Nobuhide's Death Part I

Oda Nobuhide passed away in 1551 0r some scholars say in 1552. When the Tiger of Owari (Owari no Tora) died, Owari was still not unified. This passage is from the Shincho-Ko ki and describes the funeral and Nobunaga's crazy behavior. One must remember the monk from Kyushu who recognized the true genius of the future leader of Japan-Nobunaga. Passage from Gyuichi The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga. Translated by Elisonas/Lamers (pp.60-61).

"Lord Bingo no Kami contracted a contagious disease, from which he failed to recover despite all kinds of prayer and medical treatment. In the end, he passed away on the 3rd of the Third Month in his forty-second year.

Birth and death: impermanence be the law of this world, The sorrow of it all! Whistling winds scatter The dew from the grasses. Huge tinted clouds obscure The light of the full moon.

Bingo no Kami was the founder of a [Soto Zen] temple called Banshoji. Its rector gave him the posthumous name Togan. Attracted by the alms being given out in cash, monks from all over the province flocked to Banshoji, where a stupendous funeral service was held. Many wondering priests who happened to be passing through on their way to and from the Kanto region also attended. Some three hundred clerics in all were at the service.

Lord Saburo Nobunaga came accompanied by his house elders Hayashi, Hirate, Aoyama, and Naito. His younger brother Kanjuro [Nobukatsu], was accompanied by his own retainers, from Shibata Gonroku [Katsuie], Sakuma Daigaku [Morishige], Sakuma Jiemon, Hasegawa, and Yamada on down.

When the time came for Nobunaga to burn incense for the deceased, he stepped up to the alter looking like this: He bore his long-hilted sword and dagger stuck in a straw rope that he had wrapped around himself. His hair was tied straight up like a tea whisk. He was not even wearing formal trousers (hakama). He abruptly grabbed a handful of incense powder, threw it at the altar and left.

His younger brother Kanjuro was dressed appropriately, in a stiff sleeveless robe (kataginu) and formal trousers, and comported himself impeccably.

It was generally agreed that Lord Saburo Nobunaga had been his usual self--a big idiot. Amid all the critics, however, there was an itinerant priest from Kyushu who is supposed to have said: 'Yes, but one day he'll lord it over entire provinces, that one.'"

Oda Kanjuro Nobukatsu was known as Oda Nobuyuki. Others at the funeral who were not mentioned, but probably there were Nobunaga' mother Dota Gozen and his wife Nohime. Nobunaga behavior was nothing new and one must remember that he rejected traditional authority because he was the boss. His free thinking attitude would become one of his greatest assets. The pictures were taken last July and a trip to Banshoji Temple is highly recommended for those who are interested in Nobunaga or Sengoku history.

Tenka no tame!

Nohime Drama

It is finally about time Nobunaga's lovely wife Nohime (Kicho) will have her own drama. Asahi TV will broadcast the drama later next month. Arisa Mizuki will play the role of Nohime and Yu Shirota the role of Nobunaga. Here is the link: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/nouhime/

If you want to know my opinion which actress was the best in the Nohime role, that would be Kyoko Kagawa. She played the role of Nohime in the late 1950s and was superb. Beautiful, young, lady-like, and strong.

The picture is a statue of Nohime at the grounds of Kiyosu Castle. There is a kimono worn by Kikuchi Momoko who played the role of Nohime in the Nobunaga Taiga drama. here is some information on Nohime from Tadashi Ehara's Daimyo of 1867 (p .283) " At their wedding Nobunaga described her as having 'the mind of a genius and the appearance of a goddess,'..."

Nobunaga no tame!

Tenka no tame!

Nohime no tame!

Signore Part VI

I have not posted anything on The Signore (Azuchi Okanki Japanese title) in a long time. This post will describe Nobunaga's physical appearance. It does have some of Luis Frois's written account on Nobunaga, but it also has the opinion of another as well.

Kunio Tsuji (pp. 34-35, 47)

"Father Frois reached the far end of the room and wheeled around to face us, talking incessantly. The Owari Signore was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years of age; he was tall, bony, and agile; his face was narrow and pale, he was clean-shaven. His voice was resonant, his pronunciation clear and precise. He wore his sword day and night, and always kept a lance close at hand. He was an enthusiastic horseman. his manner was harsh and his retainers trembled at his every word, yet he was extremely just by nature and could be moved by the least show of affection. He had almost no interest whatsoever in the opinions of others, seeming to have an almost religious faith in his own ideas and judgments. He was forever full of new schemes, but was far from being kind of man who, having once lighted on an idea, refuses forever after it. He would in fact discard former principles and opinions without a qualm--even those once regarded as gospel--and did so, indeed, with such regularity that those around him were sometimes inclined to think to think him merely capricious. Frois maintained, however, that if only one recognized the consistent personality underlying them, one could accept even these bewildering changes. The Signore's most trusted retainers, such as Lord Hashiba, had found favor precisely because they were able to comprehend this aspect of his temperament.

Directly after we had taken our seats, the sliding doors before us parted and a tall man entered surrounded by retainers. We knew without introduction that this was the Signore of Owari. He was very much as Father Frois had described him: the face long and quite pale and the features firm. His eyes were piercing, and his right brow twitched in a most disturbing fashion almost the whole time we were in his presence. Once inside the room, he made a sign to the attendants, who withdrew instantly, almost as if the wave of his arm had been a sorcerer's gesture and they had simply vanished into thin air."

Nobunaga was the tallest of the three unifiers at around 5'8''. He was also the most good-looking and attractive as well. I have mentioned this many times, he was not a man bound by tradition and did his way. He could care less about others think about him or his policies. He kept his captains on their toes and scared the living bee-jesus of his enemies. One of his most important qualities was that he was a self-made man.

Nobunaga no tame!

Jaike

I have translated this passage from the Shincho-Ko ki a long time ago and last year was able to visit the place. This story sounds good and a great opportunity for a River Monsters special.

Gyuichi (Elisonas/Lamers) The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (pp. 96-97).

"In the middle decade of the First Month, a man called Matazaemon, a native of Fukutoku Hamlet in Ajiki Village, was walking along the embankment on a rainy evening. All of a sudden he saw a black thing, of a girth about as thick as one man could barely embrace, which rested with its trunk on the embankment while moving its head little by little across the dike toward the pond. The thing lifted its head when it heard Matazaemon approaching. Its head resembled that of a deer, and the eyes shone as bright as stars. When it stuck out its deep red tongue, it looked like an opened hand. The sight of the thing's glistening eyes and tongue scared the life out of Matazaemon. His hair stood on end, and fled to whence he came, running all the way from Hira to Onogi, where he had been staying. As Matazaemon told others about what he had seen, the story spread until it reached the ears of Lord Kazusa no Suke and

In the last decade of the First Month Nobunaga summoned this Matazaemon to interrogate him personally. Having heard what Matazaemon had to say, he issued orders to start draining the pond the next day in order to dredge up the serpent. The farmers of Hira Hamlet, Onogi Village, Takeda Five Hamlets, Ajiki Village, and Ajima Village were told to bring spades, hoes, and buckets for scooping water. On Nobunaga instructions, they lined up several hundred buckets, enclosed the Amagaike on all four sides, and scooped water for almost four hours. But once they had bailed out third of its contents out of the pond, the water level stayed the same, no matter how many more bucketfuls they took away. At this juncture, Nobunaga decided to go in the water and look for the snake himself. Clenching a dagger between his teeth, he plunged into the pond. After a while he emerged again, but he had seen absolutely nothing that looked like a serpent. Nobunaga told a man called Uzaemon, an experienced swimmer, to have a look under water as well. Uzaemon followed Nobunaga into the pond, but again nothing whatsoever was found. Nobunaga therefore went back to Kiyosu."

Tenka no tame!

Matsudaira KIA

Photo: Fort Marune

On the eve of the Battle of Okehazama, Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) attacked Fort Marune. The commander of Fort Marune, Sakuma Morishige was killed in action. The assault was successful, but the Matsudaira did suffer some casualties as well.

First source will look is Owada Tetsuo's Okehazama no Tatakai. On pages 206-207 Owada listed seven main samurai who were KIA.

Matsudaira Settsu no Kami Korenobu

Matsudaira Kozuke no Suke Masatada

Matsudaira Kiheiji Munetsugu

Matsudaira Chikamochi

Matsudaira Gorobei Tadayoshi

Kato Jingorobei Kagehide

Saigo Toshikatsu

Kuwata Tadachika's Okehazama*Anegawa no Eki has all the seven listed above as well (pp. 183-191). However, Kuwata has four others listed as KIA that are not included in Owada's book.

Ebara Magosaburo

Matsudaira Denichiro Shigetoshi

Kouriki Shinkuro Shigemasa

Kakei Matazo Masahisa

Owada did state on page 109 that the Sankouki list Kouriki Shigemasa and Kakei Masahisa as KIA. Also Owada has a list of those who participated in the Fort Marune siege (118-120). One name that did stand was Ebara Magosaburo (p. 120). According to Kuwata, Ebara was KIA.

Nobunaga no tame!

Atsumori at Ikoma Mansion?

Photo of Nobunaga singing and dancing to "Atsumori" at Kiyosu Castle

During the last summer I bought Kanshi ni Araszu: Nobunaga wo Sukutta Otoko by Hattori Tooru. The book is about Nobunaga and his adviser Hirate Masahide. What caught my attention was the pages dedicated to Atsumori (pp. 153-171). Hattori claimed that Nobunaga's finest hour was not at Kiyosu Castle, but Ikoma Mansion. Hattori (p. 166) "Nobunaga tabitabi [Atsumori] wo utai, matta bashou ga aru. Sore wa Ikoma yashiki de atta." So before departing for the battlefield against Imagawa Yoshimoto (defeating Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama), Ikoma mansion was the starting point. Personally I do not believe it. That being said, it might have been possible. David D. Neilson's thesis Society at War provides some clues.

Nobunaga held a dance party before the battle. Neilson (p. 71) "The party was not to be held at Kiyosu Castle, but at the Ikoma Mansion." Why? Nobunaga's concubine Kitsuno lived there as well as his children. Normally, a warlord would bring his concubine to his headquarters. Not Nobunaga, since he was not the conventional Sengoku warlord. Neilson (p. 17) "Nobunaga though is noted for flaunting convention and not doing what was expected of him. He was the daimyo. He was not beholden to anyone to behave in a certain way or to act in any way other than that which he wanted." Nobunaga often would spend time fishing or visiting Kitsuno at Ikoma. It was routine. If Nobunaga was defeated and killed, Ikoma provided a better chance to escape for Kitsuno if she stayed at Kiyosu Castle.

These examples are only clues. One reason why I do not believe that Nobunaga performed "Atsumori" at Ikoma Mansion was the war council at Kiyosu. Nobunaga was there at the war council practically giving his staff he was not up to the fight. It was late at night when he dismissed his retainers. Was it possible that Nobunaga left for Ikoma as well? Possible, but highly doubtful. It is all based on speculation in my opinion. In the end, Nobunaga stayed at Kiyosu Castle and performed "Atsumori" there on the eve of his greatest triumph.

Tenka no tame!

Happy 2012

Happy New Year and as always we celebrate the way Nobunaga did in 1574. The lacquered skulls of Asakura Yoshikage, Azai Hisamasa, and Azai Nagamasa sure created a still at Gifu Castle in 1574. David D. Neilson's thesis Society at War explains Nobunaga's way of scaring the living hell out of people was effective. Neilson (pp. 305-306)

"Supposedly Nobunaga had his generals drink from the cups and then forced his wife who came from the Asai family to drink from the skull of her brother. While the taking of heads is nothing unusual, after they are presented to one's commander for reward for service in battle, they are usually given proper services and buried. The decoration of skulls in this manner does have some precedent in Chinese history and that may be where Nobunaga got the initial idea from. Still, the display of skulls as objects of art to be admired was probably a shock to many of those present. Probably that is precisely the effect that Nobunaga was hoping for; to make an impression on those present that he was not going to be bound by convention and the rules as previously understood, did not apply to him. He would go to any length to achieve unification and the creation of a unified and peaceful country justified whatever means he chose to employ. Doing the unexpected, the shocking, or outrageous was one of Nobunaga's favored strategies as it kept even his closest vassals off balance and unsure as to what he might do or how he might react. While on one hand, such acts did create an atmosphere of fear even among his top vassals; they also kept everyone on their toes and on their best behavior."

The Rules of Engagement did not apply to Nobunaga and he did scare the Bee-Jesus of his enemies and his vassals. One must remember that the sword was mightier than then pen in Sengoku Japan. For Nobunaga: It was my way or the highway!

Nobunaga no tame!

Tenka no tame!