Nobunaga Blog

There is another Nobunaga blog out there on the net and it is not bad at all.  http://uesama-dango.blogspot.com/  I read this blog time to time to see if I can can anything out of it.  However, it is not an academic blog, so you might not find key papers or books on this particular blog.  That being said, I enjoy reading the Uesama Dango for pleasure.

Regarding to the Battle of Okehazama novel and research, I found a lot of interesting new data of late which I plan to post soon.  As for the novel, I just finished adding the character list.

Tenka no tame!

Gifu Castle News II

According the Nobunaga Kyokan blog, archaeological work near the Gifu Castle grounds has started up again.  The archaeological work is being done near the ropeway.  http://www.nobunaga-kyokan.jp/blog/  Please see the 8/11/2014 post for more information and pictures.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga Omotenashi II

The Gifu Nobunaga Omotenashi Kaiseki Sengoku Cuisine gets even better.  I found a video on the Asashi Shinbum link a day ago.  The article includes a minute video showing the cooking director, Mr. Yasuo Mori discussing the menu.  The food looks delicious for sure!

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASG8F3QQ7G8FOHGB002.html

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga Omotenashi I

The Nobunaga Omotenashi cuisine is back in the news again.  Here are two pictures of the delicious food that Nobunaga might ate during his time in Gifu.  I wrote my first post on this subject in June: http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2014/06/nobunaga-omotenashi.html

Here is a link from the Asahi Shinbum: http://www.asahi.com/articles/photo/AS20140821000978.html

Nobunaga no tame!

Okehazama NHK Documentary I

I found a link to the NHK Okehazama documentary that was aired in July 2007.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrdUP0oEzic  I have my own personal copy that I received a couple of years ago.  The reason why I added this link is the Randori (chaos taking) that is mentioned in the Koyo Gunkan.  Around the eight minute mark or so, the Koyo Gunkan Randori is mentioned.  I have doubts that there was a randori during the Battle of Okehazama.  That being said, I am glad the documentary aired all view points.

Fujimoto Masayuki's Okehazama*Nobunaga no Kishu Shinwa Wa Uso Datta, mentions this documentary on p. 107.  Again, read and decide for yourself.  I wrote a post on the Okehazama documentary last year: http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2013/07/okehazama-nhk-documentary.html  I suggest one should take the opportunity the see the documentary while they can.  Yes, it is in Japanese.  However, the host Matsudaira Sadatomo speaks softly and easy to understand.

Tenka no tame!

Sengoku Cuisine

It is well known that Nobunaga loved strong country flavored foods.  He was known to eat foods that was brought by the Europeans.  For example, bananas, onions, and maybe even corn.  I found a link earlier this week that focuses on Sengoku cuisine.  http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?452907-Food-during-the-Sengoku-Era  The link is interesting and I suggest one should do their own research after reading it.  There is a book by the name of Nobunaga no gohan Ryouma no obento that goes into detail on eating habits of famous Japanese people.

Nobunaga no tame!

Honnoji Magazine

Rekishi Kaido magazine's newest issue deals with the Honnoji Rebellion.  Articles are contributed by Owada Tetsuo, Kirino Sakujin, and Domon Fuyuji.  I have several issues of Rekishi Kaido dealing with Nobunaga regarding Okehazama, Nagashino, Azuchi Castle, and the Araki Murashige crisis.  I highly recommend to read this issue on the Honnoji.  Speaking of the Honnoji, Brandon Schindewolf's Toki wa Ima is the best academic paper on the Honnoji Rebellion in English.

Tenka no tame!

Eguchi Yosuke

Eguchi Yosuke has played the role of Nobunaga in the 2014 Taiga drama Kuroda Kanbei.  After watching him perform, he has been top notch.  He has been the best actor since Takashi Sorimachi to play Nobunaga.  It has been a blessing.  This year's Taiga drama in the early stages goes through some of the situations regarding the Mouri and the Ishiyama Honganji in Ozaka.  There is one other person who appeared quite often in this year's drama, Araki Murashige.  Nobunaga's former vassal who betrayed him and he paid the price.  Not with his life, but his wife Dashi's.

Araki Murashige is a classic example of a samurai misbehaving badly, very badly.  Murashige flees Arioka Castle for Amagasaki taking with him a concubine by the name of Akoko, his tea utensils, and a hand drum.  His wife Dashi on the other hand, is put to death near the banks of the Rokujo in Kyoto along with other Araki family members.

David D. Neilson's paper Society at War: Eyewitness Accounts of Sixteenth Century Japan goes into great detail of the Araki crisis. The Shincho-Ko ki and Jeroen Lamers, Japonius Tyrannus is highly recommended for further reading on the Araki.  Also the samurai archives has a podcast on this as well.
http://samuraipodcast.com/ep06-samurai-behaving-badly-disloyalty

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga and Onion

Nobunaga was known to try foods that Europeans brought over to Japan.  He might have been the first Japanese to eat an onion.  http://www.asagei.com/25356  Jesuit missionary Luis Frois brought an onion to Azuchi Castle.  The onion was prepared with rice.  The onion might have arrived much later in 1770, in Nagasaki.  What the case maybe, Nobunaga might have had a sample of this famous vegetable.

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga and Mikawa

The past month or so I have been thinking about Nobunaga and Mikawa.  Could he have had Mikawa all to himself after the Battle of Okehazama?  The answer is highly possible if he wanted to.  The Matsudaira family was not in good shape before they allied themselves with the Imagawa and after Okehazama.  Nobunaga's father Nobuhide had some success against the Matsudaira in 1540s and taking a chunk of Mikawa.  All this while Owari was not fully unified.  The Matsudaira finally pushed back until they had help from the Imagawa.  The situation changed for the worse when Ieyasu's father was murdered in 1549.  The Matsudaira house was at its weakest.

An earlier post on Oda Nobuhide and Mikawa.  http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2014/07/nobuhide-and-mikawa.html

After the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga had success against the Matsudaira.  He attacked Umegatsubo and Yakusa Castles with a victory.  Young Ieyasu had to be horrified about the situation.  The Matsudaira house and Mikawa Province was not even close to being unified.  To make matters even worse, if Nobunaga launched a full scale attack on Mikawa, Ieyasu knew full well he would not receive outside support.  In fact, I believe Nobunaga would have easily taken Mikawa.  However, it did not happen because Nobunaga and Ieyasu made peace and created one of the more successful alliances in Sengoku history.  Besides Nobunaga giving away his daughter to the Tokugawa made him the senior partner between the two houses, I believe his military and economic strength made a huge difference as well.

Nobunaga no tame!