Mr. Okehazama

Me, Wataru, and Akitsugu Kajino at the Battle of Okehazama Research Center.

I was able to return to Japan this month and was lucky enough to meet Mr. Okehazama (Wataru Kajino). Wataru has probably wrote the best book on the Battle of Okehazama from a local perspective, Jimoto no Karo ga Kataru Okehazama Kassen Shimatsuki. Many thanks to Yukio and Akitsugu Kajino for setting up the meeting.

We all met at the Battle of Okehazama Research Center and quickly the conversation started. Topics included key points of the battle (Yanada Masatsuna's intelligence, rain, and the Arimatsu and Toyoake battlefields). Wataru mentioned one of the key aspects of the historian-be opened minded. We both agreed that both battlefields should be visited and both versions of Nobunaga's biography (Ota Gyuichi and Oze Hoan) should be read and discussed. Even though we both agreed that Ota Gyuichi's is the basic text. Also the role of the Men of the Fields was included in the conversation.

We spent the entire day visiting areas related to the battle and discovered that Wataru has left his mark on on several Okehazama landmarks. This man has spent the past twenty years or more making sure that Nobunaga's greatest triumph-the Battle of Okehazama lives on. While we were at Chofukuji Temple, I mentioned that Wataru Kajino should be called Mr. Okehazama. We all laughed and Yukio Kajino summed it up best, "You are right about that!"

I learned a lot on that day and thank Yukio, Akitsugu, and Wataru for taking their time to share their love for the Battle of Okehazama.

Tenka no tame!