ODA NOBUNAGA - JAPANESE WARRIOR

Oda Nobunaga, original name Kichihōshi, later Saburō, born 1534 in Owari province, Japan and died June 21, 1582, Kyōto. A Japanese warrior and government official who overthrew the Ashikaga shogunate (1338–1573) and ended a long period of wars by unifying half of the provinces in Japan under his rule. Nobunaga, as virtual dictator, restored stable government and established the conditions that led to the unification of the entire country in the years following his death.

Rise to Power :

After the death of Nobuhide, there was a power struggle among various factions in Owari. Nobunaga went into an alliance with his father’s younger brother, Nobumitsu, and killed his other uncle, Oda Nobutomo, to assume power. He further forged an alliance with several clans from his neighbouring provinces to prevent any attacks on the borders of Owari. However, his brother, Nobuyuki went in to an alliance with his adversaries and rebelled against him twice. In the first instance his mother intervened and brought peace, but the second time Nobunaga assassinated his brother and eliminated all opposition within the province of Owari by 1559. Nobunaga was a grand strategist. In the battle of Okehazama, he was outnumbered by a ratio of 1: 20 by the forces of Imagawa. However, he gained victory by deceiving the enemy about his own numbers and location. He then attacked with a small contingent from an unexpected direction and defeated the enemy, resulting in the death of Imagawa. He then forged an alliance with his rival clans to strengthen his position. In 1561, when the ruler of his neighbouring province, Mino, suddenly died leaving a weak son, Saito Tatsuoki, to rule his province, Nobunaga took advantage of the situation and convinced the people of Mino to join him. He then attacked the province and forced Tatsuoki into exile. By 1568, he made his expansionist intentions clear. In order to gain control over a larger area he went about establishing puppet rulers around him. He drove out the Miyoshi clan from Kyoto and established Yoshiaki as the Shogun of Ashikaga shogunate, but restricted his powers and used him to further his conquests. As he gained power he became more and more brutal to achieve his aim of conquering the whole of Japan. When the Enryaku-ji monastery came in his way in 1571, he razed it to the ground killing monks, laymen, women and children without remorse. Another instance of brutality was exhibited when he set fire to the enemy stronghold after the siege of Nagashima, killing tens of thousands of helpless adversaries. By 1574, he had vast areas of Japan under his control and established his navy to extend his reach to the other islands. However, as his kingdom expanded, so did his enemies. In 1582, his entourage was surrounded and outnumbered by his enemies forcing him to commit ‘seppuku’ to save his honour. Oda Nobunaga died a controversial figure in Japanese history. It is often debated whether he was a hero who unified Japan or was he just a power hungry brutal ruler. Whatever people may say, there was a method in his madness that changed the history of Japan forever.

Achievements

Nobunaga changed the way wars were fought in Japan by integrating the use of long pikes, firearms and castles in prolonged war. He also instituted a specialised warrior class system with ranks related to fighting ability. Besides being a great warrior he was also a good administrator. He started the system of division of land not as per area, but as per the produce of the land. He turned over the economy from an agricultural base to a manufacturing base, with castle towns linked by roads to facilitate trade and move of his armies. He introduced the ‘Rakuichi Rakuza’ system, which was a free market that put an end to the monopoly of a few privileged classes. As he gained power he took interest in art and culture and built impressive monuments to project his power. The Azuchi Castle on the shores of Lake Biwa is one such example of extravagance. Oda Nobunaga has been awarded the ‘Senior First Rank’ in Japan’s hereditary titles.