Who Is Oda Nobunaga (Nobunaga Oda)?
The Owari warlord who opened the way to unifying Japan
Oda Nobunaga was a Sengoku-period warlord who expanded his power from Owari Province (today's western Aichi Prefecture) and cleared much of the way toward the unification of Japan. He defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama and took Mino Province. He died in 1582 in the Honno-ji Incident, when his own retainer Akechi Mitsuhide attacked him.
In the Taikoki he appears as Tokichiro's lord. Nobunaga judges the low-born Tokichiro by his work and promotes him, entrusting him with repairing the walls of Kiyosu Castle and building a castle for the Mino campaign. Another major event of this period comes in 1567, when, after a long struggle with the Saito clan, Nobunaga captures Inabayama Castle and takes Mino.
The story that Nobunaga called Tokichiro "Monkey" is well known. After Nobunaga's death, it was this same Tokichiro who succeeded him and took control of Japan.
Episodes featuring this character4
NEWEpisode 1
He Would Rule Japan. He Owned Nothing.The Boyhood of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
A starving boy leaves home with nothing and, armed only with his mouth and his wits, finds the first master ever to value him. But being too good makes everyone turn their backs on him. He swallows the one sentence that could win it all and walks on toward the next land, carrying a single tiny gourd.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
Warm Sandals: Suck-Up or Genius?Tokichiro the Sandal Bearer
Hideyoshi, the lowest servant in the castle, warms his lord's sandals inside his shirt. Then he opens his big mouth and promises to fix a castle wall nobody can finish. Only when he shuts up, listens to the builders, and hands the credit to others do people finally start to move. Is he just a bootlicker, or something more?
19 pages
NEWEpisode 3
Build a Castle Before the Enemy WakesThe One-Night Castle of Sunomata
Everyone laughs when Tokichiro volunteers to build a castle the enemy keeps tearing down, right under their noses. His answer: don't build it, ship it, with river men and carpenters on his side. On the big night he must choose between a raft of castle parts and a man swept away, and his choice steals the enemy's morning.
21 pages
NEWEpisode 4
16 Men Took a Castle. He Gave It Back.Takenaka Hanbei
A man took a castle with just sixteen followers, inexplicably gave it back, and vanished into the mountains. Hideyoshi keeps climbing up to recruit him, but every compliment and gift is called out before he can use it. On his third visit, out of tricks, he offers the one thing he has left: his own weakness.
19 pages