Azuchi Castle Video

Azuchi Castle is in the news again and for a good reason.  There is a beautiful computer graphic video on Azuchi at the Azuchi Museum.  The video is 15 minutes long and houses between 30 to 40 people.
Here is the link:http://t.co/hIlGgnzLkT

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga Clock

Here is a great video on the Nobunaga Clock located at Banshoji Temple in Nagoya.

https://youtu.be/SsZew0ekjGI

One of my favorites and well worth to watch.  Enjoy!

Nobunaga no tame!

Komaki Link

My friend from the Nagoya area Seishiro Mizuno wrote an article on Komaki Castle.

http://ow.ly/KIrZ7

The article continues to focus on the recent discovery on Nobunaga's use of stone at Komaki.  As I said before, Komaki was a dry run for Azuchi.  Even I am still amazed how much stone Nobunaga used to construct Komaki Castle.

Tenka no tame!

2015 Azuchi Festival

The 2015 Azuchi Nobunaga Festival will be held on June 7th at Azuchi Town.  There will be a Sengoku military parade,  markets, and the entrance to the Azuchi Castle ruins will be free of charge.

http://www.qkamura.or.jp/en/news/detail.asp?id=119

Nobunaga no tame!

Okehazama Lecture

There will be several lectures by Seishiro Mizuno on the Battle of Okehazama starting in April of this year.  The lectures will be held through September.  Lectures will be held on every second Wednesday from 7-8:30 pm.

http://www.maimode.co.jp/kouza/kyouyou/nobunaga.html
http://okehazama.jp/

This should be a fun and interesting lecture on the Battle of Okehazama.  For those who live in the Nagoya area, this will be a real treat.

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga Suit

There is a place in Aichi Prefecture that makes a Nobunaga suit.  Yes, I kid you not.  It is true.  A Nobunaga designer suit is in production using local fabrics.  It has the Tenka Fubu seal and Eiroku Tsuhou coins as buttons.  The prices are expensive.  They even make a Nobunaga cloak!
https://faavo.jp/aichi/project/517

Nobunaga no tame!

Muraki and Nagoya I

Last month while in Japan, I bought Shiba Hiroyuki's book Owari Odashi.  On page 248, it mentions that Ando Morinari stationed his troops near Nagoya at Shiga and Tabata during the Battle of Muraki (1554).  Key points to Nobunaga's victory at Muraki:

• Use of firearms.
• Support from his father-in-law Saito Dosan of Mino.
• Nobunaga's daring crossing of the sea.
• Nobunaga's leadership during the Battle of Muraki.

Tenka no tame!

Muraki and Nagoya

During the Battle of Muraki (1554), Oda Nobunaga requested help from his father-in-law, Saito Dosan of Mino.  Dosan sent one of the Mino Big Three, Ando Morinari to help Nobunaga protect Nagoya Castle.  Morinari along with 1,000 soldiers were sent to protect Nagoya.  According, to Obata Tazo's, Shogi*Okehazama no Tatakai, Morinari's soldiers were placed north of Nagoya at Shiga and Tabata (p.82).  This is the first time I have seen this.  Could it be true?  Probably, since both places were not far from Nagoya Castle.  Nobunaga ended up winning the Battle of Muraki due to his leadership and firearms. Six years later, Nobunaga shook the world with his stunning victory at the Battle of Okehazama.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga no Tegami

While I was in Japan last month doing more research on the Battle of Okehazama, I had the opportunity to watch a television program "Nobunaga no Tegami."  If anything that I have learned from the program was that Nobunaga probably did not write all of his letters.  His yuuhitsu/secretary did the actual writing, while Nobunaga wrote his signature and stamped his Tenka Fubu seal on the letter.  For example, the 17 Points that Nobunaga wrote to Ashikaga Shogun Yoshiaki in 1573 was most likely done by his secretary.  As for the very personal letters, I presume Nobunaga wrote himself.

What also caught my attention is how difficult it is to read brush writing.  Scholars have to use huge complicated dictionaries to figure out which is the correct kana or kanji written.  A time consuming task indeed.

Tenka no tame!

2015 Okehazama Festival

The 2015 Arimatsu Okehazama Festival will be held on May 17th.  I will be there and expected to participate in the festival in one way or another.  There will be an armor parade, history talk, and other things related to the Battle of Okehazazma.

http://okehazama.net/

Nobunaga no tame!