New Nobunaga statue in Gifu

Next Friday i plan to take a photo of the new Nobunaga statue located in the Gifu Station area.

Here is the link: http://www.chunichi.co.jp/s/article/2009092601000298.html

I think it would be appropriate to have a statue of Saito Dosan in the Gifu area as well.


Tenka no tame!

Anjo Castle

Anjo Castle ruins located in Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture

In 1540, Oda Nobuhide attacked Anjo castle which was held by the Matsudaira family. the lord of Anjo Castle during the time of the siege was Anjo Nagaie. According to Okada Masahito's Oda Nobunaga Sogo Jiten, Nobuhide led the attack with 3,000 troops and had some allied help from Mizuno Tadamasa.

The attack was successful and Anjo Nagaie was killed along with fifty others. Nobuhide then placed his son, Oda Nobuhiro as the new lord of Anjo. Nobuhiro held the castle until 1549. That year, the Imagawa led by Taigen Suufu attacked the castle and Nobuhiro was captured. Negotiations started between the Oda and the Imagawa and hostages were exchanged.

Oda Nobuhide exchanged a young boy named Takechiyo for his son Nobuhiro. Takechiyo would later be known as Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu would in the hands of the Imagawa until Nobunaga killed Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560.

Reference: Okada Masahito, Oda Nobunaga Sogo Jiten, pp. 306-7.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga/Sengoku Books

I found this link recently and thought it was important to post. You can order various Nobunaga or Sengoku books through Amazon Japan.

http://astore.amazon.co.jp/sengokuwalker-22

This link is awesome since it contains rich resources on Nobunaga or anything related to the Sengoku Era. I plan to buy some of the Nobunaga books while in Japan next month.

Tenka no tame!

Okehazama Comic

Okehazama Senki vol. 2 by Miyashita Hideki is out and the art work is stunning. I do own a few comics related to Nobunaga and the Sengoku Era. However, I bought the first two volumes of the series this year.

Sengoku Era comics can be a mixed blessing and this one is no different. The author is trying to explain the Imagawa and Oda histories before the real fun begins. To tell you the truth, this series will be long in my opinion and can be shorten in my opinion.

If there is anything that was accurate on this volume was the fact that Nobunaga loved Kitsuno. It was true. Nohime is nowhere to be found yet in the story. I do not know why and left me thinking. Then again, this Miyashita's work, not mine.

The art work is so well done that I will continue to buy and read this series. Miyashita does have a story to tell and looking forward to reading it.



Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga, Nagoya, and Tourism

Nobunaga has stolen the show again! I think he is the only man who can promote Sengoku tourism in Aichi Prefecture. Nobunaga riding on his horse in fully glory with a hot babe Nohime.

http://ameblo.jp/samuraicountry/theme-10009144658.html

I would like to thank Dohaland of Samurai Country for posting this up on her blog. Also I plan to get my hands on it when in Japan. Give your opinion on the guide book.


Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga Summit III

Here is another link that has a story about the Nobunaga Summit at Komaki.

http://ameblo.jp/mikawa-hide/theme-10011577575.html

Again, I wish I was there. If anybody did attend the Nobunaga Summit, please share your thoughts.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga Summit at Komaki Part II

Samurai Country was at the Nobunaga Summit at Komaki. I wish and probably would have met some great people who study Nobunaga.

Here is the link:

http://ameblo.jp/samuraicountry/theme-10006324140.html

I would like to know how long the Nobunaga bento would be on sale. My first full day in Japan will be the second of October and would like to get my hands on the bento. Speaking of my trip, I will spend time around the Okehazama area, Gifu City, and Kyoto.



Tenka no tame!

Shincho-Ko ki link

I found this Shincho-Ko ki link on the net. It should and would be useful for any scholar of Oda Nobunaga. The link is on the link page.


Here is the link:

http://home.att.ne.jp/sky/kakiti/shisaku.html


Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga Zen

This is awesome. A Nobunaga bento. Check the samurai country link date 9/4/2009.

http://ameblo.jp/samuraicountry/

My friend Dohaland from samurai country has some great stuff on Nobunaga time to time. The question is, will the Nobunaga Zen still be sold where I arrive in Japan in October?


Tenka no tame!

Book Review

Title: Okehazama no Shinjutsu
Author: Ota Mitsuaki
Publisher: Best Shinsho
Pages: 198
Year: 2007

I have just recently read Okehazama no Shinjutsu and have to admit this book could have been better. There has been a lot revision of Sengoku history of late and Mr. Ota tries to revise the Battle of Okehazama to his own liking. I think Mr. Ota had good intentions, but failed to realize what made this battle special.

Mr. Ota first falls into the "Owari no utsuke" right off the bat. Calling Nobunga a coward puts him in the hot seat. He fails to see Nobunaga's genius and I do not know if he did it on purpose or not. I presume by accident. The author also fails to explain Imagawa Yoshimoto's family history. Once you know Yoshimoto's history, you know why Kyoto was the objective.

The author also left out many sources that would have made the book better. Two in mind: Okehazma Kassenki and Imagawa Yoshimoto by Owada Tetsuo. What stunned me was that this book has so many secondary sources and very few primary sources. Owada Tetsuo's version was written on mostly primary sources and the bibliography was much smaller. To tell you the truth, Owada's version book on the Okehazama is the gold standard at the moment.

The author mentions that there was no surprise attack all. However, he fails to put himself into Nobunaga's or Yoshimoto's shoes. I presume by accident. Again, the author uses secondary sources as his backbone for the book. I do not know why. The same for the number of troops in the battle and he leaves out the Ii family in his work as well. There is so much wrong with this book I could list many reasons why.

With that being said; however, there were some positives. He breaks down both sides economically which I thought was refreshing. The author goes into detail on Sakuma Morishige's death, Okabe Motonobu, and Hachitsuka Goroku. Again, I was pleased even though did not agree with the author.

This book could have been better with some careful use of more primary sources. I would like the author to put himself in the Battle of Okehazama scenario. If Mr. Ota did that, he would have understand the battle a bit more.

With all the mishaps with this book, I still recommend it since it is important to understand all sides. Sure, I did not agree with the author on much, but the book made me think. There will be many books on Okehazama within the next year or so due to the 450th anniversary of the battle. I plan to update mine after the party is over.


Nobunaga no tame!