He was born the eleventh son of Oda Nobuhide of Owari. He was thirteen years younger than his brother Nobunaga, and his mother's identity is unclear. His common name was Gengo. Little is known of his youth, but he later made his name in the world of the tea ceremony and became widely known by the name "Uraku".
He was given Chita District in Owari Province and rebuilt Ōkusa Castle. He then seems to have served under Nobunaga's eldest son Oda Nobutada. In the grand cavalry parade Nobunaga held in Kyoto, he marched after Nobutada and other members of the clan, showing that he was valued as a member of the Oda family.
In the Kōshū campaign he attacked Takeda castles with Nobutada. During the Honnō-ji Incident that same year, Nagamasu was with Nobutada at the Nijō palace in Kyoto, but he slipped out and escaped via Azuchi to Gifu. It is said that the people of Kyoto made up mocking songs about him for fleeing while leaving Nobutada behind.
After the incident he served his nephew Oda Nobukatsu. In the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute he worked on the side of Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and mediated the surrender of Takigawa Kazumasu, who had held out in Kanie Castle. After the fighting he also served as a negotiator when Ieyasu and Hashiba Hideyoshi made peace. He had a gift for settling conflicts through talks.
He had a deep, guardian-like relationship with his niece Yodo-dono, daughter of Nobunaga's sister Oichi. He was present when Yodo-dono gave birth to Hideyoshi's son Tsurumatsu. Even after Nobunaga's death, Nagamasu valued his ties with those of Oda blood and came to hold a unique place within the Toyotomi household.
When Nobukatsu was stripped of his lands, Nagamasu became one of Hideyoshi's otogishū, companions in conversation, and was given lands at Mishita in Settsu. Around this time he shaved his head and took the name "Uraku". He studied the tea ceremony under Sen no Rikyū, was counted among Rikyū's leading disciples, and later founded his own school of tea, the Uraku school.
After Hideyoshi's death, when tension rose between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Maeda Toshiie, Nagamasu rushed to Ieyasu's residence to guard it. While serving the Toyotomi as a member of the Oda family, he was also deepening his ties with Ieyasu, keeping an eye on where power in the realm was heading.
At the Battle of Sekigahara he joined the Eastern army with his eldest son Nagataka, and though with few troops, fought one Western unit after another and won distinction. For this he was granted 32,000 koku in Yamato Province. One theory holds that he later kept a residence near Sukiyabashi in Edo, and that its site gave its name to today's Yūrakuchō in Tokyo.
After the war he continued serving the Toyotomi and supporting Yodo-dono. During the winter campaign of the Siege of Osaka he was inside Osaka Castle and, with Ōno Harunaga and others, sought a peaceful solution and concluded a truce. But as hardline views grew stronger, he said no one heeded his directions and there was no point in staying, and left the Toyotomi before the summer campaign the following year.
After leaving Osaka he settled in Kyoto, devoted himself to the tea ceremony and lived in a world of refined pursuits. This year he gave 10,000 koku each to his fourth and fifth sons, keeping 10,000 koku for himself as a retirement income. A variety of camellia that Uraku loved is still called "Uraku" today.
Around this time he rebuilt Shōden-in, a subtemple of Kennin-ji in Kyoto, and set up the teahouse "Joan" within it. Known for its original design, with many windows ingeniously letting in light, it is now designated a National Treasure (relocated to Inuyama, Aichi). It conveys to this day Uraku's sense of beauty as a tea master.
He died in Kyoto this year. His grave is at Shōden-in, today's Shōden Eigen-in, where portraits of him and his wife are also preserved. In the warring age he was sometimes mocked for fleeing, but Uraku, who sought to settle conflicts through talks and lived his last years for tea, shows a way of life different from that of a warrior.
Sen no RikyūTakigawa KazumasuMaeda ToshiieTokugawa IeyasuOda NobutadaYodo-dono
OichiSanada MasayukiAsano NagamasaSatake YoshishigeHonda TadakatsuNene (Kōdai-in)Sakakibara YasumasaTakayama Ukon
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.