Nobunaga podcast

The SA (Samurai Archives) have finally composed a podcast on Oda Nobunaga. The podcast is a general analysis on Nobunaga's wars and his career. In my opinion, it is not that bad and highly recommended it to everyone. I certainly enjoyed the podcast.

Here is the link: http://bit.ly/i4k1hr

Nobunaga no tame!

Sandal Bearer

This is a story about young Hideyoshi serving Nobunaga as a sandal bearer. Shogun and Samurai: Tales of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. By Okanaya Shigezane and translated by Andrew and Yoshiko Dykstra (pp. 67-68).

"On September first og 1558 when Nobunaga was hawking, Hideyoshi came by, and begged to be hired as a sandal-bearer. Still young, Nobunaga nightly visited women. For such private rendezvous, Nobunaga took along only his footgear men. Since Hideyoshi wanted to keep the job longer, he asked the supervisor of the footgear men, 'I want to learn everything, so I would like to accompany our lord on night duty.' The supervisor agreed, and allowed Hideyoshi to take charge of the night duty. The wondering Nobunaga asked the supervisor, 'I see the same young man nightly. Is that because the older ones are neglecting their duties?' The supervisor explained, 'No, sir. He volunteered for the job himself.'

On one snowy night when Nobunaga was to leave to leave a woman's place, and began to put his wooden clogs, he felt they were warm. 'You must have been sitting on them. What a rude rascal!' Scolding him, Nobunaga hit Hideyoshi with his stick. 'No sir. I did not sit on them,' Hideyoshi contradicted him. The angry Nobunaga continued, 'Don't lie to me. I will punish you!' Then a woman came out, and interceded for Hideyoshi who was still excusing himself, 'I did not sit on them, sir.'

Nobunaga insisted, 'Then why are these clogs so warm?' Hideyoshi explained, 'Since it's a cold night, I thought your feet might be cold. So I have warmed your clogs by putting them on my back under my kimono.' 'Show me proof!' Hideyoshi took off his kimono, and showed his back which was clearly marked by the clog thongs. The impressed Nobunaga immediately promoted Hideyoshi to supervisor of the footgear attendants."

Tenka no tame!

The Unthinkable

In 1579, Tokugawa Ieyasu did the unthinkable. He ordered his wife Tsukiyama-dono (she was known to selfish and wicked) and son Nobuyasu to death. In modern times, nobody in their right mind would kill their wife and son. Ieyasu had to made a decision, it was his family or the Tokugawa house. The last thing Ieyasu wanted was a fragmented Tokugawa house, so he had to do the unthinkable. He had no other choice since Nobunaga carried the whip in the Oda/Tokugawa Alliance. Elisonas and Lamers did a great job explaining and it is one of the best so far.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 38)

"In 1579 Tokugawa Ieyasu's son and heir Nobuyasu and his mother Tsukiyama Gozen, Ieyasu's wife were denounced to Nobunaga for atrocious conduct and treasonous activities. Nobunaga demanded that Ieyasu put them to death; Ieyasu complied, forcing Nobuyasu to commit hari-kiri and having Lady Tsukiyama executed. According to a frequently repeated story, none other than Nobuyasu's wife, Nobunaga's daughter Gotoku, wrote her father the letter that incriminated her husband and mother-in-law. The author of this story, Okubo Hikozaemon reported that on hearing Nobunaga's verdict condemning his son, Ieyasu reacted with the words: 'It is something that cannot be helped. I bear Nobunaga no rancor.... As long as I am locked in conflict with a great enemy [Takeda Katsuyori] and depend on Nobunaga to back me up, I cannot very well defy Nobunaga. It cannot be helped.' In other words, Ieyasu had concerns that transcended his parental instincts; the survival of the house of Tokugawa was at stake.

Ieyasu is universally described as Nobunaga's ally. Yet the willingness to accept an intolerable demand without protest is a characteristic not of the ally but of the subordinate. If a special relationship existed between these two, it was skewed in favor of Nobunaga, who retained the whip hand."

Nobunaga no tame!