Kiyosu Castle

In the early spring of 1555, Nobunaga finally took over Kiyosu Castle, the jewel of Owari.  This was key since it was a major step in unifying Owari. He had some help with his uncle Oda Nobumitsu.  However, Nobumitsu did not live long after as he was assassinated by on of his retainers, Sakai Magohachiro.

Passage from the Shincho-Ko ki (The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga) Elisonas and Lamers, pp. 74-75

"In Kiyosu Castle resided the deputy military governor (shugodai) of Owari, whose name was Oda Hikogoro [Nobutomo].  Saki Daizen, a major land owner, was his assistant deputy governor (koshugodai).

Now that Kiyosu's other leading figures--Sakai Jinsuke, Kawajiri Sama no Jo, and Oda Sanmi--had been killed in battle, Daizen could not hold the castle against Nobunaga on his own.  He therefore begged Lord Magosaburo for help, in return offering him the joint occupancy of the deputy governorship with Lord Hikogoro.  A deal was made.  In compliance with Daizen's wishes, Lord Magosaburo sent him an elaborate written oath that there would be no double-dealing.
Accordingly,
On the 19th of the Forth Month, [Tenbun 23 (1554)], Lord Oda Magosaburo of Moriyama moved to the southern watchtower of Kiyosu Castle.  On surface, all seemed to be as it should, but in fact Lord Magosaburo had made a secret compact with Nobunaga to play into Kiyosu's hands.  In return, Nobunaga pledged covertly to partition Owari's lower four districts, more or less along the line of the Odai River, and share them with Lord Magosaburo.  This Lord Magosaburo was Nobunaga's uncle.  The lower half of Owari Province was divided into two parts called "west of the river" and "east of the river," consisting of two districts each.  So two districts would go to the nephew and the other two turned over to the uncle.  That was their deal.

On the 20th of the Forth Month, an ambush was prepared.  Should Sakai Daizen come to the southern tower to pay hos repects to Magosaburo, he was to be killed by men who lay in wait.  Daizen indeed came to the castle, but he sensed something dreadful in the air and immediately took to his heels, not stopping until he reached Suruga Province, where he asked Imagawa Yoshimoto for asylum. Magosaburo, however, forced the deputy military governor, Lord Oda Hikogoro, to commit hara-kiri, seized control of Kiyosu, handed it over to Kazusa no Suke Nobunaga, and moved to Nagoya Castle himself."

As mentioned above, Nobunaga's uncle Nobumitsu, did not live long after this event.  Once he was assassinated, Nobunaga handed Nagoya Castle to his elder retainer Hayashi Hidesada.  One has to remember that betrayal was very common during the Sengoku Era in a land where bloodshed was king.

Tenka no tame!

Nagoya Golden Nobunaga

There is a new Nobunaga statue in Nagoya area located at Entonji.  It is actually not that bad and I like it.  The photo shows the Uesama in armor with a matchlock rifle.  The only thing the statue is missing is  a sword.  There are also a Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and believe or not Mito Komon statues as well.  However, the Golden Nobunaga always wins out!

Nobunaga no tame!

The Signore Part VII

I have not written anything on Kunio Tsuji's The Signore in a long time.  Today this paragraph describes very accurately that Nobunaga hardly drank any sake unless it was for ceremonial purposes.  Instead, it was his vassals that got drunk.  As always, we are are reminded that he was a self-made man from Owari.

The Signore, p. 35

"He permitted his generals to drink their sake, and looked the other way when, according to the custom of the land, they forced cups upon one another until they were all dead drunk.  But the Signore himself had never been a heavy drinker.  He seemed wholly free of vanity and dressed in the simplest manner.  In fact, he seemed to care little for what others thought of him or his opinions.  He was, in short, supremely self-confident in all matters."

Tenka no tame!

Komaki Castle

In 1563, Nobunaga moved his headquarters to Komaki from Kiyosu.  Nobunaga's stay at Komaki was brief, fours years, but it might give us some clues on what he did later: Azuchi Castle!  Komaki Castle might have been a blueprint for Azuchi Castle. 2013 is the 450th anniversary of the construction of Komaki Castle.  It is not the best, but it has improved the past few years.  I did visit the castle back in 2000 and my experience was not that great.  However, I do plan to make a return visit later this year.  The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga has a passage on Komaki Castle.  (Elisonas/Lamers, pp. 109-110)

"Kazusa no Suke Nobunaga came up with a marvelous ploy.  Kiyosu, which lay in the very center of Owari Province, was a prosperous place.  One day Nobunaga summoned all of his closest retainers and took them up Mount Ninomiya, a high peek surrounded by other mountains.  'I will order a fortress to be constructed on this mountain,' he announced.  'Everybody shall move his residence here.'  He went about assigning plots of land to his vassals.  'Build on this ridge!' he said to one.  'Build in that valley!' he told another.  That same day, he returned to Kiyosu.  Later he went the mountain once more, and at length he drove home his message.  his retainers, whether high- or low-ranking, were not a little unhappy about the orders to leave their Kiyosu homes for the deep mountains; indeed, they were distraught.  At this juncture, Nobunaga issued new orders-to relocate to Mount Komaki.  A waterway extended to its foot, making Komaki a convenient place for transporting household goods and other possessions.  All as one gladly moved there.  Had Nobunaga ordered the move to Komaki from the beginning, his men would have been distressed as they were at the prospect of Ninomiya."

Nobunaga no tame!

Ieyasu at Atsuta

Young Tokugawa Ieyasu (was known as Takechiyo) spent a couple of years at Atsuta as a hostage of the Oda.  The landmark is just south of Atsuta Shrine and I highly recommend that one should visit the both the shrine and the landmark (Located in the heart of the city of Nagoya).

http://nagoyatabi.ncvb.or.jp/en/kankouroute/route08/index.html

Jeroen Lamers Japonius Tyrannus has some words on this as well.  Lamers (p. 46)

"The four-year old was captured by a party of the Toda family en route to Sunpu, who delivered Takechiyo not to Imagawa Yoshimoto in Suruga, but  to Oda Nobuhide in Owari.  Takechiyo spent the next two years at Atsuta in Owari as a hostage of the Oda family."

Tenka no tame!

Random News II

There is more news on the archaeological work being done at Gifu Castle Park.  Here is the Japanese link with photos: http://www.nobunaga-kyokan.jp/blog/archives/2013/08/post_122.html

Nobunaga no tame!

Azuchi Video

There is a decent video on Azuchi Castle, the house that Nobunaga built, and it is in Japanese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSb46oOCoo4

The video has an excellent reproduction and explanation of all the castle floors.  There is a lot of maps and diagrams of the castle as well.  Azuchi Castle historian Naito Akira, who wrote the book Fukugen Azuchijo, makes an appearance and gives some details on the castle.  The video also show some tile, the stone walls, and nails that were used.  I highly recommend a trip to the Azuchi Castle ruins since you will get a feeling on what the castle might have been.  Also there is a movie on the construction of Azuchi Castle called Katen no Shiro starring Nishida Toshiyuki.

Tenka no tame!