greater favor toward Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Mitsuhide may have wanted revenge for Nobunaga killing his mother (or aunt). Or maybe he just felt the time was ripe to take over.
He left quite a legacy. Nobunaga changed the way war was fought in Japan with the use of long pikes, firearms and castle fortifications. Nobunaga also instituted a specialized warrior class system and appointed his retainers and subjects to positions based on ability, not wholly based on name, rank, or family relationship as in prior periods. Retainers were also given land on the basis of rice output, not land size. Nobunaga started an interest in European culture which was still very new to Japan. He collected pieces of Western art as well as arms and armor, and he is considered to be among the first Japanese people in recorded history to wear European clothes.
Depending upon the source, Oda Nobunaga and the entire Oda clan are descendants of either the Fujiwara clan or the Taira clan (specifically, Taira no Shigemori’s branch).
One of Nobunaga’s younger sisters, Oichi, gave birth to three daughters. These three nieces of Nobunaga became involved with important historical figures. Chacha (also known as Lady Yodo) became the mistress of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. O-Hatsu married Kyōgoku Takatsugu, daimyo of Omi and Wakasa Province. The youngest, O-go, married the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Hidetada (the second Tokugawa shōgun).
Nobunaga’s granddaughter Oyu no Kata, by his son Oda Nobuyoshi, married Tokugawa Tadanaga, who was the son of the second shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada and younger brother to the third Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu. Another granddaughter, O-go’s daughter Senhime married her cousin Toyotomi Hideyori, Lady Yodo’s son.