Unification of Owari Province

In 1551, Oda Nobuhide died unexpectedly. Nobunaga was said to have acted outrageously during his funeral, throwing ceremonial incense at the altar. This convinced many Oda retainers of Nobunaga's mediocrity and lack of discipline. Alienated, they then began to side with his soft-spoken and well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki. Hirate Masahide, a valuable mentor and retainer to Nobunaga, was ashamed by Nobunaga's behavior and performed seppuku. This had a profound effect on Nobunaga, who later built a temple to honor Masahide.

Succession dispute

Although Nobunaga was Nobuhide's legitimate successor, the Oda clan was divided into many factions, and the clan was technically under the control of Owari's shugo, Shiba Yoshimune. Oda Nobutomo, the deceased Nobuhide's brother and deputy to the shugo, used the weak Yoshimune as his puppet and challenged Nobunaga's place as Owari's new ruler. Nobutomo murdered Yoshimune when it was discovered that he supported and attempted to aid Nobunaga.

Nobunaga persuaded Oda Nobumitsu, a grandfather of Nobuhide, to join his side and, with Nobumitsu's help, slew Nobutomo in Kiyosu Castle, which later became Nobunaga's place of residence for over ten years. Taking advantage of the position of Shiba Yoshikane, Yoshimune's son, as the rightful shugo, Nobunaga forged an alliance with the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province and the Kira clan of Mikawa Province, as both clans had the same shugo and would have no excuse to decline. This also ensured that the Imagawa clan would have to stop attacking Owari's borders.

Although Nobuyuki and his supporters were still at large, Nobunaga took an army to Mino Province to aid Saitō Dōsan after Dōsan's son, Saitō Yoshitatsu, turned against him. The campaign failed, as Dōsan was killed in the Battle of Nagara-gawa, and Yoshitatsu became the new master of Mino in 1556.

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Elimination of Nobuyuki

A few months later Nobuyuki, with support from Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada, rebelled against Nobunaga. The conspirators were defeated at the Battle of Inō, but were pardoned after the intervention of Tsuchida Gozen, the birth mother of Nobunaga and Nobuyuki. The next year, Nobuyuki again planned to rebel. Nobunaga was informed of this by Shibata Katsuie, then faked illness to get close to Nobuyuki and assassinated him in Kiyosu Castle.

In 1558, he protected Suzuki Shigeteru in the Siege of Terabe.

By 1559, Nobunaga had eliminated all opposition within the clan and Owari Province. He continued to use Shiba Yoshikane as a pretext to make peace with other daimyo, though it was later discovered that Yoshikane had secretly corresponded with the Kira and Imagawa clans, attempting to oust Nobunaga and restore the Shiba clan's place. Nobunaga eventually cast him out, voiding alliances created in the Shiba clan's name.

Outline of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582)

HISTORIC PEOPLE

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582)

Oda Nobunaga was a powerful Daimyō of Japan in the late 16th century who attempted to unify Japan during the late Sengoku period. Nobunaga is regarded as one of three unifiers of Japan along with his retainers Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. During his later life, Nobunaga was widely known for most brutal suppression of determined opponents, eliminating those who by principle refused to cooperate or yield to his demands. View Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) »

Early Life: He was known to run around with other youths from the area, without any regard to his own rank in society. With the introduction of firearms into Japan, however, he became known for his fondness of tanegashima firearms.

Unification of Owari Province: Although Nobunaga was Nobuhide's legitimate successor, the Oda clan was divided into many factions, and the clan was technically under the control of Owari's shugo, Shiba Yoshimune.

Rise to Power: Nobunaga revealed his ambition to conquer the whole of Japan. He also started using a new personal seal that read Tenka Fubu (天下布武), which means "All the world by force of arms" or "Rule the Empire by Force".

Campaign against rival daimyō: During the siege of Nagashima, Nobunaga inflicted tremendous losses to the Ikkō-ikki resistance who opposed samurai rule. The siege finally ended when Nobunaga surrounded the enemy complex and set fire to it, killing tens of thousands.

Coup at Honnō-ji and death: En route to Chūgoku region, Nobunaga stayed at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto. Since Nobunaga would not expect an attack in the middle of his firmly-controlled territories, he was guarded by only a few dozen personal servants and bodyguards.

Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu: Ieyasu had shared his childhood with Nobunaga as a hostage of the Oda clan. Though there were a number of battles between him and the Oda clan, Ieyasu eventually switched sides and became one of Nobunaga's strongest allies.

Policies: Nobunaga's dominance and brilliance was not restricted to the battlefield, for he also was a keen businessman and understood the principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics. First, in order to modernize the economy from an agricultural base to a manufacture and service base, castle towns were developed as the center and basis of local economies.

HISTORY

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582)

Oda Nobunaga was a powerful Daimyō of Japan in the late 16th century who attempted to unify Japan during the late Sengoku period. Nobunaga is regarded as one of three unifiers of Japan along with his retainers Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. During his later life, Nobunaga was widely known for most brutal suppression of determined opponents, eliminating those who by principle refused to cooperate or yield to his demands.