New Year Cards

 In Gifu, you can aquire New Year's greeting cards to send to family and friends.  According to the poster, Nobunaga, Nohime (kicho), Saito Dosan, and Mitsuhide are available.  I would sure like to have some of them for my Nobunaga/Sengoku library.

Nobunaga no tame!

2020 Awards

 It is that time of year again where I award those who are great in the subject of Nobunaga.  This year however it is a bit different.  2020 has been rough.  Two of my trips to Japan has been cancelled/postponed due to the Wuflu.  Also the start of the was rough when Mr. Okehazama (Wataru Kanjino) passed away.  That being said, there was some good things which I will explain below.

Historian of the year: Wataru Kajino (Posthumous)

This was an easy decision. Mr. Okehazama was a local historian who devoted his life to the Batlle of Okehazama after WW2.  He was opened minded and always made you think.  He did except opposing views if one can back it up with facts and logical thinking.  He was not in the mold of the national historians who had big egos. Two books on Okehazama from a local perspective stand out.  I have both.  Jimoto no Koro ga Kataru Okehazama Kassen Shimatsuki and Shinsetsu Okehazama Kassen. 

There will be no book of the year nor movie of the year.  Kirin ga kuru did not make it due to postponement and the actor of who portrays Nobunaga.  That being said, Owada Tetsuo wins the vlog (video blog) by a mile. His short videos on the Sengoku Era is easy to understand and interesting at the same time.  They are educational and he seems to use maps or books to make his point.  The videos are not long, short enough to consume the needed information.  The video above is about the Battle of Okehazama regarding troops and rice production in the domains of the Oda and Imagawa.  It is refreshing to see someone breaking down key events during the Sengoku Era.

Tenka no tame!

Brief Saito Dosan Video

 I do not know if I posted this video before, but this is a brief video on Nobunaga's father-in-law Saito Dosan.  It is not bad.  The video gives a short history about Dosan and his rise to power. If one has read my epilogue in The Viper and the Fool, you will understand why I went tge traditional route instead of the new fashionable one.  There are reasons for it.  For example, the Rokkaku sent an army for help Nobunaga during the Battle of Okehazama.  Nobunaga won and Saito Yoshitatsu knew Nobunaga was going to attack Mino soon.  So he had to make a deal with the Rokkaku.  Since Yoshitatsu was the senior partner in their relationship, the chances were high that he wanted to erase his father's legacy.

Also two key points were made near the end of the video.  One, the alliance between the Saito and Oda completed Dosan's grip on Mino along with the ouster the Toki family.  Second, is the old tale about Nohime being born.  The tale about baby vipers ripping apart their mother's womb when being born.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga and Tokichiro Painting

 Here is a painting of Nobunaga and Tokichiro (Hideyoshi).  The painting can be viewed at the Hideyoshi/Kiyomasa Museum located in Nagoya. This painting shows Tokichiro early days as a servant to Nobunaga. Tokichiro spent some time in Totomi Province during the early 1550s, he then returned to Owari and started to serve under Nobunaga around 1558. He also knew the Men of the Fields (Hachisuka Koroku and Maeno Shoemon) extremely well.  This relationship between Tokichiro and the Men of the Fields proved critical during the Battle of Okehazama.

Tenka no tame!

Brief Okehazama Video

 Here is a brief video on the Battle of Okehazama by two people.  The video is about 14 minutes long and it just does enough to explain the viewer the basics.  The two gentlemen points out the numbers of both Oda and Imagawa armies as well as the forts and castles. Also the two mentions the rain and the way Nobunaga attacked.  To this day and to the end of time, the debate will continue if Nobunaga's attack on Yoshimoto was a simple frontal one or surprise attack.  I have stated many times and back it up with my own military experience that Nobunaga used some form of a surprise attack. The two explained explained the viewer that Yoshimoto did not use any guns during the battle.  Here is a simple answer to that question, due to the heavy rain, the guns were useless and were stuck in the mud.

To end the video, the two mentioned the result of the battle created Nobunaga's rise to power, the decline of the Imagawa, Matsudaira Motoyasu's (Tokugawa Ieyasu) independence as well as freeing some of the families in the Totomi area such as the Ii.

Nobunaga no tame!

Pearl Harbor and Okehazama

 Today is the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Believe it or not, Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Okehazama has a relationship with each other.  Right before the Japanese attacked, it was known that Admiral Yamamoto mentioned it in their diaries.  Paul Varley in Oda Nobunaga, Guns, and Early Modern Warfare in Japan (p. 114), "Thus, in the days before Pearl Harbor in 1941, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943) and many other Japanese military leaders referred  to Okehazama  in their letters and diaries as they planned their surprise attack on the United States.  For them, Okehazama was a synonym for a sudden,  unannounced attack."

Nobunaga did the same at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 killing Imagawa Yoshimoto.

As for Pearl Harbor, Gordon W. Prange's At Dawn We Slept is the best book on the subject.  Tora! Tora! Tora! is the best movie and probably accurate.

Tenka no tame!

Sengoku Lifestyle and Foods

 Here is a good video on daily life during the Sengoku Era.  The five minute mark and after is key.  It covers the food and seasoning that people ate during the time of Nobunaga.  Miso, salt, and vinegar was used a lot.  Around the six minute mark or so, the video mentions that Nobunaga had a taste for strong foods.  I have covered this subject when I started blogging many years ago.  One must remember that Nobunaga almost put a chef to death since the food was not prepared to his liking.  Narezushi is mentioned in the video and it is important.  Narezushi was prepared to preserve fermented fish by using salt and raw rice. Also simple foods such as yuzuke (okayu) was mentioned in the video.  Okayu is hot water poured on top of rice.  It was well known that right before Nobunaga left for the front during the Battle of Okehazama, he had a couple of helpings of yuzuke/okayu.  

I highly recommend this video and the person who does these videos does an excellent job explaining others about Nobunaga and others during the Sengoku Era.

Nobunaga no tame!

Okehazama Drama In Jeopardy?

 From what I am hearing from secondary sources is that the Fuji TV Okehazama drama is in jeopardy.  Filming has been stop long ago due to the Wuhan Flu and Ebizo Ichikawa is back on the Kabuki stage.  Other actors and actresses have found new work in other dramas or films.  It is not officially canceled yet, but it does not look good overall.  I am upset about it since I was looking forward to seeing it.  Again, it is not canceled as of now, but the situation does not look good in the long term.  As a historian of the Battle of Okehazama, it breaks my heart.

Tenka no tame!

Nohime Documentary Video

 Here is a nice documentary on Nobunaga's wife Nohime (1535-1612).

Key points:

Marriage to Toki Yorizumi before she married Nobunaga.

Marriage to Nobunaga, Doson explaining to Nohime about Nobunaga's behavior and use of the dagger.

Nohime as a spy for Dosan.

The meeting between Dosan and Nobunaga.

Battles such as Muraki, Nagarahara, and Okehazama.

Luis Frois writing about Nohime's room at Gifu Castle.

Sengoku women's duties at the castle.

Theories about here death.

During the video, Owada Tetsuo makes several appearances explaining his views and opinions about Nohime and Nobunaga.  It is nicely done and highly recommend.

Nobunaga no tame!