During the eve of the Battle of Okehazama 1560, Nobunaga and his retainers held a war council at Kiyosu Castle. The atmosphere was tense and his retainers wanted answers now, not later on how to deal with the Imagawa invasion. Others have suggested to Nobunaga that aid can received. However, Nobunaga knew he had no allies. He knew he had to go all alone. I go much in detail in the second edition of the Okehazama book.
Then Nobunaga acted as if was not worried at all. His retainers were in shock. This was a crisis and now death seems certain. He continued to play mind games with his council and they were still in complete shock. Nobunaga continued to shout, harass, and continued to be the Owari no Utsuke. He finally told his council to go home since he was tired and wanted some rest. One man, Hayashi Hidesada, was hurt. Nobunaga mocked him and called him an old man. What Hayashi did not know was that Nobunaga had a plan right from the start. Surprise attack when ready.
The Paul Varley article on page 114, he mentioned that Nobunaga was concerned about Imagawa spies. A logical answer. If there were Imagawa spies, Nobunaga made sure that he played the "fool" well to trick them. It worked if that was the case.
What I am trying to say is that Nobunaga knew all along something different had to be done. The old ways could not work anymore. He knew his retainers would disagree. So Nobunaga had to act as a fool to get his way. The Imagawa spies sure bought it if they were present.
The real fools were his retainers and his enemies who did know his pure genius. The next day Nobunaga proved his worth at the Battle of Okehazama. I go into detail much more in the second edition.
May 11/12 is usually Nobunaga's birthday.
Happy Birthday Nobunaga! You can eat all the kaki and mochi you want today!
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