Komeno and Owaki

Komeno and Owaki Castle were allies of Hayashi Hidesada, and in 1556, they joined to fight Nobunaga at the Battle of Ino.

Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, p. 77.

"A day or two later, the Hayashi opened hostilities against Nobunaga.  Their auxiliaries in Arako Castle joined the enemy and cut off communications between Atsuta and Kiyosu.  Auxiliaries of the Hayashi also held castles of Komeno and Owaki, which lay between Kiyosu and Nagoya.  They too, joined the ranks of the enemy."

A few years ago, I was able to visit the Komeno and Owaki landmarks.  Owaki picture is on the left, while Komeno is on the right.  Choshoji Temple is where Komeno Castle was located.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga's advantage over the Honganji

Nobunaga had some important advantages over the Ishiyama Honganji.  Here are a few.

• Kennyo Kosa did not have the stomach for a massive all out war against Nobunaga.  Sure, he could not stand Nobunaga, but knew he would lose against him.  The longer the war against Nobunaga, more painful it was.  So at times, he was interested in peace gains, even under less favorable conditions.  A huge advantage for Nobunaga.
• Kennyo Kosa was more likely to obey Imperial or shogunal orders.  Nobunaga did too, but only to his advantage.  Once Nobunaga banished Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki in 1573, Nobunaga had more control over his rivals.
• The Ishiyama Honganji did not have a powerful field marshal on their side.  Sure, Kosa had the aid of the Asakura and the Azai at times, but they did not fight under the Honganji flag.  Nobunaga on the other hand, delegated Sakuma Nobumori to fight the Honganji.  A huge advantage since Nobunaga sent his other captains to fight on several fronts.
• The Asakura in Echizen and the Uesugi in Echigo were preoccupied with controlling the monto in their own domain.  They had little time to engage with Nobunaga and kept them at bay.
• The monto were not powerful in Owari nor Mino.  Had Nobunaga been plagued by Ikko uprisings in his early years, unifying would have been extremely difficult.

Tenka no tame!

Happy 2019

Happy 2019 everyone!

From the The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 278), people paid their respects to Nobunaga at Azuchi in 1578.

"On the first day of the First Month, everyone who was anybody in the Home Provinces and in Wakasa, Echizen, Owari, Mino, Omi, Ise, and the neighboring provinces came to Azuchi.  They all presented themselves before Nobunaga and paid their respects to him."

I will be back in Japan in May doing work as a tour guide at the Okehazama battlefield.  Also I plan to write more on McMullin's thesis and young Nobunaga.

Nobunaga no tame!  Tenka no tame!

2018 Awards

2018 is about to come to an end, and that means awards time.  My pick for the 2018 Nobunaga award is Neil McMullin's thesis Oda Nobunaga and the Buddhist Institutions.  Neil's paper is a gold mine covering Nobunaga's war with the Ishiyama Honganji.  What I came away with the paper is that Kennyo Kosa did not have the stomach for a prolong war against Nobunaga.  If he can make a deal for peace, he would do it.  He also would likely obey an Imperial decree.  Nobunaga would only obey if it was to his advantage.  I plan to write more on Neil's work next year.

My new book The Viper and the Fool, (E-Book only) is finally published and can be bought on Amazon Kindle.  The novel covers Saito Dosan's conflict with Oda Nobuhide, the meeting with Nobunaga in 1553, Battle of Muraki, Battle of Nagaragawa, and the birth of Gifu.

Tenka no tame!

2019 Nobunaga Forum

The 2019 Nobunaga Forum will be held on January 20th at Juroku Plaza in Gifu.  These Nobunaga Forums are interesting and educating and I have been to a couple of them.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga's Yashiki Found?

There is news from Komaki that Nobunaga's yashiki or mansion was found at Komaki Castle.  If the discovery is true, this is great news in general relating to Nobunaga and Komaki Castle.

Article: https://www.asahi.com/sp/articles/ASLCG2V5NLCGOBJB001.html

Tenka no tame!

Sumo at Jorakuji

Nobunaga often held sumo bouts at Azuchi's Jorakuji.  He held one early in 1570 and it was recorded in Ota Gyuichi's Shincho-Ko ki.

Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 139)

"On the 3rd of the Third Month, Nobunaga summoned sumo wrestlers from throughout Omi Province and watched them compete in Jorakuji.  The participants were

Shika of the Hyakusaiji, Kojika of the Hyakusaiji, Taito, Seigon Nagamitsu, Miyai Ganzaemon, Taishin of the Kawaraji, Hashi Kozo, Fukao Matajiro, Namazue Mataichiro, and Aoji Yoemon.

In addition to these countless other wrestlers with good skills flocked to Jorakuji, all of them thinking to outdo the others.  The referee was Kinose Zoshun'an.
Nobunaga summoned before him two wrestlers who had won the most bouts, Namazue Mataichiro and Aoiji Yoemon, and gave each of them a sword and a dagger with gold-encrusted sheaths.  From this day onward they were admitted to Nobunaga's vassal band and were appointed sumo commissioners, the ultimate of honors for both men.  The skilful and attractive sumo put on display by Fukao Matajiro on this occasion caught Nobunaga's eye, so he gave Fukao a present of some clothes--a happy event for Fukao."


Nobunaga no tame!