Toyotomi Kyodai Honnoji

 Here is the upcoming Toyotomi Kyodai Honnoji episode. It looks good, but the best Honnoji scene is from the movie The Legend & Butterfly with Takuya Kimura as Nobunaga. As for reading material in English Brandon C. Schindwolf's Toki wa Ima is highly recommended. As for Akechi Mitsuhide, he was nothing more than a disgruntled employee in my opinion.

Nobunaga no tame!

Nobunaga and Nohime Tanabata

 Today is Tanabata Day and here is a card that celebrates it the Nobunaga way. Nobunaga's name is on the right and Nohime's name is on the left. Gifu Castle is written in the middle.

At the moment, I am rereading Fumio Watanabe's Okehazama Kassen no Shinso. It is a great book with a different opinion regarding to the Battle of Okehazama. I plan to write a full report in the near future.

Tenka no tame!

Nobunaga's Turning Point

 Here is an interesting video short by historian Kaku Kozo. He explains Nobunaga's turning point was his defeat at the Battle of Kanegasaki 1570. Nobunaga was lucky to escape. The betrayal of Azai Nagamasa shook Nobunaga in my opinion. While the Azakura were strong enough to hold their Echizen domain, they were never a threat to become a national power. The Azai on the other hand, controlled Omi and that was the gateway to Kyoto. It was a matter of time that Nobunaga battled it out with the Azai and Asakura at Anegawa 1570. Nobunaga did have help from Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was only a couple of years later Ieyasu's turning point happened at the Battle of Mikatagahara against the Takeda.

I have visited the Anegawa battlefield, but it was decades ago.

As for the Battle of Kanegasaki, see The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (pp. 142-43) Anegawa (pp. 147-48).

Nobunaga no tame!

2026 Nobunaga Gion Matsuri Post

 As always, I will post Nobunaga's participation in the Gion Matsuri. He seemed to loved festivals in general. One must remember Nobunaga and Nohime enjoyed the Tsushima Tenno Matsuri decades earlier. The photo above is from the 1870s. Nobunaga's participation was in 1578.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga (p. 286) " Tiger, Sixth Month, 14th day: Nobunaga watched the Gion Festival. He had told his horse guards and pages that there was no need for bows, spears, halberds, or other hand weapons, so they carried none. After viewing the festival, he gave leave to his live guards and went hawking straight away with about ten pages."

Nobunaga no tame!

Kura no Kata

 Kura no Kata was Nobunaga's older sister. Unfortunately, little is known about her. Her birth and death date is unknown. Kura no Kata's mother is also unknown. However, she did marry Ohashi Shigenaga who was from the Owari Tsushima area. Shigenaga served under Oda Nobuhide and Nobunaga. He passed away in 1565. The couple did have children. 

For more information see Okada Masahito Oda Nobunaga Sogo Jiten pp. 147-148.

Nishigaya Yasuhiro Kosho Oda Nobunaga Jiten p. 249

Tenka no tame!

Ungoji

Ryuhozan Ungoji is the family temple of the Hattori family. Located in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture it is a ten minute walk from Meitetsu Tsushima Station. Also Tsushima Shrine is close as well. Ungoji is supposedly founded by Hattori Iga no Kami Munezumi in 1429. The Shrine itself is part of the Soto sect of Buddhism. What makes this temple special is Hattori Koheita. He was the first man to attempt to kill Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama 1560. It is his family temple. Tsushima City has quite a few landmarks related to Nobunaga and the Oda family as well.

Nobunaga no tame!

Kaku Kozo Okehazama Art

 Here is another brilliant video by historian Kaku Kozo and artist Mami Nakamura. This time the video showcase art from a primary school student regarding the Battle of Okehazama. When the two discuss and breakdown the painting, you will see Nobunaga on his horse leading the way to victory, Yoshimoto still inside his lacquered palanquin, Hattori Koheita and Mori Shinsuke in action, and near the top righthand corner Fort Washizu and Marune being burned. For a primary school student, the artwork is colorful and highly detailed. Also Mami Nakamura also explains her Nohime Kigan no tsuzumi portrait as well. A short video, but highly informative.

Tenka no tame!