Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga was born as the heir of Oda Nobuhide, a feudal lord in Owari Province (today’s Aichi Prefecture).
He spent his childhood at Nagono Castle, the predecessor of present-day Nagoya Castle.

Mino Province (southern Gifu today), long an enemy of Owari, made peace with Nobunaga’s father.
Nobunaga entered a political marriage with Nōhime, daughter of Saitō Dōsan, the lord of Mino.

When Nobunaga was 18, his father died of illness.
Nobunaga succeeded as head of the clan.
But his reputation as an “eccentric fool,” along with his outrageous behavior at his father’s funeral, stirred opposition within the Oda family.
His younger brother Oda Nobuyuki in particular claimed he was the rightful successor.
Rival factions were also scattered across Owari, meaning the province was far from unified.
To make matters worse, Hirate Masahide, Nobunaga’s mentor, died by suicide in an attempt to warn him against his behavior.

Even with trouble arriving immediately after his succession, Nobunaga assassinated Nobuyuki, crushed rival forces, and unified Owari Province.

After overcoming one crisis, Nobunaga faced another.
Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga Province (today’s Shizuoka) invaded Owari.
Imagawa’s army numbered 25,000, while Nobunaga had only Approx. 4,000.
With the odds so lopsided, some of Nobunaga’s retainers even defected to Imagawa.

To rally his men, Nobunaga performed Atsumori himself.
Atsumori is a Noh piece inspired by The Tale of the Heike, famous for the line:
“Life lasts but fifty years, compared to the time of the heavens, it is like a fleeting dream.”
It’s often understood as a message that life is short, so fight without fearing death.

With morale lifted, Nobunaga’s forces focused on a single objective: taking Yoshimoto’s head. With the weather also on their side, they succeeded in killing him.
The Battle of Okehazama ended in Nobunaga’s victory.
Riding that momentum, he went on to bring Mino under his control.

He then met Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the 15th shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, who was searching for a daimyo to help restore shogunal power. Together they entered Kyoto, where Nobunaga declared his ambition to unify Japan.

To advance his campaign, he began a punitive expedition against the Asakura clan of Echizen (today’s Fukui).
But Azai Nagamasa, who had married Nobunaga’s sister Oichi, switched sides to support the Asakura.
After several battles, the Asakura appealed to Ashikaga Yoshiaki for peace, resulting in a temporary ceasefire.

Still, Nobunaga did not forgive the Asakura or Azai. He attacked Enryaku-ji, which had sheltered them.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki, despite accepting the peace, clashed with Nobunaga over direction and was exiled from Kyoto, bringing the Muromachi shogunate to an end.
Nobunaga later destroyed the Asakura and Azai forces.

As Nobunaga pushed forward, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka suddenly rose in arms, sparking Ikkō-ikki uprisings across the country.
In 1574, the Nagashima Ikkō-ikki erupted in Ise-Nagashima (today’s Kuwana, Mie), but Nobunaga suppressed it.
The rebels begged for mercy, but he captured and executed 1,000 men and women, forcing Ishiyama Hongan-ji to surrender.

While Nobunaga was occupied with exiling Ashikaga Yoshiaki, campaigning against the Asakura, and suppressing uprisings, his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu’s territory was invaded by Takeda Shingen, widely feared as one of the strongest warlords of the era.
In 1573, Nobunaga and Ieyasu fought together at the Battle of Mikatagahara but were defeated.
However, at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, they won by using tactics centered on matchlock guns, then the newest weapon on the battlefield.
Nagashino is often seen as a turning point: firearms helped revolutionize warfare that had long depended on close-range weapons like swords and spears.

Later, Nobunaga received a court rank higher than that of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, cementing his status as the de facto ruler of the realm.
But regional lords rose against him, led by the exiled Yoshiaki, all aiming for Nobunaga’s head.
Even as he put down opposition, Nobunaga was betrayed by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide. In the famous Honnō-ji Incident, he took his own life, ending his story.
Afterward, Mitsuhide was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, once Nobunaga’s retainer, and the age of Hideyoshi began.

Just as at the Battle of Okehazama, where he focused solely on taking Imagawa Yoshimoto’s head, this quote reflects Nobunaga’s belief that to achieve a goal, you should cut the unnecessary and concentrate on what matters.

Nobunaga declared his ambition to unify Japan and kept chasing it through rational, revolutionary means. He endured every challenge because he had unwavering ideals and conviction.
This line conveys his resolve and burning drive to unify the country.

Nobunaga stood out for eccentric behavior: dressing oddly, roaming the streets, and eating chestnuts, persimmons, and mochi while walking, actions seen as crude at the time.

At his father Nobuhide’s funeral, he even threw powdered incense at the altar and walked out without a word, behavior considered outright outrageous.
People began calling him the “great fool.” “Fool” here meant a reckless, foolish person.
It’s said his mentor Hirate Masahide even died by suicide to admonish him for such conduct.

It’s said Nobunaga once signed a letter as “Nobunaga, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.”
It sounds a bit edgy, doesn’t it?
But the name likely didn’t start with him. Buddhists who suffered under his harsh suppression, including the burning of Enryaku-ji and crackdowns on temples, Buddhist statues, and those linked to the Ikkō-ikki, began using it first.
The “Demon King of the Sixth Heaven” is a Buddhist enemy who obstructs spiritual practice. To those he persecuted, Nobunaga must have looked exactly like that.

Those under pressure asked Takeda Shingen, also a Buddhist, for help.
Shingen sent Nobunaga a letter of condemnation, likening himself to the Tendai zasu shamon, a powerful position in Japanese Tendai Buddhism.
In reply, Nobunaga wrote “Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Nobunaga,” positioning himself as the opposing force, an enemy of Buddhism.

Even if it was meant as biting sarcasm, the fact that he used it himself suggests he may not have hated the nickname.

From his image, you might picture Nobunaga with a low, steady voice, but accounts suggest it was quite high.
In his History of Japan, Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis described him as having “a high, penetrating voice.”
Another story says that when Nobunaga shouted the command to fire, arquebusiers temporarily lost their hearing, which made the gunshots easier to endure.

During the Sengoku period, trade with the “Nanban” brought not only Christianity but also many new goods into Japan.
Known for his love of novelty, Nobunaga is said to have tried and enjoyed imported items early on.

One of them was wine.
There’s no definitive record, but he’s often said to have been the first Japanese person to drink wine.
He’s also sometimes credited as the first to try konpeitō candy and bananas in Japan.

And he didn’t just enjoy them, he quickly applied foreign culture and technology to politics and warfare.
His matchlock-based tactics at Nagashino are a prime example.

Before the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga prayed at Atsuta Shrine for victory, facing 25,000 Imagawa troops with just 4,000 men.
It’s said he later donated a tsuiji-bei earthen wall in thanks for the win.
Why not visit to pray for success before your own high-stakes challenge?

Once the home castle of Saitō Dōsan, Nobunaga’s father-in-law, Gifu Castle later became Nobunaga’s base for his drive to unify Japan.
Today it features an exhibition room where you can view historical materials related to Nobunaga and the castle.
If you’re a Nobunaga fan, it’s a must-visit.

Enryaku-ji was attacked after it sheltered Nobunaga’s enemies, the Asakura, but it was rebuilt after Nobunaga’s death with support from other warlords.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site with valuable cultural treasures, it’s also a top spot for travelers interested in Japanese Buddhism.