Tejikarao Jinja

In 1567, Nobunaga was on the brink on his quest to capture Mino. However, while in Kakamigahara his army was forced to stop at Tejikarao Shrine due to unsettling heavy fog. Nobunaga felt uneasy and prayed at the shrine. He hung his bow at a cherry tree known as Yumikakezakura. After the prayer, the fog lifted and it was not long after that Nobunaga conquered Mino, kicked out the Saito, and renamed the area Gifu. After his conquest of Mino, Nobunaga contributed to the repair and the restoration of Tejikarao Shrine.

Tenka no tame!

Nanban Mochi

 

Earlier today I found an interesting article on Nobunaga and sweets. According to the Asahi Shimbun, there was a rare cake called Nanban Mochi. This particular sweet was mention in the Shokuchu Sanyojo, an income and expenditure document from the Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. In 1574, Nobunaga held horse races at Kamigamo Shrine.

"Nanban mochi: several hundred pieces."

Ingredients listed in the article: wheat flour, brown sugar, and kudzu starch. It was mixed with water, kneaded, and steamed. A pack of four sells for 800 yen. Hopefully, the shrine will still be selling them when I arrive next month.

As for the Kamigamo Shrine horse race, I wrote a blog post about the topic earlier this year.

Http://asahi.com/ajw/articles/16190027

Nobunaga no tame!

2025 Awards

 

The 2025 Awards are here!

Book of the year: Tenyuu wa Nobunaga ni ari. This fictional novel written by Iwamuro Shinobu is fantastic. While the book is fiction, it contains a lot of historical information  than your usual non-fiction written material. Highly recommend it and a must read.

Historian of the year: Touken  This award is a tad different from the usual historian awards. Touken is an armor, weapons, and woodblock print museum located in Nagoya. That being said, you can spend hours here learning about samurai armor, swords, spears, bows, and guns. It is one of my favorite museums in Japan.

Blog posts of the year: There are two of them: Atsuta Public Off-limits Notice (translated in English) and Kiyosu Minoji. Atsuta Public Off-limits Notice Nobunaga's first document as Fujiwara Nobunaga. Kiyosu Minoji, the road that Nobunaga depart from Kiyosu Castle in the early hours of The Battle of Okehazama. 

Movie of the year: Ran  Without a doubt, Ran is probably the best Sengoku Era movie ever made. The reason why it is the movie of the year is due to the unfortunate death of actor Tatsuya Nakadai. 

Tenka no tame!

Myth Busted

 

Http://www.kunitomo-teppo.jp/

Here is a great video on myth about samurai and guns. This gentleman destroyed it in a short video. As always, from the Nobunaga point of view. One must remember at a young age in 1549, he ordered 500 matchlock rifles from Kunitomo (located in Omi Province). A great book to read about guns and the Sengoku Era, Tanegashima by Olof Lindin is highly recommended. Also a link to the Kunitomo Gun Museum is posted above.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga by Stevie T

 Yesterday while scrolling through Amazon, I found this. Stevie T has done it again. Turnbull will have an English book on Oda Nobunaga. I do not think his take on Nobunaga will be any comparable to The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (Shincho-ko ki) or Japonius Tyrannus. Those two books are essential for the Nobunaga scholar. In my opinion, his book on Nobunaga will be for the average Joe who is looking for the basics. For example, his book on Hideyoshi just gave the basics with further readings. He did include Mary Elizabeth's Hideyoshi in his further readings. I wonder what references Turnbull will use for Nobunaga since there is a lot more English published works out.

From what I understand, the book will be about 148 pages in length and will be available in late January 2026. His book will cover Okehazama, Anegawa, and Nagashino as well as other battles. If there is one thing looking forward to is the artwork and prints. Turnbull does well with that. The question is will I buy it? Yes I will. I have issues with Stevie T, but I have read much books in English and Japanese on Nobunaga. As a historian, I have to read as much as I can. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Tenka no tame!

Jissoji

 Jissoji Temple established in 1271 is the family temple of the Kira family. Located in Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture, this temple unfortunately became trigger for the Battle of Okehazama. Just two weeks (May 5th, 1560) before Okehazama, Nobunaga and his army burned many buildings at Jissoji. Japanese sources include: Okazaki Ryoshukoki and Choya Kyubunhoko. 

Nobunaga no tame!