SUBJECT FILE NO. SA-0001
BUSHI ARCHIVE
Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
Warlord & Unifier of Japan
SECTION I -- SUBJECT PROFILE
| Name | Oda Nobunaga |
|---|---|
| English | Oda Nobunaga |
| Origin | Japan |
| Lifespan | 1534–1582 |
| Gender | Male |
| Century | 16th C. |
| Clan / Role | Daimyo |
| Title | Warlord & Unifier of Japan |
SECTION II -- OVERVIEW
Born in 1534 in Owari Province as the son of the modest warlord Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga grew up as the so-called 'Fool of Owari' for his eccentric behavior.In 1560 at the Battle of Okehazama he routed Imagawa Yoshimoto's vastly larger army during a thunderstorm, instantly becoming a feared name.
He marched on Kyoto in 1568, crushed the militant Buddhist stronghold of Mount Hiei, and at Nagashino in 1575 deployed three thousand matchlock arquebusiers behind palisades to shatter the legendary Takeda cavalry — revolutionizing Japanese warfare.From his magnificent Azuchi Castle he welcomed Jesuit missionaries, abolished internal toll barriers, and proclaimed the rakuichi-rakuza free-market edicts.
In 1582, on the verge of national unification, he was betrayed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide and forced to commit suicide as Honnō-ji temple burned around him.
SECTION III -- CHRONOLOGY
SECTION IV -- NOTABLE STATEMENTS
“If a bird does not sing, kill it.”
SECTION V -- FIELD NOTES
[A]The Fool of Owari
Nicknamed 'the Fool of Owari' in his youth for his eccentric behavior, Nobunaga shocked the realm by defeating an army ten times his size at Okehazama.
SECTION VI -- LEGACY & IMPACT
Nobunaga ended a century of civil war by defeating rival warlords and centralizing power, paving the way for the unification completed by his successors Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. His mass deployment of firearms, free-market policies, and meritocratic governance transformed Japanese society and laid the foundations of the early modern Japanese state.
SECTION VII -- MAJOR DEEDS
- [01]Victory at Okehazama (1560)
- [02]Mass firearms tactics at Nagashino (1575)
- [03]Construction of Azuchi Castle (1576)
- [04]Rakuichi-rakuza free-market policy
- [05]Abolition of road tolls