2023 Okehazama Interview

 Merry Christmas everyone! Earlier this year, I had an interview with the local paper in the Okehazama Battlefield area. The article in Japanese explains my love of Nobunaga and my Okehazama novel. At the moment I am reviewing articles and papers related to Nobunaga's early years, Okehazama, and Sunomata. 

Nobunaga no tame!

2023 Awards

 Here are the 2023 Awards. This year's list is only two. That being said, they are high quality.

Movie of the Year: The Legend & Butterfly starring Takuya Kimura and Ayase Haruka. I was able to watch the movie earlier this year while in Japan. It was a good movie, even though it was three hours long. The acting was good as well as the costume and design. I did like the movie had two endings. One of the better Nobunaga movies in a long time.

Book of the Year: Wakaki Nobunaga Shirarezaru Hansei by Seishiro Mizuno. I bought this book earlier this year while in Japan. Glad I did. This book covers most or all the landmarks related to Nobunaga in the Owari domain as well as The Battle of Okehazama. Extremely useful and much more compact. It must be said that Seishiro Mizuno is a good friend of mine and I have collaborated with him on the Battle of Okehazama. Sure, we have differences, but that is okay. It is needed to understand the Battle of Okehazama better. There is even a few landmarks related to Gifu as well as museum listings.

Tenka no tame!

Balanced Video

 Here is a nice video show both the Arimatsu and Toyoake City Battlefields. More importantly, it is balanced. The video discusses the key point on which battlefield is correct. Here is the answer, both are. Now video states that the Imagawa soldiers fleeing to Kutsukake Castle were killed off near the Toyoake City Battlefield. Again, the Imagawa soldiers who were trying to flee to Odaka Castle were killed off near the Arimatsu Okehazama Battlefield. This makes sense. This is my view as well.

Nobunaga no tame!

End of Nagashima Campaign

 In 1574, Nobunaga put an end to the Nagashima confederates. It was a slaughterhouse. It had to be. Here is a small passage from The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 216).

"Meanwhile, Nobunaga encircled the forts at Nakae and Yamagashima with multiple fences, cooping up the twenty thousand men and women remaining there. He gave orders to set fire to those enclosures on all four sides and been everyone inside. Having dealt with the confederates as he pleasesd, on the 29th of the Ninth Month he returned to Gifu from his campaign."

Tenka no tame!

Baptism of Fire Video

 Here is a video on Nobunaga's first baptism of fire. It took place in 1547 in Mikawa. The landmark picture above is new and is located at Tsushima/Heiwa Shrine. To get there, it is a 10 minute walk from Hekinan Chuo Station (Meitetsu Mikawa Line). It seems that Nobunaga encountered the army of Osada Shigemoto, an ally of the Imagawa.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 55)

"The next year, [Tenbun 16 (1547)], Oda Saburo Nobunaga went on his first military campaign, accompanied by Hirate Nakazukasa no Jo. For this occasion, Nobunaga was attired in a red-striped head cover (zukin) and half-coat (haori); his horse was fitted with armor. Nobunaga led his troops toward Kira and Ohama in Mikawa Province, where a Suruga force was stationed. After setting fires Here and there, he had a field camp pitched for the day. The next day he returned to Nagoya from his expedition."

Nobunaga no tame!

Paying Respect

 

Here is another short passage from The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 303) This takes place in 1578.

"The evening of the first day of the Twelfth Month, according to a scheme contrived by Hachisuka Hikoemon (Masakatsu), these two came to Nobunaga's camp at Koyano to pay their respects. Nobdid not disguise his satisfaction. He sent Abe and Shibayama on their way home full of gratitude for his gift of two  hundred  pieces of gold."

Tenka no tame!