Komaki and Azuchi New

Komaki Castle is in the news again and for a good reason.  There is more archaeological evidence that Komaki Castle was a dry run for Azuchi.  Nobunaga built Komaki Castle in 1563 and construction on Azuchi started in 1576.  The pictures above are related to Komaki.

Mr. Seishiro Mizuno Okehazama blog has a post on this subject: http://okehazama.jp/blog/?p=967

Tenka no tame!

Nagoya and the Big Three

The past weekend, I received a special gift from the Kajino family.  A book on Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu and their relationship with Nagoya.  There are lots of woodblock prints, artifacts, armor, weapons, and letters.  Since my specialty is the Battle of Okehazama, there are few maps, wooden statues, prints on the battle.  There are two pages of the Owarimeisho Shozuezenpen prints on Okehazama.  There is even one print on Oda Nobuhide on page five.

I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of any of the big three.  The book is useful for research and it would be a nice add to any historians library.  At the end of the book, there is a simple paragraph in English on Nagoya and the big three.

Nobunaga no tame!

2014 Awards: Nohime

2014 was a good year for Nobunaga's lovely wife Nohime (1535-1612).  An English novel, a bus in Gifu, and a couple of dramas on the Viper of Mino's daughter.  There is still a lot mysteries on this woman from Mino.  Nohime had various names such as Lady Sagiyama (born at Sagiyama Castle in Mino), Kicho, and Azuchi-dono.  Good looking and a mind like a genius, she provided Nobunaga the support he needed to conquer Japan.  Kyoko Kagawa has played my favorite Nohime so far.  She starred in the 1959 Nobunaga movie as Nobunaga wife.

http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2014/10/kicho-review.html
http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2012/02/nohime-drama.html

Nohime no tame!

Kondo Kageharu's Grave

This is the grave of Kondo Kageharu, who was the lord of Kutsukake Castle in Owari.  Kondo Kageharu (?-1560) was the ninth lord of Kutsukake Castle and served under the Imagawa during the Battle of Okehazama.  Kageharu was killed right after Imagawa Yoshimoto's defeat at the Battle of Okehazama.  Nobunaga then granted Yanada Masatsuna Kutsukake Castle for his merits at Okehazama.  The grave is located not far from the Kutsukake Castle ruins in Aichi Prefecture.

Tenka no tame!

Documents Found I

When Nobunaga's Tenka Fubu seal (Rule the Empire by Military Force) was created in 1567, there were two seal stamps that were used.  One was red and other was black.  Both colors had different meanings.  The red Tenka Fubu seal was more illustrious and was used for formal public documents.  On the other hand, the black Tenka Fubu seal was less formal and was used for private correspondence.  For example, the black Tenka Fubu seal was used in the recent document that was found in Kobe written to Nobunaga's captains Kuki Yoshitaka.  Another example for the red was an office public notice written to Toji Temple (located in Kyoto) in 1568.

Nobunaga no tame!

Documents Found

Documents have been found recently in Japan regarding to Nobunaga and Hideyoshi.  Nobunaga wrote a letter to one of his captains, Kuki Yoshitaka expressing his gratitude.  The document has the black Tenka Fubu seal stamped.  The documents are being planned to be displayed to the public in the near future.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201412090039

Tenka no tame!

Tradition Broken

A 400 year plus tradition was broken recently in the Oda family.  Mr. Oda Nobutaka, the 18th head of the Oda clan did not name his sons "Nobu."  He was quoted as saying, "People easily detect I have the Oda bloodline because of the name.  I hated it."  Here is the link to the article: http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/9473172/

Kind of sad to see tradition go away, but I know "Nobu" will be used again in the near future.

Nobunaga no tame!

Okehazama News

There is some recent news on the Battle of Okehazama 1560.  The news is related to people want to travel to the battlefield from Atsuta Shrine.  Both Arimatsu and Toyoake battlefields are mentioned, but Arimatsu grabs the headlines with the Oda Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto statues.

http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/domestic/news/20141205/dms1412050830011-n1.htm

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga Drama

This Sunday in Japan, BS-TBS will air the 1989 movie/drama Oda Nobunaga starring Ken Watanabe.
http://www.bs-tbs.co.jp/drama/DRT1302500/

Tenka no tame!

Shobata?

Shobata Castle is in the news again.  This time however, there is strong evidence that Nobunaga was born at Shobata Castle.  According to the Owari Shussei Zamurai Oboe Gaki (Information Regarding the Samurai of Owari), Nobunaga was born at Shobata Castle.  The document was recently discovered a few years ago and so far historians have seen it as a credible source.  That being said, I still think Nobunaga was born at Nagoya Castle.

To be fair, if Nobunaga was born at Shobata Castle, he did not stay there very long.  One must remember that Shobata was near the Mino border.  The most likely scenario: Nobunaga was born at Shobata and was quickly taken to Nagoya for safety reasons.  Oda Nobuhide's retainers who heard the news of Nobunaga's birth was at or near Nagoya Castle and probably thought the baby was born at Nagoya.

Nobunaga no tame!

Kamatogi

Photo of the Kamatogi Pass.

During the Battle of Okehazama, the chances are high that Nobunaga and his army passed through Kamatogi just before crossing the Tegoe River after leaving Fort Nakajima.  I found this to be very interesting.  I did not know about this until late last year.  Last year, I received a book Okehazama Kosen Konko (The Study of the Old Battle of Okehazama) by Obata Tazo.  The book has several maps and old pictures related to the Battle of Okehazama.  As for the maps, it includes historians Taniguchi Katsuhiro, Owada Tetsuo, Fujimoto Masayuki, and writer Karino Kakujin.  Of course, it includes maps from Mr. Okehazama (Wataru Kajino) and his father Magosaku's opinion on which route Nobunaga took to the Okehazama battlefield.

Tenka no tame!