Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 (1534-1582)

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) - Stories Preschool

Oda Nobunaga (織田信長, June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582) 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 Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō) and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (samurai). In the Meiji period, the empire adopted a Western-modeled constitution and pursued a program of industrialization and modernization. A global leader in the automotive, robotics and electronics industries, Japan has made significant contributions to science and technology.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. He was both a skilled ruler and keen businessman, economic reformer, strategizing at both the micro- and macroeconomic scales. He was killed when his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled against him at Honnō-ji.

Oda Nobunaga in a 16th-century portrait by Kanō Motohide

Historical Context

The goal of national unification and a return to the comparative political stability of the earlier Muromachi period was widely shared by the multitude of autonomous daimyōs during the Sengoku period. Oda Nobunaga was the first for whom this goal seemed attainable. Nobunaga had gained control over most of Honshu before his death during the 1582 Honnō-ji incident, a coup attempt executed by Nobunaga's vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide. It is not certain whether Nobunaga was killed in the attack or committed seppuku. The motivations behind Mitsuhide's betrayal was never revealed to anyone who survived the incident, and has been a subject of debate and conjecture ever since the incident.

Following the incident, Akechi Mitsuhide declared himself master over Nobunaga's domains, but was quickly defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who regained control of and greatly expanded the Oda holdings. Oda Nobunaga's successful subjugation of much of Honshu enabled the later successes of his allies Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu toward the goal of national unification by subjugating local daimyōs under a hereditary shogunate, which was ultimately accomplished in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu was granted the title of shogun by Emperor Go-Yōzei following the successful Sekigahara Campaign of 1600. The nature of the succession of power through the three daimyōs is reflected in a well-known Japanese idiom:

"Nobunaga pounds the national rice cake, Hideyoshi kneads it, and in the end Ieyasu sits down and eats it."

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.