Nobunaga
June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582) was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in
the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji
Restoration or also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform
or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan
in 1868. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and
social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period
(often called Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning
of the Meiji
period.
Nobunaga was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku
period of Japanese history.His opus was continued, completed
and finalized by his successors Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa
Ieyasu. He was the second son of Oda
Nobuhide , The warlord and magistrate of lower Owari
Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. His father was
Oda Nobusada .
ODA CLAN TIMELINE
1510-1630
1510 - Oda Nobuhide, the eldest son of Oda Danjô no chu Nobusada, is born in Shobata Castle in the Kaito District of Owari. At this time the Oda are divided into two branches that will become known as the Iwakura Oda and Kiyosu Oda. Nobuhide is a member of the Kiyosu Oda. (Some sources give 1508 as the year of Nobuhide's birth.)
1534 - Oda Nobunaga, Nobuhide’s 2nd son, is born.
1541 - Nobuhide captures Anjo Castle in Mikawa Province in the 11th month.
1542 - Nobuhide defeats an Imagawa army at the Battle of Azukizaka in the 9th month. Later that year he campaigns against Saito Dosan of Mino Province. His younger brother, Nobuyasu, is killed in a Saito night attack.
1545 - Matsudaira Hirotada attempts to recapture Yasuyoshi Castle in Mikawa Province in the 9th month but is defeated by Nobuhide.
1546 - Nobunaga becomes known as Saburô Nobunaga.
1547 - Nobuhide battles the Saito at the Battle of Kanoguchi and is defeated. That same year Nobunaga goes on his first campaign, in Mikawa Province.
1548 - Nobuhide is defeated by the Imagawa and Matsudaira at the Second Battle of Azukizaka. Matsudaira Hirotada, in return for Imagawa aid against Oda, had arranged for his son Takechiyo (the future Tokugawa Ieyasu) to be sent to Imagawa Yoshimoto as a hostage. In fact, Takechiyo’s party was intercepted by a former Matsudaira retainer. Takechiyo is then taken to Nobuhide, who attempts without success to use his new hostage to influence the Matsudaira.
That same year, Oda Nagamasu, also known as Yuraku, is born.
1549 - The Imagawa surround Anjo Castle and trap Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhide’s eldest son, inside. The Imagawa offer to raise the siege if Matsudaira Takechiyo is turned over to them, to which Nobuhide agrees.
The Saito and Oda agree that Nobunaga will marry a daughter of Saito Dosan. This is arranged by Hirate Masahide.
1551 - Nobuhide dies of illness at Suemori Castle in Owari Province. Leadership of Nobuhide’s branch of the Oda remains a question for the next few years. Oda Nobuhiro was believed to have been an illegitimate son of Nobuhide, a fact his younger brother Nobunaga used to his advantage in vying for power.
1553 - Nobunaga is generally recognized as Nobuhide’s heir. He challenges the Iwakura branch of the Oda for overall rule of Owari Province. According to traditional accounts, his behavior is unbecoming and unreasonable and, in remonstration, longtime Oda retainer Hirate Masahide (also known as Kiyohide) commits suicide. Nobunaga later builds a temple, known as both the Seisyu-ji and the Masahide-ji, in his honor.
1554 - Shiba Yoshimune, the nominal shugo of Owari, is killed at his Kiyosu Castle by Oda Nobutomo of the Iwakura Oda for supporting Nobunaga. In retaliation Nobunaga takes Kiyosu.
1555 - Oda (Tsuda) Nobumitsu, one of Nobunaga’s uncles and lord of Moriyama Castle, dies suddenly. One theory is that he was murdered on Nobunaga’s orders. That same year, one of Nobunaga’s brothers, Hidetaka, is killed by his uncle, Oda Nobutsugu, in a hunting accident. Fearing retribution, Nobutsugu flees Owari but returns without consequence.
1556 - Oda Nobuyuki, one of Nobunaga’s younger brothers and lord of Suemori Castle, attempts to take control of the family, including Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada in his conspiracy. Nobunaga’s followers defeat Nobuyuki, who is pardoned by his brother. That same year, Saito Dosan is defeated and killed by his son (or step-son) Yoshitatsu. Nobunaga makes a number of efforts over the next few years to punish Yoshitatsu but these come to nothing.
1557 - Nobunaga takes Iwakura Castle and secures the upper hand in Owari Province. However, his rule is challenged from within his own family. Oda Nobuhiro plots with Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino Province against Nobunaga. His plans are uncovered but Nobunaga pardons him. That same year, Nobuyuki was back to plotting against Nobunaga again, with some fighting breaking out between the factions. In response, Nobunaga has Nobuyuki murdered, either in 1557 or 1558. Nobuyuki’s son, Nobusumi, remains in his uncle’s service until he himself is murdered on Oda Nobutaka’s orders in 1582.
Oda Nobutada, Nobunaga’s eldest son and eventual heir, is born (in fact, there is the possibility that a mysterious older son existed but this has never been established.)
1558 - Nobunaga attempts to relieve Terabe Castle in Mikawa Province, under siege by the Matsudaira, but fails owing to the efforts of the future Tokugawa Ieyasu. That same year, Oda Nobuo and Nobutaka, Nobunaga’s second and third sons, are born.
1559 - Otake Fort goes over to the Imagawa. Nobunaga attempts to bring it down but is thwarted by the ‘Provisioning of Otake’ carried out by Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu.) Small skirmishes on the Owari-Mikawa border continue throughout the year, as they have for some time.
1560 - Imagawa Yoshimoto makes his attempt to march on Kyoto. He leaves Sumpu in Suruga Province on the 12th day of the 5th month and crosses the Owari border six days later. Supported by the Matsudaira, the Imagawa capture Marume and Washizu forts. The next day Nobunaga leaves Kiyosu Castle with a numerically inferior force and, in a surprise attack following a thunderstorm, Yoshimoto is killed and his army routed near Okehazama. Traditionally, the figures given for the opposing sides assign some 2,000 to Oda and 25,000+ for Imagawa. These figures have been scaled up and down over the years and the actual dimensions of the clash will probably never be known, although Nobunaga was most certainly at a great numerical disadvantage.
1561 - Nobunaga enters into what is initially a secret alliance with Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) of Mikawa Province. Saito Yoshitatsu dies of illness and is succeeded by his 13-year old son Tatsuoki. Nobunaga takes advantage of the situation to attack Mino Province, a campaign that culminates in his victory at Moribe. Over the next few years Nobunaga lures away a number of Tatsuoki’s important retainers.
1562 - The Oda and Matsudaira alliance becomes common knowledge.
1563 - Nobunaga establishes himself at Komaki Castle as part of his ongoing campaign against the Saito.
1564 - Nobunaga arranges for his sister to marry Asai Nagamasa of northern Omi Province after a period of hostility between their two houses concerning the right to the beleaguered Saito domain in Mino.
1565 - Nobunaga marries an adopted daughter to Takeda Shingen’s son Katsuyori. She dies two years later in the process of delivering the future Takeda Nobukatsu.
1566 - The Oda take Kinota Castle in Mino Province. Ikeda Tsuneoki is then established there.
1567 - Nobunaga captures Inabayama Castle and sends Saito Tatsuoki into exile. To mark the occasion he changes his personal seal to Tenka Fubu ('Blanketing the realm in military might' or 'All the Realm under one sword'>. He gives a fief to Saito Dosan’s young son Nagatatsu, who had been sent for his safety to Nobunaga in the wake of Yoshitatsu’s rebellion against Dosan.
Oda Hidekatsu, Nobunaga’s 4th son and eventually an adoptive son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, is born.
1568 - Nobunaga establishes his headquarters at Inabayama, which he renames Gifu, a reference to the home province of a great Chinese conquerer. Ashikaga Yoshiaki, brother of the murdered shogun Yoshiteru, requests that Nobunaga establish him in Kyoto and Nobunaga willingly agrees. When Rokkaku Yoshikata refuses to grant the Oda passage through southern Omi, Nobunaga brushes him aside and enters the capital in the 10th month, easily driving out the Miyoshi and Matsunaga. Yoshiaki is duly named shogun but real power rests with Nobunaga. Shibata Katsuie pushes on and defeats an army of Miyoshi and Matsunaga troops at Sakai.
Nobunaga’s popularity is given a quick boost by his abolishment of tolls on the roads around Kyoto.
By 1568 Nobunaga has already taken a decided interest in Ise Province, something of a national ‘breadbasket’ in its prodigious rice output. That year, his son Oda Nobutaka is married to a daughter of Kanbe Tomomori of eastern Ise and later becomes the head of the Kanbe family.
1569 - While Nobunaga is away in Mino Province, Yoshiaki finds himself under attack at the Honkokuji in Kyoto by the Miyoshi. Although local Oda troops drive off the Miyoshi, Nobunaga feels compelled to issue a set of regulations regarding Yoshiaki's entourage (termed the Denchû On'okite). In fact, this amounts to an imposition of authority over the shôgun by Nobunaga and marks a rapid decline in relations between Yoshiaki and his patron. In the meantime, the Oda take Ikeda, Takatsuki, and Ibaraki Castles in Settsu Province. In the late fall, Nobunaga invades the Kitabatake domain in Settsu, his efforts aided by a secret pact with Kotsukuri Tomomasa, a younger brother of daimyo Kitabatake Tomomori (not be confused with Kanbe Tomomori, already an Oda vassal.) The Oda surround Anotsu Castle. Kitabatake Tomomori is compelled to surrender and adopt Oda Nobuo. To further cement his hold on Ise, Nobunaga’s younger brother Nobukane (also known as Nobuyoshi) is adopted by the Nagano family.
In the 4th month Nobunaga meets with the missionary Luis Frois. Earlier, the Nichiren priest Nichijo Shonin had convinced the emperor to issue a decree banning Christianity and ordering the execution of the missionaries then preaching in Kyoto. Nobunaga, after arriving in Kyoto, had quickly overturned the decree and later allows Nichijo to debate religion with Luis Frois. When Nichijo is judged the loser, Nobunaga himself has to help restrain him from doing Frois bodily harm. Nobunaga will enjoy a cordial relationship with the foreigners throughout the remainder of his life and while he brushes off their suggestions that he convert to Christianity he assembles a collection of western curiosities - including an African slave destined to die alongside him in 1582.
1570 - Nobunaga begins the year by issuing a set of injunctions regulating Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s activities as shogun. When the great monto complex at Osaka (the Ishiyama Honganji) defies his authority, Nobunaga makes an abortive attempt to bring it down, afterwards tasking his generals with reducing the Honganji’s satellite forts. The Rokkaku besiege Shibata Katsuie in Chokoji Castle in Omi Province but are unable to make an impression on the stout defenses and retreat. Nobunaga orders Asakura Yoshikage of Echizen Province to come to Kyoto. When Asakura refuses, Nobunaga, reinforced by the Tokugawa, invades his domain. In response to this move, Asai Nagamasa breaks relations with the Oda and comes to Yoshikage’s assistance. Nobunaga manages to extricate his army back to Kyoto and begins his war with Nagamasa by attacking the Rokkaku and is nearly assassinated on the march by a priest-turned-sniper. He then reorganizes his army in Mino Province and, again reinforced by the Tokugawa, marches against Nagamasa’s Odani Castle. He defeats the allied Asai and Asakura army at the Battle of Anegawa in the 5th month but in the 9th month the Asai and Asakura take Usayama Castle in SE Omi Province, in the process killing Mori Yoshinari and Nobunaga’s younger brother, Nobuharu. When Nobunaga leads out an army, the Asai and Asakura take up on Mt. Hieie and a truce is ultimately called. Earlier, the rebellious Nagashima-ikko of Ise Province had surrounded Nobunaga’s younger brother Nobuoki at Ogie Castle. Being engaged with the Asai and Asakura, Nobunaga could send no assistance and Ogie fell, with Nobuoki committing suicide.
Finally, it is in 1570 that mention of Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi begins to appear in official documents. He is traditionally held to have assisted in the capture of Inabayama in 1567 and in any event rose quickly under Nobunaga.
1571 - Nobunaga attempts to bring down Odani Castle but withdraws when the Asakura march in relief. He then turns his attentions on the monks of Mt. Hiei, who have declared themselves hostile to the Oda. Nobunaga orders his army to destroy the monastic complex on the mountain, with the results being thousands of dead and many historical and artistic works lost. However, an army dispatched by Nobunaga to chastise the Nagashima-ikko is defeated with heavy loss.
1572 - Nobunaga is sufficiently convinced of Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s bad faith to chastise him in a letter in for 'issuing instructions in secret'. Nobunaga twice threatens Odani Castle and in both cases withdraws rather then give open battle with both the Asai and Asakura. On at least one of these campaigns, his eldest son, Nobutada, aged 15, accompanies him. Late in the year he sends a few thousand troops to assist Tokugawa Ieyasu against Takeda Shingen. These are defeated at the Battle of Mikatagahara, with Hirate Norihide being killed. The Takeda and Oda are now openly at war and the planned marriage of Shingen’s daughter to Oda Nobutada is called off. The Takeda capture Iwamura Castle in Mino Province and in the process capture Nobunaga’s young 5th son, Katsunaga, who will remain in Takeda custody until being repatriated in 1581.
In western Japan, Mori Motonari dies and is succeeded by his grandson Terumoto. Nobunaga had enjoyed reasonably good relations with the Mori while Motonari lived but these gradually sour with Terumoto as daimyo.
1573 - In the 2nd month Ashikaga Yoshiaki openly breaks with Nobunaga and calls on the Asai, Asakura, and Takeda to punish him. Within two months, however, Takeda Shingen dies of illness while on campaign and Nobunaga feels secure to turn on Yoshiaki. When Oda troops surround Kyoto, the Court helps mediate peace. At the beginning of the 7th month, Yoshiaki again denounces Nobunaga and takes up at a stronghold on the Uji River. His rebellion lasts only 16 days, after which he is compelled to surrender to Nobunaga. This time Yoshiaki is banished and the Ashikaga shogunate comes to an end. In the 8th month, Nobunaga again marches on Odani Castle, prompting the Asakura to send reinforcements. This army is ambushed by the Oda en route and chased back into Echizen. Asakura Yoshikage is destroyed and, only 8 days later, Asai Nagamasa is forced to commit suicide as well. Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, yet another of Nobunaga’s daimyo opponents, is trapped at Wakae Castle in Settsu Province and commits suicide, bringing effective Miyoshi resistance to an end. The Nagashima ikko remain active, however, and another force sent to challenge them is driven back, with Hayashi Shinjiro, the son of Hayashi Hidesada, being killed in the rear guard.
Matsunaga Hisahide, who had joined Nobunaga after being driven from Kyoto, briefly throws off Oda rule but is pardoned.
1574 - The Nagashima-ikko again strike at the Oda, killing Oda Nobuhiro (Nobunaga’s elder brother and the third brother to die by the sword in four years) Oda Nobutsugu (Nobunaga’s uncle) and Oda Hidenari (Nobunaga’s brother-in-law). Nobunaga launches an all-out drive against Nagashima in the 7th month and utterly destroys the ikko, with as many as 20,000 men, women, and children being slaughtered. In the meantime, the ikko of Echizen rebel and kill Asakura Kageakira, one of Nobunaga’s governors in that province. Shibata Katsuie is dispatched to quell the insurrection and is afterwards established there.
The Takeda, now led by Katsuyori, take Akechi Castle in Mino Province from the Oda and Takatenjin Castle in Totomi from the Tokugawa. Nobunaga communicates with Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo regarding an anti-Takeda pact.
The Ikeda's Itami Castle in Settsu falls to Oda troops. This castle will later be given to Araki Murashige, a local power.
1575 - In the 5th month, Takeda Katsuyori invades the Tokugawa domain and lays siege to Nagashino Castle. Nobunaga brings his army to Mikawa Province and, with the Tokugawa, inflicts a crushing defeat on the Takeda at Nagashino, killing around 10,000 Takeda soldiers and many important retainers. At this clash he supposedly employs 3,000 arquebuses and has them fire in volleys, a debatable detail given the generally poor quality of the conscripted Oda rank and file (as opposed to the Tokugawa or even Takeda.) Most probably the battle is actually decided by the exhaustion of the Takeda and their numerical inferiority (some 13,000 to over 35,000 Oda and Tokugawa troops.) Oda Nobutada, the heir, is afterwards tasked with retaking Iwamura Castle in Mino.
The ikko of Echizen remain troublesome but by the end of the year have largely been put down. Date Terumune, in faraway Mutsu Province, sends gifts and congratulations to Nobunaga on his military accomplishments.
1576 - Nobunaga orders Niwa Nagahide to begin building Azuchi Castle in Omi Province, which, when completed, will be the most impressive stronghold of its day. An attack on the Honganji, lead by Harada Naomasa, is turned back when Naomasa is killed. The Mori of western Honshu actively come to the aid of the Honganji, breaking through an Oda naval blockade to deliver supplies. Nobunaga orders preparations for a campaign against the Mori’s sphere of influence. Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Toshiie push into monto-dominated Kaga Province.
Oda Nobuo assumes formal leadership of the Kitabatake house.
1577 - Nobunaga orders attacks on the Hatano of Tamba Province and the Ishikki of Tajima Province, both of whom had earlier supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Akechi Mitsuhide is tasked with taking the Hatano domain while Hosokawa Fujitake is sent against the Ishikki. Meanwhile, Kuroda Yoshitaka (Kanbei) of Himeji Castle in Harima Province goes over to the Oda. Bessho Nagaharu also aligns himself with the Oda. Hashiba Hideyoshi is tasked with leading the southern arm of the overall Oda drive through the Chugoku region. His first task is take Akamatsu Masanori’s Kozuki Castle. An attempt at relief by the Ukita proves abortive and Kozuki falls after a fierce struggle.
In the Hokuriku region, the Oda are confronted by Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo. Kenshin had at one time been on friendly terms with the Oda but now reacts to their encroachment into what he considers his sphere of influence. He leads an army into Kaga and defeats the Oda at the Tendorigawa. Possibly inspired by Kenshin’s movements, Matsunaga Hisahide rebels in Yamato Province. His Shigi Castle is attacked by Oda Nobutada and Tstsui Junkei and he commits suicide.
1578 - Nobunaga accepts the title Daijô daijin from the Court but resigns from this and other Court-appointed ranks a few months later. He officially makes Azuchi Castle in Omi Province his capital and orders that its markets be duty free to attract trade. The Oda navy, reinforced by powerful ships constructed under the direction of the Kuki of Shima Province, defeat the Mori at the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi in the 4th month.
Araki Murashige, lord of Itami Castle in Settsu Province, rebels against the Oda for reasons unclear and resists stoutly. When Kuroda Yoshitaka comes before Murashige as an emissary for the Oda, he is thrown into confinement. At this time the Bessho of Harima reverse their stance regarding Nobunaga and declare themselves against him. Hideyoshi, joined for a time by Oda Nobutada, begins the long and difficult siege of the Bessho’s Miki Castle.
To the north, Uesugi Kenshin assembles an army, apparently to march against Kaga Province again (he may also have been intending to attack the Hojo, although his relations with that clan were for the most part improved by this point.) Yet in the third month he dies of illness and a civil war within the Uesugi house ensues between Kagekatsu and the Hojo-backed Kagetora. The death of Kenshin and the resulting power struggle will prove a boon for the Oda’s efforts in the Hokuriku and so, unsurprisingly, the usual suspicions of foul play arise. In fact, Kenshin appears to have died of stomach cancer.
1579 - Araki Murashige abandons Itami Castle and disappears into the western provinces. Earlier, two of his allies, Takayama Ukon and Nakagawa Kiyoshide, both Christians, had been prevailed on to submit by missionaries anxious to stay in Nobunaga's good graces. Hideyoshi takes Bessho Harusada’s Hirayama Castle in Harima Province after a long and difficult siege but Miki Castle remains unreduced. Meanwhile, Akechi Mitsuhide forces the Hatano to surrender, although in an act of bad faith Nobunaga orders Hatano Hideharu to be executed. When the Ishikki prove too much for Hosokawa Fujitake, Mitsuhide is dispatched to aid him and Ishikki Yoshimichi is forced to commit suicide, although his son Yoshisada continues to resist for a time before surrendering.
On his own initiative, Oda Nobuo invades Iga Province in the 10th month, an endeavor that ends badly and earns Nobuo a stern rebuke from his father.
Nobunaga accuses Tokugawa Nobuyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s eldest son and Nobunaga’s son-in-law, of colluding with the Takeda. At Nobunaga’s insistance, Nobuyasu is made to commit suicide.
1580 - The Ishiyama Honganji finally surrenders. In the wake of this event, Nobunaga dismisses a number of his retainers from service, most notably Sakuma Nobumori, Inaba Ittetsu, and Hayashi Hidesada. Miki Castle falls to Hideyoshi and a treaty is signed with the Ukita of Bizen Province, to this point allies of the Mori. In the 12th month the Oda forces in the Hokuriku under Shibata Katsuie break the power of the stubborn Kaga ikko. Afterwards the Oda begin pushing into Noto and Uesugi-controlled Etchu Provinces.
Akechi Mitsuhide, assisted by Takigawa Kazumasu and others, conducts a land survey in Yamato Province.
1581 - Nobunaga establishes Maeda Toshiie in Noto Province and gives Etchu to Sasa Narimasa, although a good portion of it remains in Uesugi hands. He invades Iga Province and crushes all resistance there ruthlessly. To the west, Hideyoshi’s advance into the Mori domain continues, with Mori Terumoto hesitant to offer a pitched battle. When the Oda threaten the Yamana domain in Inaba, Terumoto sends Kikkawa Tsuneie to assist Yamana Toyokuni. Toyokuni nonetheless flees, leaving Kikkawa to defend the Yamana’s Tottori Castle. In what is considered one of the most hard-fought and brutal campaigns of the sengoku period, Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide besiege Tottori for 200 days before Kikkawa finally submits and kills himself to spare his starving men.
1582 - In Etchu, the Oda forces capture Uzu Castle, a serious loss to the Uesugi that leaves Echigo open for invasion. In the 5th month Nobunaga coordinates an invasion of the Takeda domain that includes the Tokugawa and some Hojo assistance. Oda Nobutada takes Takato Castle in Shinano and Takeda Katsuyori, who had hoped to find refuge there, is pursued until he commits suicide along with his son Nobukatsu. Nobunaga puts most of the surviving members of the Takeda family to death, including Shingen’s brothers Nobukado and Ichijo Nobutatsu. Upon his return to Kyoto, he orders Oda Nobuo and Niwa Nagahide to prepare for an invasion of the Chosokabe domain on Shikoku. To the west, Hideyoshi has been besiegeing Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu Province since the 4th month, diverting a nearby river to flood the defenders. Mori Terumoto finally leads an army out but does not directly challenge the Oda force. He arranges for the castle’s garrison to be spared in return for the life of the commander, Shimizu Muneharu. Nonetheless, Hideyoshi feels compelled to request reinforcements and Nobunaga himself is preparing to join the campaign when he is betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide on the 20th day of the 6th month. Nobunaga is trapped at the Honnoji in Kyoto and is killed, either by fire or his own hand. With him perishes his son Oda Katsunaga. Meanwhile, Oda Nobutada is surrounded at Nijo Castle and commits suicide. Those who fall alongside him include his uncle Oda Nobutoshi, Saito Nagatatsu, Mouri Yoshikatsu, and Murai Sadakatsu.
In the wake of the rebellion, Akechi casts about for support from the Hosokawa and others but meets with little to no success. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been in the area to see Nobunaga, flees back to Mikawa, intending to raise an army. Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka attempt to throw together a force and Nobutaka orders the killing of Oda Nobusumi (son of Oda Nobuyuki), whose loyalty he questions since Nobusumi is married to a daughter of Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide meanwhile dispatches a letter to the Mori informing them of Nobunaga’s death but this is intercepted by Hideyoshi, who hastily signs a peace treaty with Terumoto and marches east. Joined by Nobukata, Hideyoshi confronts the Akechi at Yamazaki and Misuhide is defeated. While attempting to escape he is killed by local villagers. At Nobunaga’s funeral, Oda (Hashiba) Hidekatsu holds his late father's mortuary tablet (ihai). The Hojo seize on the opportunity to throw the Oda forces out of Kozuke, while the Oda army in Etchu suspends its advance. A rebellion breaks out in Kai Province and the Oda governor, Kawajiri Hidekane, is killed attempting to flee.
The senior Oda retainers gather at Kiyosu Castle to name Nobunaga’s successor. Two camps eventually form, with Shibata Katsuie favoring Oda Nobutaka and Hideyoshi nominating Nobutada’s infant son, Samboshi (later known as Hidenobu). Oda Nobuo, although technically older than Nobutaka (the two were born the same year), did not contribute to Mitsuhide’s defeat and so does not secure any real backing in his own claim. Oda Nobukane comes out in support of Hideyoshi’s position and is noted for his fine bearing in the proceedings. At length the consensus appears to be that Samboshi will be the heir. Katsuie, distrustful of Hideyoshi’s intentions, refuses to budge and the two men become openly hostile to one another. In the meantime, Nobutaka is established at Gifu Castle in Mino while Nobuo is granted much of Owari and part of Ise in fief. Oda Samboshi is in Gifu Castle as well and Nobutaka refuses to turn the child over to Hideyoshi’s custody. Nobutaka and Katsuie plot to destroy Hideyoshi but Nobutaka upsets their plans by raising an army before Shibata is in a position to come to his aid. Hideyoshi swiftly surrounds Gifu Castle and Nobutaka submits. At this time no harm comes to him and he is allowed to remain as lord of Gifu
1583 - Nobutaka and Katsuie continue to work against Hideyoshi and war breaks out that spring. Hideyoshi descends on Shibata’s army while it is engaged in reducing forts in northern Omi and is scattered. When Katsuie receives word of the defeat, he commits suicide. Now isolated and faced with Hideyoshi’s full attention, Nobutaka commits suicide as well.
1584 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, sensing some advantage in defying Hideyoshi, belatedly comes out in support of Oda Nobuo. Hideyoshi leads an army into Owari Province while Sasa Narimasa of Etchu declares himself for Nobuo. Although part of Hideyoshi’s army is soundly defeated at Nagakute, the campaign in Owari is inconclusive. In Ise, however, Oda Nobuo suffers the loss of a number of his castles and is receptive when Hideyoshi sounds him out later that year on a peace treaty. In fact, Nobuo makes peace with Hideyoshi without consulting Ieyasu, who at length has little choice but to follow suit.
1585 - Oda Nobuo receives the title Chûnagon. Oda (Hashiba) Hidekatsu dies suddenly.
1590 - Oda Nobuo participates in the Odawara Campaign.
1592 - Oda Nobuo is stationed at Hideyoshi’s headquarters on Kyushu during the Korean Campaign.
1598 - Oda Nobukane, one of Nobunaga’s younger brothers, is established at a fief in Tamba Province. He had fallen out of favor with Hideyoshi in the wake of the Odawara Campaign and for a time been a monk.
1600 - Oda Hidenobu, Oda Nobuo and his son Hideo, Oda Nobukane, and Oda Nagatsugu (Nobunaga’s youngest son) support Ishida Mitsunari. Oda Nagamasu (also known as Oda Yuraku), another of Nobunaga’s younger brothers, lends his support to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hidenobu holds Mino Castle, an important element in Ishida’s overall plans, but loses it to an attack by Ikeda Terumasa and Fukushima Masanori. Nagamasu leads 400 men for Ieyasu at the following Battle of Sekigahara. Of those who support Ishida, Nagatsugu is killed in the battle and the others lose their domains afterwards.
1602 - Oda Hidenobu dies at Mt. Koya.
1614 - Oda Nagamasu joins the defenders of Osaka Castle. Oda Nobuo is approached about joining as well but declines.
1615 - Osaka Castle falls to the Tokugawa but Nagamasu is spared.
1622 - Oda Nagamasu, aged 74, a noted tea master, dies. He is the last of Oda Nobunaga’s brothers to pass away and is one of the few to do so peacefully. The Yurakucho district of Tokyo is one day named after him.
1630 - Oda Nobuo, aged 72, dies, the last of Nobunaga’s sons to pass away.
1510-1630
1510 - Oda Nobuhide, the eldest son of Oda Danjô no chu Nobusada, is born in Shobata Castle in the Kaito District of Owari. At this time the Oda are divided into two branches that will become known as the Iwakura Oda and Kiyosu Oda. Nobuhide is a member of the Kiyosu Oda. (Some sources give 1508 as the year of Nobuhide's birth.)
1534 - Oda Nobunaga, Nobuhide’s 2nd son, is born.
1541 - Nobuhide captures Anjo Castle in Mikawa Province in the 11th month.
1542 - Nobuhide defeats an Imagawa army at the Battle of Azukizaka in the 9th month. Later that year he campaigns against Saito Dosan of Mino Province. His younger brother, Nobuyasu, is killed in a Saito night attack.
1545 - Matsudaira Hirotada attempts to recapture Yasuyoshi Castle in Mikawa Province in the 9th month but is defeated by Nobuhide.
1546 - Nobunaga becomes known as Saburô Nobunaga.
1547 - Nobuhide battles the Saito at the Battle of Kanoguchi and is defeated. That same year Nobunaga goes on his first campaign, in Mikawa Province.
1548 - Nobuhide is defeated by the Imagawa and Matsudaira at the Second Battle of Azukizaka. Matsudaira Hirotada, in return for Imagawa aid against Oda, had arranged for his son Takechiyo (the future Tokugawa Ieyasu) to be sent to Imagawa Yoshimoto as a hostage. In fact, Takechiyo’s party was intercepted by a former Matsudaira retainer. Takechiyo is then taken to Nobuhide, who attempts without success to use his new hostage to influence the Matsudaira.
That same year, Oda Nagamasu, also known as Yuraku, is born.
1549 - The Imagawa surround Anjo Castle and trap Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhide’s eldest son, inside. The Imagawa offer to raise the siege if Matsudaira Takechiyo is turned over to them, to which Nobuhide agrees.
The Saito and Oda agree that Nobunaga will marry a daughter of Saito Dosan. This is arranged by Hirate Masahide.
1551 - Nobuhide dies of illness at Suemori Castle in Owari Province. Leadership of Nobuhide’s branch of the Oda remains a question for the next few years. Oda Nobuhiro was believed to have been an illegitimate son of Nobuhide, a fact his younger brother Nobunaga used to his advantage in vying for power.
1553 - Nobunaga is generally recognized as Nobuhide’s heir. He challenges the Iwakura branch of the Oda for overall rule of Owari Province. According to traditional accounts, his behavior is unbecoming and unreasonable and, in remonstration, longtime Oda retainer Hirate Masahide (also known as Kiyohide) commits suicide. Nobunaga later builds a temple, known as both the Seisyu-ji and the Masahide-ji, in his honor.
1554 - Shiba Yoshimune, the nominal shugo of Owari, is killed at his Kiyosu Castle by Oda Nobutomo of the Iwakura Oda for supporting Nobunaga. In retaliation Nobunaga takes Kiyosu.
1555 - Oda (Tsuda) Nobumitsu, one of Nobunaga’s uncles and lord of Moriyama Castle, dies suddenly. One theory is that he was murdered on Nobunaga’s orders. That same year, one of Nobunaga’s brothers, Hidetaka, is killed by his uncle, Oda Nobutsugu, in a hunting accident. Fearing retribution, Nobutsugu flees Owari but returns without consequence.
1556 - Oda Nobuyuki, one of Nobunaga’s younger brothers and lord of Suemori Castle, attempts to take control of the family, including Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada in his conspiracy. Nobunaga’s followers defeat Nobuyuki, who is pardoned by his brother. That same year, Saito Dosan is defeated and killed by his son (or step-son) Yoshitatsu. Nobunaga makes a number of efforts over the next few years to punish Yoshitatsu but these come to nothing.
1557 - Nobunaga takes Iwakura Castle and secures the upper hand in Owari Province. However, his rule is challenged from within his own family. Oda Nobuhiro plots with Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino Province against Nobunaga. His plans are uncovered but Nobunaga pardons him. That same year, Nobuyuki was back to plotting against Nobunaga again, with some fighting breaking out between the factions. In response, Nobunaga has Nobuyuki murdered, either in 1557 or 1558. Nobuyuki’s son, Nobusumi, remains in his uncle’s service until he himself is murdered on Oda Nobutaka’s orders in 1582.
Oda Nobutada, Nobunaga’s eldest son and eventual heir, is born (in fact, there is the possibility that a mysterious older son existed but this has never been established.)
1558 - Nobunaga attempts to relieve Terabe Castle in Mikawa Province, under siege by the Matsudaira, but fails owing to the efforts of the future Tokugawa Ieyasu. That same year, Oda Nobuo and Nobutaka, Nobunaga’s second and third sons, are born.
1559 - Otake Fort goes over to the Imagawa. Nobunaga attempts to bring it down but is thwarted by the ‘Provisioning of Otake’ carried out by Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu.) Small skirmishes on the Owari-Mikawa border continue throughout the year, as they have for some time.
1560 - Imagawa Yoshimoto makes his attempt to march on Kyoto. He leaves Sumpu in Suruga Province on the 12th day of the 5th month and crosses the Owari border six days later. Supported by the Matsudaira, the Imagawa capture Marume and Washizu forts. The next day Nobunaga leaves Kiyosu Castle with a numerically inferior force and, in a surprise attack following a thunderstorm, Yoshimoto is killed and his army routed near Okehazama. Traditionally, the figures given for the opposing sides assign some 2,000 to Oda and 25,000+ for Imagawa. These figures have been scaled up and down over the years and the actual dimensions of the clash will probably never be known, although Nobunaga was most certainly at a great numerical disadvantage.
1561 - Nobunaga enters into what is initially a secret alliance with Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) of Mikawa Province. Saito Yoshitatsu dies of illness and is succeeded by his 13-year old son Tatsuoki. Nobunaga takes advantage of the situation to attack Mino Province, a campaign that culminates in his victory at Moribe. Over the next few years Nobunaga lures away a number of Tatsuoki’s important retainers.
1562 - The Oda and Matsudaira alliance becomes common knowledge.
1563 - Nobunaga establishes himself at Komaki Castle as part of his ongoing campaign against the Saito.
1564 - Nobunaga arranges for his sister to marry Asai Nagamasa of northern Omi Province after a period of hostility between their two houses concerning the right to the beleaguered Saito domain in Mino.
1565 - Nobunaga marries an adopted daughter to Takeda Shingen’s son Katsuyori. She dies two years later in the process of delivering the future Takeda Nobukatsu.
1566 - The Oda take Kinota Castle in Mino Province. Ikeda Tsuneoki is then established there.
1567 - Nobunaga captures Inabayama Castle and sends Saito Tatsuoki into exile. To mark the occasion he changes his personal seal to Tenka Fubu ('Blanketing the realm in military might' or 'All the Realm under one sword'>. He gives a fief to Saito Dosan’s young son Nagatatsu, who had been sent for his safety to Nobunaga in the wake of Yoshitatsu’s rebellion against Dosan.
Oda Hidekatsu, Nobunaga’s 4th son and eventually an adoptive son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, is born.
1568 - Nobunaga establishes his headquarters at Inabayama, which he renames Gifu, a reference to the home province of a great Chinese conquerer. Ashikaga Yoshiaki, brother of the murdered shogun Yoshiteru, requests that Nobunaga establish him in Kyoto and Nobunaga willingly agrees. When Rokkaku Yoshikata refuses to grant the Oda passage through southern Omi, Nobunaga brushes him aside and enters the capital in the 10th month, easily driving out the Miyoshi and Matsunaga. Yoshiaki is duly named shogun but real power rests with Nobunaga. Shibata Katsuie pushes on and defeats an army of Miyoshi and Matsunaga troops at Sakai.
Nobunaga’s popularity is given a quick boost by his abolishment of tolls on the roads around Kyoto.
By 1568 Nobunaga has already taken a decided interest in Ise Province, something of a national ‘breadbasket’ in its prodigious rice output. That year, his son Oda Nobutaka is married to a daughter of Kanbe Tomomori of eastern Ise and later becomes the head of the Kanbe family.
1569 - While Nobunaga is away in Mino Province, Yoshiaki finds himself under attack at the Honkokuji in Kyoto by the Miyoshi. Although local Oda troops drive off the Miyoshi, Nobunaga feels compelled to issue a set of regulations regarding Yoshiaki's entourage (termed the Denchû On'okite). In fact, this amounts to an imposition of authority over the shôgun by Nobunaga and marks a rapid decline in relations between Yoshiaki and his patron. In the meantime, the Oda take Ikeda, Takatsuki, and Ibaraki Castles in Settsu Province. In the late fall, Nobunaga invades the Kitabatake domain in Settsu, his efforts aided by a secret pact with Kotsukuri Tomomasa, a younger brother of daimyo Kitabatake Tomomori (not be confused with Kanbe Tomomori, already an Oda vassal.) The Oda surround Anotsu Castle. Kitabatake Tomomori is compelled to surrender and adopt Oda Nobuo. To further cement his hold on Ise, Nobunaga’s younger brother Nobukane (also known as Nobuyoshi) is adopted by the Nagano family.
In the 4th month Nobunaga meets with the missionary Luis Frois. Earlier, the Nichiren priest Nichijo Shonin had convinced the emperor to issue a decree banning Christianity and ordering the execution of the missionaries then preaching in Kyoto. Nobunaga, after arriving in Kyoto, had quickly overturned the decree and later allows Nichijo to debate religion with Luis Frois. When Nichijo is judged the loser, Nobunaga himself has to help restrain him from doing Frois bodily harm. Nobunaga will enjoy a cordial relationship with the foreigners throughout the remainder of his life and while he brushes off their suggestions that he convert to Christianity he assembles a collection of western curiosities - including an African slave destined to die alongside him in 1582.
1570 - Nobunaga begins the year by issuing a set of injunctions regulating Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s activities as shogun. When the great monto complex at Osaka (the Ishiyama Honganji) defies his authority, Nobunaga makes an abortive attempt to bring it down, afterwards tasking his generals with reducing the Honganji’s satellite forts. The Rokkaku besiege Shibata Katsuie in Chokoji Castle in Omi Province but are unable to make an impression on the stout defenses and retreat. Nobunaga orders Asakura Yoshikage of Echizen Province to come to Kyoto. When Asakura refuses, Nobunaga, reinforced by the Tokugawa, invades his domain. In response to this move, Asai Nagamasa breaks relations with the Oda and comes to Yoshikage’s assistance. Nobunaga manages to extricate his army back to Kyoto and begins his war with Nagamasa by attacking the Rokkaku and is nearly assassinated on the march by a priest-turned-sniper. He then reorganizes his army in Mino Province and, again reinforced by the Tokugawa, marches against Nagamasa’s Odani Castle. He defeats the allied Asai and Asakura army at the Battle of Anegawa in the 5th month but in the 9th month the Asai and Asakura take Usayama Castle in SE Omi Province, in the process killing Mori Yoshinari and Nobunaga’s younger brother, Nobuharu. When Nobunaga leads out an army, the Asai and Asakura take up on Mt. Hieie and a truce is ultimately called. Earlier, the rebellious Nagashima-ikko of Ise Province had surrounded Nobunaga’s younger brother Nobuoki at Ogie Castle. Being engaged with the Asai and Asakura, Nobunaga could send no assistance and Ogie fell, with Nobuoki committing suicide.
Finally, it is in 1570 that mention of Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi begins to appear in official documents. He is traditionally held to have assisted in the capture of Inabayama in 1567 and in any event rose quickly under Nobunaga.
1571 - Nobunaga attempts to bring down Odani Castle but withdraws when the Asakura march in relief. He then turns his attentions on the monks of Mt. Hiei, who have declared themselves hostile to the Oda. Nobunaga orders his army to destroy the monastic complex on the mountain, with the results being thousands of dead and many historical and artistic works lost. However, an army dispatched by Nobunaga to chastise the Nagashima-ikko is defeated with heavy loss.
1572 - Nobunaga is sufficiently convinced of Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s bad faith to chastise him in a letter in for 'issuing instructions in secret'. Nobunaga twice threatens Odani Castle and in both cases withdraws rather then give open battle with both the Asai and Asakura. On at least one of these campaigns, his eldest son, Nobutada, aged 15, accompanies him. Late in the year he sends a few thousand troops to assist Tokugawa Ieyasu against Takeda Shingen. These are defeated at the Battle of Mikatagahara, with Hirate Norihide being killed. The Takeda and Oda are now openly at war and the planned marriage of Shingen’s daughter to Oda Nobutada is called off. The Takeda capture Iwamura Castle in Mino Province and in the process capture Nobunaga’s young 5th son, Katsunaga, who will remain in Takeda custody until being repatriated in 1581.
In western Japan, Mori Motonari dies and is succeeded by his grandson Terumoto. Nobunaga had enjoyed reasonably good relations with the Mori while Motonari lived but these gradually sour with Terumoto as daimyo.
1573 - In the 2nd month Ashikaga Yoshiaki openly breaks with Nobunaga and calls on the Asai, Asakura, and Takeda to punish him. Within two months, however, Takeda Shingen dies of illness while on campaign and Nobunaga feels secure to turn on Yoshiaki. When Oda troops surround Kyoto, the Court helps mediate peace. At the beginning of the 7th month, Yoshiaki again denounces Nobunaga and takes up at a stronghold on the Uji River. His rebellion lasts only 16 days, after which he is compelled to surrender to Nobunaga. This time Yoshiaki is banished and the Ashikaga shogunate comes to an end. In the 8th month, Nobunaga again marches on Odani Castle, prompting the Asakura to send reinforcements. This army is ambushed by the Oda en route and chased back into Echizen. Asakura Yoshikage is destroyed and, only 8 days later, Asai Nagamasa is forced to commit suicide as well. Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, yet another of Nobunaga’s daimyo opponents, is trapped at Wakae Castle in Settsu Province and commits suicide, bringing effective Miyoshi resistance to an end. The Nagashima ikko remain active, however, and another force sent to challenge them is driven back, with Hayashi Shinjiro, the son of Hayashi Hidesada, being killed in the rear guard.
Matsunaga Hisahide, who had joined Nobunaga after being driven from Kyoto, briefly throws off Oda rule but is pardoned.
1574 - The Nagashima-ikko again strike at the Oda, killing Oda Nobuhiro (Nobunaga’s elder brother and the third brother to die by the sword in four years) Oda Nobutsugu (Nobunaga’s uncle) and Oda Hidenari (Nobunaga’s brother-in-law). Nobunaga launches an all-out drive against Nagashima in the 7th month and utterly destroys the ikko, with as many as 20,000 men, women, and children being slaughtered. In the meantime, the ikko of Echizen rebel and kill Asakura Kageakira, one of Nobunaga’s governors in that province. Shibata Katsuie is dispatched to quell the insurrection and is afterwards established there.
The Takeda, now led by Katsuyori, take Akechi Castle in Mino Province from the Oda and Takatenjin Castle in Totomi from the Tokugawa. Nobunaga communicates with Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo regarding an anti-Takeda pact.
The Ikeda's Itami Castle in Settsu falls to Oda troops. This castle will later be given to Araki Murashige, a local power.
1575 - In the 5th month, Takeda Katsuyori invades the Tokugawa domain and lays siege to Nagashino Castle. Nobunaga brings his army to Mikawa Province and, with the Tokugawa, inflicts a crushing defeat on the Takeda at Nagashino, killing around 10,000 Takeda soldiers and many important retainers. At this clash he supposedly employs 3,000 arquebuses and has them fire in volleys, a debatable detail given the generally poor quality of the conscripted Oda rank and file (as opposed to the Tokugawa or even Takeda.) Most probably the battle is actually decided by the exhaustion of the Takeda and their numerical inferiority (some 13,000 to over 35,000 Oda and Tokugawa troops.) Oda Nobutada, the heir, is afterwards tasked with retaking Iwamura Castle in Mino.
The ikko of Echizen remain troublesome but by the end of the year have largely been put down. Date Terumune, in faraway Mutsu Province, sends gifts and congratulations to Nobunaga on his military accomplishments.
1576 - Nobunaga orders Niwa Nagahide to begin building Azuchi Castle in Omi Province, which, when completed, will be the most impressive stronghold of its day. An attack on the Honganji, lead by Harada Naomasa, is turned back when Naomasa is killed. The Mori of western Honshu actively come to the aid of the Honganji, breaking through an Oda naval blockade to deliver supplies. Nobunaga orders preparations for a campaign against the Mori’s sphere of influence. Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Toshiie push into monto-dominated Kaga Province.
Oda Nobuo assumes formal leadership of the Kitabatake house.
1577 - Nobunaga orders attacks on the Hatano of Tamba Province and the Ishikki of Tajima Province, both of whom had earlier supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Akechi Mitsuhide is tasked with taking the Hatano domain while Hosokawa Fujitake is sent against the Ishikki. Meanwhile, Kuroda Yoshitaka (Kanbei) of Himeji Castle in Harima Province goes over to the Oda. Bessho Nagaharu also aligns himself with the Oda. Hashiba Hideyoshi is tasked with leading the southern arm of the overall Oda drive through the Chugoku region. His first task is take Akamatsu Masanori’s Kozuki Castle. An attempt at relief by the Ukita proves abortive and Kozuki falls after a fierce struggle.
In the Hokuriku region, the Oda are confronted by Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo. Kenshin had at one time been on friendly terms with the Oda but now reacts to their encroachment into what he considers his sphere of influence. He leads an army into Kaga and defeats the Oda at the Tendorigawa. Possibly inspired by Kenshin’s movements, Matsunaga Hisahide rebels in Yamato Province. His Shigi Castle is attacked by Oda Nobutada and Tstsui Junkei and he commits suicide.
1578 - Nobunaga accepts the title Daijô daijin from the Court but resigns from this and other Court-appointed ranks a few months later. He officially makes Azuchi Castle in Omi Province his capital and orders that its markets be duty free to attract trade. The Oda navy, reinforced by powerful ships constructed under the direction of the Kuki of Shima Province, defeat the Mori at the Second Battle of Kizugawaguchi in the 4th month.
Araki Murashige, lord of Itami Castle in Settsu Province, rebels against the Oda for reasons unclear and resists stoutly. When Kuroda Yoshitaka comes before Murashige as an emissary for the Oda, he is thrown into confinement. At this time the Bessho of Harima reverse their stance regarding Nobunaga and declare themselves against him. Hideyoshi, joined for a time by Oda Nobutada, begins the long and difficult siege of the Bessho’s Miki Castle.
To the north, Uesugi Kenshin assembles an army, apparently to march against Kaga Province again (he may also have been intending to attack the Hojo, although his relations with that clan were for the most part improved by this point.) Yet in the third month he dies of illness and a civil war within the Uesugi house ensues between Kagekatsu and the Hojo-backed Kagetora. The death of Kenshin and the resulting power struggle will prove a boon for the Oda’s efforts in the Hokuriku and so, unsurprisingly, the usual suspicions of foul play arise. In fact, Kenshin appears to have died of stomach cancer.
1579 - Araki Murashige abandons Itami Castle and disappears into the western provinces. Earlier, two of his allies, Takayama Ukon and Nakagawa Kiyoshide, both Christians, had been prevailed on to submit by missionaries anxious to stay in Nobunaga's good graces. Hideyoshi takes Bessho Harusada’s Hirayama Castle in Harima Province after a long and difficult siege but Miki Castle remains unreduced. Meanwhile, Akechi Mitsuhide forces the Hatano to surrender, although in an act of bad faith Nobunaga orders Hatano Hideharu to be executed. When the Ishikki prove too much for Hosokawa Fujitake, Mitsuhide is dispatched to aid him and Ishikki Yoshimichi is forced to commit suicide, although his son Yoshisada continues to resist for a time before surrendering.
On his own initiative, Oda Nobuo invades Iga Province in the 10th month, an endeavor that ends badly and earns Nobuo a stern rebuke from his father.
Nobunaga accuses Tokugawa Nobuyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s eldest son and Nobunaga’s son-in-law, of colluding with the Takeda. At Nobunaga’s insistance, Nobuyasu is made to commit suicide.
1580 - The Ishiyama Honganji finally surrenders. In the wake of this event, Nobunaga dismisses a number of his retainers from service, most notably Sakuma Nobumori, Inaba Ittetsu, and Hayashi Hidesada. Miki Castle falls to Hideyoshi and a treaty is signed with the Ukita of Bizen Province, to this point allies of the Mori. In the 12th month the Oda forces in the Hokuriku under Shibata Katsuie break the power of the stubborn Kaga ikko. Afterwards the Oda begin pushing into Noto and Uesugi-controlled Etchu Provinces.
Akechi Mitsuhide, assisted by Takigawa Kazumasu and others, conducts a land survey in Yamato Province.
1581 - Nobunaga establishes Maeda Toshiie in Noto Province and gives Etchu to Sasa Narimasa, although a good portion of it remains in Uesugi hands. He invades Iga Province and crushes all resistance there ruthlessly. To the west, Hideyoshi’s advance into the Mori domain continues, with Mori Terumoto hesitant to offer a pitched battle. When the Oda threaten the Yamana domain in Inaba, Terumoto sends Kikkawa Tsuneie to assist Yamana Toyokuni. Toyokuni nonetheless flees, leaving Kikkawa to defend the Yamana’s Tottori Castle. In what is considered one of the most hard-fought and brutal campaigns of the sengoku period, Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide besiege Tottori for 200 days before Kikkawa finally submits and kills himself to spare his starving men.
1582 - In Etchu, the Oda forces capture Uzu Castle, a serious loss to the Uesugi that leaves Echigo open for invasion. In the 5th month Nobunaga coordinates an invasion of the Takeda domain that includes the Tokugawa and some Hojo assistance. Oda Nobutada takes Takato Castle in Shinano and Takeda Katsuyori, who had hoped to find refuge there, is pursued until he commits suicide along with his son Nobukatsu. Nobunaga puts most of the surviving members of the Takeda family to death, including Shingen’s brothers Nobukado and Ichijo Nobutatsu. Upon his return to Kyoto, he orders Oda Nobuo and Niwa Nagahide to prepare for an invasion of the Chosokabe domain on Shikoku. To the west, Hideyoshi has been besiegeing Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu Province since the 4th month, diverting a nearby river to flood the defenders. Mori Terumoto finally leads an army out but does not directly challenge the Oda force. He arranges for the castle’s garrison to be spared in return for the life of the commander, Shimizu Muneharu. Nonetheless, Hideyoshi feels compelled to request reinforcements and Nobunaga himself is preparing to join the campaign when he is betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide on the 20th day of the 6th month. Nobunaga is trapped at the Honnoji in Kyoto and is killed, either by fire or his own hand. With him perishes his son Oda Katsunaga. Meanwhile, Oda Nobutada is surrounded at Nijo Castle and commits suicide. Those who fall alongside him include his uncle Oda Nobutoshi, Saito Nagatatsu, Mouri Yoshikatsu, and Murai Sadakatsu.
In the wake of the rebellion, Akechi casts about for support from the Hosokawa and others but meets with little to no success. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been in the area to see Nobunaga, flees back to Mikawa, intending to raise an army. Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka attempt to throw together a force and Nobutaka orders the killing of Oda Nobusumi (son of Oda Nobuyuki), whose loyalty he questions since Nobusumi is married to a daughter of Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide meanwhile dispatches a letter to the Mori informing them of Nobunaga’s death but this is intercepted by Hideyoshi, who hastily signs a peace treaty with Terumoto and marches east. Joined by Nobukata, Hideyoshi confronts the Akechi at Yamazaki and Misuhide is defeated. While attempting to escape he is killed by local villagers. At Nobunaga’s funeral, Oda (Hashiba) Hidekatsu holds his late father's mortuary tablet (ihai). The Hojo seize on the opportunity to throw the Oda forces out of Kozuke, while the Oda army in Etchu suspends its advance. A rebellion breaks out in Kai Province and the Oda governor, Kawajiri Hidekane, is killed attempting to flee.
The senior Oda retainers gather at Kiyosu Castle to name Nobunaga’s successor. Two camps eventually form, with Shibata Katsuie favoring Oda Nobutaka and Hideyoshi nominating Nobutada’s infant son, Samboshi (later known as Hidenobu). Oda Nobuo, although technically older than Nobutaka (the two were born the same year), did not contribute to Mitsuhide’s defeat and so does not secure any real backing in his own claim. Oda Nobukane comes out in support of Hideyoshi’s position and is noted for his fine bearing in the proceedings. At length the consensus appears to be that Samboshi will be the heir. Katsuie, distrustful of Hideyoshi’s intentions, refuses to budge and the two men become openly hostile to one another. In the meantime, Nobutaka is established at Gifu Castle in Mino while Nobuo is granted much of Owari and part of Ise in fief. Oda Samboshi is in Gifu Castle as well and Nobutaka refuses to turn the child over to Hideyoshi’s custody. Nobutaka and Katsuie plot to destroy Hideyoshi but Nobutaka upsets their plans by raising an army before Shibata is in a position to come to his aid. Hideyoshi swiftly surrounds Gifu Castle and Nobutaka submits. At this time no harm comes to him and he is allowed to remain as lord of Gifu
1583 - Nobutaka and Katsuie continue to work against Hideyoshi and war breaks out that spring. Hideyoshi descends on Shibata’s army while it is engaged in reducing forts in northern Omi and is scattered. When Katsuie receives word of the defeat, he commits suicide. Now isolated and faced with Hideyoshi’s full attention, Nobutaka commits suicide as well.
1584 - Tokugawa Ieyasu, sensing some advantage in defying Hideyoshi, belatedly comes out in support of Oda Nobuo. Hideyoshi leads an army into Owari Province while Sasa Narimasa of Etchu declares himself for Nobuo. Although part of Hideyoshi’s army is soundly defeated at Nagakute, the campaign in Owari is inconclusive. In Ise, however, Oda Nobuo suffers the loss of a number of his castles and is receptive when Hideyoshi sounds him out later that year on a peace treaty. In fact, Nobuo makes peace with Hideyoshi without consulting Ieyasu, who at length has little choice but to follow suit.
1585 - Oda Nobuo receives the title Chûnagon. Oda (Hashiba) Hidekatsu dies suddenly.
1590 - Oda Nobuo participates in the Odawara Campaign.
1592 - Oda Nobuo is stationed at Hideyoshi’s headquarters on Kyushu during the Korean Campaign.
1598 - Oda Nobukane, one of Nobunaga’s younger brothers, is established at a fief in Tamba Province. He had fallen out of favor with Hideyoshi in the wake of the Odawara Campaign and for a time been a monk.
1600 - Oda Hidenobu, Oda Nobuo and his son Hideo, Oda Nobukane, and Oda Nagatsugu (Nobunaga’s youngest son) support Ishida Mitsunari. Oda Nagamasu (also known as Oda Yuraku), another of Nobunaga’s younger brothers, lends his support to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hidenobu holds Mino Castle, an important element in Ishida’s overall plans, but loses it to an attack by Ikeda Terumasa and Fukushima Masanori. Nagamasu leads 400 men for Ieyasu at the following Battle of Sekigahara. Of those who support Ishida, Nagatsugu is killed in the battle and the others lose their domains afterwards.
1602 - Oda Hidenobu dies at Mt. Koya.
1614 - Oda Nagamasu joins the defenders of Osaka Castle. Oda Nobuo is approached about joining as well but declines.
1615 - Osaka Castle falls to the Tokugawa but Nagamasu is spared.
1622 - Oda Nagamasu, aged 74, a noted tea master, dies. He is the last of Oda Nobunaga’s brothers to pass away and is one of the few to do so peacefully. The Yurakucho district of Tokyo is one day named after him.
1630 - Oda Nobuo, aged 72, dies, the last of Nobunaga’s sons to pass away.
