Origins Of Gifu I

Gifu's origins were from China.  I wrote a post about two years ago explaining why Nobunaga chose to rename Inoguchi to Gifu in 1567.  Perfect for Gifu's 450th anniversary.

Link: http://otsuke.blogspot.com/2015/09/origins-of-gifu.html

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga Golf

Nobunaga golf?  Well, the 2017 Japan Open will be held at the Gifu Seki Country Club in October.  From the logo above, yes, it is Nobunaga golf.  Enjoy.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga Painting at Daitokuji

If anyone is in the Kyoto area in the next couple of weeks, they are in a real treat.  At Daitokuji Temple, there will a display of a painting of Nobunaga.  Starts on September 16th and ends on October 15th.

Link: https://t.co/VIDZLwqYMb

Tenka no tame!

Mitsuhide Letter II

I have some more opinions on the recent Mitsuhide letter and why he wanted to work with the disposed  Ashikaga shogun Yoshiaki.  Just before the Honnoji Rebellion, Mitsuhide was a man who has serious doubts on what course of action to take.  Mitsuhide was probably a man with low self-confidence, a big mistake.  If you want to be the supreme ruler of Japan, confidence is a must.  While Mitsuhide was a decent Oda captain, he did not have the charisma or skills that Nobunaga had to be one man show.  So in Mitsuhide's mind, he probably needed Yoshiaki (who still had the Ashikaga name and title) to rule through since he did not have the leadership he needed.

There is reasons why Nobunaga was successful.  He had self-confidence, leadership, and charisma.

Nobunaga no tame!

Mitsuhide Letter I

Continuing with the Mitsuhide letter with an English article.

Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170912/p2a/00m/0na/009000c

Tenka no tame!

Mitsuhide Letter

There is recently a discovered letter written by Akechi Mitsuhide to Tsuchihashi Shigeharu who was in opposition of Nobunaga in Kii not long after the Honnoji Rebellion.  The letter states that Mitsuhide understands that former Ashikaga shogun Yoshiaki will be in Kyoto and one of the reasons why he rebelled against Nobunaga was to restore Yoshiaki to his proper place.  Also Mitsuhide knew he would battle it out against Hideyoshi and seemed to be at ease.  I find that hard to believe since after Nobunaga was killed, Mitsuhide's mindset was one of what to do next.  He waited and made no military decisions, which cost him his life.  Also he underestimated Hideyoshi's diplomatic skills which he made a quick deal with the Mori.

As for Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he was a feeble, cruel, and evil man.  Nobunaga wrote him a letter stating that even the peasants call you the evil shogun.  Nobunaga had the chance to kill Yoshiaki, but decided it was not in the best interests.  He was quoted as saying,"Let future generations be my judge."  After Yoshiaki was banished in 1573, the high and low called Yoshiaki, the "Beggar shogun."

Link: https://t.co/PgpQh89v4B

Nobunaga no tame!

Letter by Hosokawa Fujitaka I

I have some more information about the letter by Hosokawa Fujitaka.  It seems that Fujitaka wrote the letter in 1572 to Toji Temple (located in Kyoto).  He was given permission by Nobunaga to collect rice for emergency storage (from the Shoryuji Castle fief), but informs the temple that the rice will not collect it from part of the land. One reason why it was a request from Akechi Mitsuhide.

Tenka no tame!

Letter by Hosokawa Fujitaka

There is a recent discovery of late about a letter written by Hosokawa Fujitaka (1534-1610) which mentions Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide.  Fujitaka was the lord of Shoryuji Castle at the time.  Nobunaga's army attacked the castle in 1568 and handed it over to Fujitaka.  One can see Nobunaga's name written on the letter third column on the right.

https://t.co/nW2pQfMNtU

Nobunaga no tame!

2017 Gifu Nobunaga Matsuri

The 2017 Gifu Nobunaga Matsuri has been set and will be held on October 7/8.  Actor Fujioka Hiroshi will be the grand marshall of the Nobunaga parade.  He played the role of Nobunaga in the Taiga drama Onna Taikoki.  This year's festival is extremely special since it is the 450th anniversary of the founding of Gifu by Nobunaga.

Tenka no tame!