Shinch?-K? ki<, the work translated here into English under the title “The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga,” is the most important source on the career of one of the best known figures in all of Japanese history—Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), the first of the “Three Heroes” who unified Japan after a century of fragmentation and internecine bloodshed. The other two of the triad, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), also make frequent appearances in this chronicle, playing prominent although clearly subordinate roles. So the chronicle also is an important source on their early careers, as it is on a constellation of other actors in Japan’s sixteenth-century drama. The chronicle’s author, ?ta Gy?ichi, was Nobunaga’s former retainer and an eyewitness of some of the events he describes. He completed his work about the year 1610.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga

When Portuguese traders took advantage of the constant violence in Japan to sell the Japanese their first firearms, one of the quickest to take advantage of this new technology was the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In 1575 the impetuous Takeda Katsuyori laid siege to Nagashino castle, a possession of Nobunaga's ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu. An army was despatched to relieve the siege, and the two sides faced each other across the Shidarahara. The Takeda samurai were brave, loyal and renowned for their cavalry charges, but Nobunaga, counting on Katsuyori's impetuosity, had 3,000 musketeers waiting behind prepared defences for their assault. The outcome of this clash of tactics and technologies was to change the face of Japanese warfare forever.

Nagashino 1575

The Battle of Okehazama put Oda Nobunaga on the world stage forever changed Japanese history. His victory over Imagawa Yoshimoto against impossible odds were more staggering. Being outnumbered almost twelve to one Nobunaga had no choice but to launch a surprise attack against the mighty Imagawa army. His use of human intelligence at the Battle of Okehazama changed warfare from the age of military exploitation to the age of information. The long and bloodly unification of Japan began when Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama on May 19th, 1560.

Oda Nobunaga: The Battle of Okehazama

Japan's Sengoku jidai ('Warring States Period') was a time of crisis and upheaval, a chaotic epoch when the relatively low-born rural military class of 'bushi' (samurai warriors) succeeded in overthrowing their social superiors in the court throughout much of the country. Into this tumultuous age of constant warfare came three remarkable individuals: Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). Each would play a unique role in the re-unification of the disparate, fragmented collection of warring provinces which constituted Japan in the sixteenth and early seventeenth-centuries. This new narrative history of the sengoku era draws together the epic strands of their three stories for the first time. It offers a coherent survey of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600) under both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, followed by the founding years of the Tokugawa shogunate (1600-1616). Every pivotal battle fought by each of these three hegemons is explored in depth from Okehazama (1560) and Nagashino (1575) to Sekigahara (1600) and the Two Sieges of Osaka Castle (1614-15). In addition, the political and administrative underpinnings of their rule is also examined, as well as the marginal role played by western foreigners ('nanban') and the Christian religion in early modern Japanese society. In its scope, the story of Japan's three unifiers ('the Fool', 'the Monkey', and 'the Old Badger') is a sweeping saga encompassing acts of unimaginable cruelty as well as feats of great samurai heroism which were venerated and written about long into the peaceful Edo/Tokugawa period.

Sengoku Jidai. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu

The Sengoku period or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval. The man who played the major part in ending this was Lord Oda Nobunaga, a brave samurai and innovative politician. This is an untold story of his lady, Nohime, or the princess of Mino. She was called Kicho by her father, a warlord in 16c Japan. When the rest of Japan suffered constant military conflict, Kicho's father's state had a market where villagers enjoyed shopping clothes and delicious foods...

Kicho & Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga, a pivotal figure in Japanese history during the late 16th century, was a visionary feudal lord renowned for his strategic brilliance and innovative military tactics. He played a crucial role in unifying Japan's fractured states, marking the beginning of the Sengoku period's end. Nobunaga's legacy is characterized by his relentless ambition and progressive mindset, which enabled him to introduce social reforms, promote trade, and embrace foreign influences, leaving an indelible mark on Japan's path towards modernization. His reign laid the foundation for the Tokugawa shogunate and contributed significantly to shaping the Japan we know today.

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Oda Nobunaga

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