Nobody Was Spared

During the time of Nobunaga, Sengoku warfare was just brutal.  Bloodshed was king and the losers were often slaughtered.  The quote above says it all.  In a time of constant chaos and warfare someone had to be strong enough and brutal enough to unite the country.  Nobunaga was that man.  The holocaust of Mt. Hiei was a prime example of Nobunaga's brutality, but in the end it was worth it and peace came to the surrounding area.

Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (pp. 165-66)

"The 12th of the Ninth Month, he invested Mount Hiei.  Surging round in swarms, his troops,in a flash set fire to a multitude of holy Buddhas, sacred shrines, monks' quarters, and sutra scrolls; they spared nothing. from the Konponchudo and the Twenty-One Sanno Shrines on down.  How miserable it was to see it all reduced to ashes and scorched earth!  At the foot of the mountain, men and women, young and old ran about panic-stricken. In feverish haste, barefooted, they all fled up Mount Hachioji, seeking refuge in the shrines there.  Soldiers shouting battle cries advanced up the mountain from all sides.  one by one they cut off the heads of priests and laymen, children, wise men, and holy men alike.  they presented the heads to Lord Nobunaga, saying 'Here is an exalted prelate, a princely abbot, a learned doctor, all the men of renown at the top of Mt. Hiei.'  Moreover, they captured countless beautiful women and boys, and led them before Nobunaga.  "We don't care about the evil monks,' they shrieked, 'but spare us!'  Nobunaga, however absolutely refused to reprieve them.  One by one, they had their heads chopped off, a scene horrible to behold.  Thousands of corpses lay scattered about like so many little sticks, a pitiful end."

Nobunaga even burned down the surrounding forts Nakae and Yanagashima in the Delta in 1574 and burned it down killing 20,000 plus.  The strongman rises to the top while the weak is killed off.

Tenka no tame!

Wakakihi no Nobunaga Review

Wakakihi no Nobunaga

Released in 1959 (Black and White)
Director: Kazuo Mori
Nobunaga: Ichikawa Raizo Yayoi: Kindaichi Atsuko

http://www.kabuki21.com/wakaki.php

After several years of trying to find Ichikawa Raizo's take on Nobunaga, I have finally was able to see it myself.  To tell you the truth, I was disappointed in this film in general.  The link above gives you the whole story of the film.  This film has nothing to do with Saito Dosan nor Nohime.  It focuses on the Yamaguchi and Nobunaga's hostage Yayoi.  As for Raizo's role, he makes it worth to watch.  His performance of Nobunaga is above average.  As for Raizo's performance of Atsumori, I enjoyed it and it is one of the better ones I have seen in awhile.  Nakamuea Kinnosuke's Fuunji Oda Nobunaga is much better and more dramatic.  That film too, was released in 1959.

Nobunaga no tame!

Azuchi 7th Floor

Ota Gyuichi does have some written material on Azuchi Castle.  The Azuchi Castle Museum does have a replica of the 6th and 7th floors.

Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, p. 257.

"The seventh, top story is 3 ken [6.36m] square.  Inside the room all is gold.  The outside, too, is gold.  On the inside pillars to the four sides dragons ascend and descend; on the ceiling are angels in their earthly manifestations.  Inside the room are portrayed the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns, the Ten Accomplished Disciples of Confucius, the Four Wise Men of Shang Shan, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.  The number of angle braces and their pendent wind bells is 12.

The aperture shutters are of iron.  There are more than sixty of them, and they are all lacquered black.  The outside and inside pillars of the sitting rooms are generally varnished with black lacquer applied on linen and the top of that lacquered black."

Tenka no tame!

Nohime's Room

While I was in Gifu Castle Park in the early spring, I found many new landmarks.  One of them was the location of the room of Nobunaga's wife Nohime.  It was on the second floor of the mansion.  From the picture above, the computer graphic replica of her room is gorgeous.  The Portuguese missionary Luis Frois did describe her room.

They Came to Japan An Anthology of European Reports on Japan 1543-1640.  Michael Cooper, p. 133.

"The first floor contains the apartments and chambers of the queen and her ladies-in-waiting, and these rooms are even finer than those on the ground floor.  All of them are hung with brocade tapestries, and there are many balconies, some overlooking the city, others facing the open country with all the music and beauty of birds that you could desire in Japan."

Nobunaga no tame!