Who was this person?
A Sengoku warlord from Owari. He defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama in 1560 and marched on Kyoto backing Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He used massed firearms at Nagashino, built Azuchi Castle and boosted trade with free markets, but in 1582, close to unifying Japan, he was killed by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnō-ji Incident.
| Name | Oda Nobunaga (織田信長) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1534 – 1582 |
| Period | Sengoku period |
| Birthplace | Owari Province (now Aichi); Shobata or Nagoya Castle by tradition (accounts differ) |
| Also known as | Kippōshi (childhood name), Kazusa-no-suke |
| Main achievements |
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Born a son of Oda Nobuhide, a warrior of Owari (Aichi); his childhood name was Kippōshi. His father, from a branch of the Oda ruling part of Owari, had grown strong by controlling the thriving port of Tsushima.
At 12 he came of age and took the name Nobunaga. In his youth, says the Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, he roamed the town sloppily dressed, munching persimmons and melons, and was called "the great fool".
Around this time he married Nōhime (Kichō), daughter of Saitō Dōsan of Mino (Gifu) (year debated)—a political match binding the rival Oda and Saitō houses.
His father Nobuhide died (year debated). The Chronicle says he arrived at the funeral in everyday clothes and hurled incense at the altar. Many in the house favored his younger brother Nobukatsu (Nobuyuki).
His tutor Hirate Masahide is said to have taken his own life to admonish him (debated). That year he met his father-in-law Saitō Dōsan at Shōtoku-ji. Seeing him appear in formal dress with retainers bearing many guns and long spears, Dōsan reportedly said his own sons would one day serve this man.
His father-in-law Dōsan lost his life fighting his own son Yoshitatsu. Nobunaga struck down his rebellious brother Nobukatsu and soon brought nearly all of Owari under his control.
At Okehazama he launched a surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga, who had invaded with a large army, and killed him. He was 26. Before setting out, it is said, he danced the Atsumori: "Man's fifty years, compared with the heavens, are but a dream."
He allied with Matsudaira Motoyasu (later Tokugawa Ieyasu) of Mikawa, newly independent of the Imagawa. Leaving the east to Ieyasu, Nobunaga turned west toward Mino.
He defeated the Saitō of Mino, took Inabayama castle and renamed the place Gifu. From around this time he used a seal reading "Tenka fubu" (rule the realm by arms), declaring his ambition.
Escorting Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he entered Kyoto and made him the 15th shogun. He brought wealthy towns such as Sakai under his control and abolished toll barriers to free merchants' movement.
Attacking the Asakura of Echizen, he was betrayed by Azai Nagamasa, husband of his sister Oichi, and barely escaped from Kanegasaki. With Ieyasu he then beat the Azai-Asakura forces at the Anegawa. A ten-year war with Ishiyama Hongan-ji also began.
He burned Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, which had sided with the Azai and Asakura. Many monks and residents lost their lives, shocking the country.
He expelled shogun Yoshiaki, with whom he had fallen out, from Kyoto, ending the Muromachi shogunate. That year he also destroyed the Asakura and Azai.
With Ieyasu he crushed Takeda Katsuyori's cavalry at Nagashino, famed for massed gunners behind wooden palisades (the "three-rank volley" is debated).
He began building Azuchi Castle by Lake Biwa in Ōmi; its towering keep was decorated with paintings by Kanō Eitoku. In the castle town he freed trade through free markets and guilds, and protected Christian missionaries.
The ten-year war with Ishiyama Hongan-ji ended and the temple left Osaka. Nobunaga now firmly held the Kinai region.
In spring he destroyed the Takeda. On his way to campaign against the Mōri in the west, he stayed at Honnō-ji in Kyoto and was attacked by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide. Saying "It cannot be helped," it is said, he took his own life—on the verge of unifying the realm.
A. A Sengoku warlord from Owari. He defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama in 1560 and marched on Kyoto backing Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He used massed firearms at Nagashino, built Azuchi Castle and boosted trade with free markets, but in 1582, close to unifying Japan, he was killed by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnō-ji Incident.
A. Period: Sengoku period. Born in 1534, died in 1582.
A. Oda Nobunaga was born in Owari Province (now Aichi); Shobata or Nagoya Castle by tradition (accounts differ).
A. In June 1582 his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide attacked Nobunaga with a large army while he stayed at Honnō-ji in Kyoto. Nobunaga took his own life and his heir Nobutada also died at the Nijō palace. Why Mitsuhide rebelled is still debated.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Saitō DōsanImagawa YoshimotoAkechi MitsuhideAshikaga YoshiakiTokugawa IeyasuKanō EitokuAzai NagamasaTakeda Katsuyori
Kobayakawa TakakageAsakura YoshikageShimazu YoshihisaŌmura SumitadaHosokawa Yūsai (Fujitaka)Shimazu YoshihiroNiwa NagahideAshikaga Yoshiteru
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.