Oda Nobunaga - 1534-1582

Dai-nihon Roku-ju Yo Sho

Oda Nobunaga
by Yoshitora Utagawa active ca. 1840-1880

After a period of nearly hundred years of civil wars, called the Warring States (Sengoku) period, Oda Nobunaga prepared the ground for the unification of Japan under one rule. He achieved his goal with utmost ruthlessness and streams of blood. Nobunaga was assassinated by a rival before he could finish the job.

The Decline of the Ashikaga Shogunate

During the end of the 15th century, the Ashikaga shogunate had lost control over the country. Powerful feudal lords had ravaged Japan for decades. The country had fallen into an agony comparable to the Thirty Years War in Europe from 1618 to 1648. It was a period without law and order. Marauding warriors terrorized the farmers who began to arm themselves in self-defense.

The way of waging war had changed since the times of the Genpei wars of the Minamato against the Taira. The medieval wars were a clash of mostly mounted samurai soldiers. Now foot-soldiers were dominant. And while the medieval battles counted hardly more than a few thousand soldiers, armies of several ten thousand warriors were not uncommon.

The Rise of Oda Nobunaga

Dai-nihon Roku-ju Yo Sho

Oda Nobunaga - Detail
by Yoshitora Utagawa active ca. 1840-1880

Oda Nobunaga was born into the family of the daimyo of Owari, a minor political power among the warlords of the Sengoku period. He began his rise to power by establishing first his uncontested rule over his own family. He defeated his younger brother twice - the second time ultimately by forcing him to commit suicide. Then he slowly increased his sphere of influence over neighboring provinces - supported by an alliance with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the daimyo of Mikawa province, and by the use of sheer brutality.

In 1568, Oda Nobunaga was strong enough to march into Kyoto and drive the last Ashikaga Shogun out of town.

Christian Missionaries and Firearms

Oda Nobunaga is one of the better known Japanese leaders in the West because of his close ties with Christian missionaries. Around 1543 the Portuguese Mendez Pinto came to Japan as the first European and with him the Jesuit missionaries. Nobunaga who had a dislike towards Buddhism, welcomed the Christian missionaries. Impressed by the firearms of the Westerners, he embraced the European technology and swiftly implemented it for his own advantage.

The Slaughtering at Mt. Hiei

Chimei Juni ka Getsu no Uchi

Oda Nobunaga
by Kunichika Toyohara 1835-1900

During the civil wars the Buddhist monks had become an influential and powerful force in the country. The monks sympathized with the common people in the countryside and they restrained themselves by no way to prayers. In those times the Buddhist monks were feared warriors. From the monastery of Mount Hiei near Kyoto the warrior-monks were a permanent menace to Nobunaga who had established his residence in the old capital.

In 1571 Nobunaga besieged the monastery of the Buddhist Tendai sect on top of Mount Hiei and set the woods around the cloister on fire. Those who tried to escape were slaughtered without any mercy - including women and children. According to historians some 3,0000 monks, nuns and children were massacred by Nobunaga's troops.

Death of the Tyrant

Dainippon Meisho Kagami

Oda Nobunaga
by Yoshitoshi Taiso 1839-1892

Nobunaga had two capable military leaders, Akechi Mitsuhide and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1582 Akechi Mitsuhide turned himself against Nobunaga and overwhelmed him. Nobunaga was forced to commit suicide - the infamous seppuku ritual.

Now the great moment for Hideyoshi had come. When he heard about the assassination, he immediately established an armistice with the Mori family. Thus he could return with his army to Kyoto. He attacked the troops of Akechi Mitsuhide and defeated him in the battle of Yamazaki. When Mitsuhide tried to flee, he was killed by a farmer with a bamboo spear.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the new strong man in Japan. His career was more than unusual for the period. He had risen from a humble family and a nameless foot-soldier in Nobunaga's army to the most powerful leader in Japan. Hideyoshi continued the process of unifying Japan. But he did it in a different way. His strength were diplomacy, shrewdness and only if necessary the use of military power. But that is a different story.

Oda Nobunaga and 100 Aspects of the Moon

Oda Nobunaga - Kyodo Risshi
by Kiyochika Kobayashi 1847-1915

Several of Yoshitoshi's famous series Hundred Aspects of the Moon depict scenes from these events. Moonlight Patrol - Saito Toshimitsu shows Toshimitsu, the son of Akechi Mitsuhide on patrol while his father's troops march against Kyoto to overthrow Nobunaga.

The Moon of Ogurusu in Yamashiro shows the moment before Akechi Mitsuhide is killed by the peasant waiting behind some bushes with his bamboo spear firmly grabbed with both hands.

Shizu Peak Moon - Hideyoshi is an image of Hideyoshi blowing a shell horn as the signal for an attack.

Literature sources used for this article

John Stevenson, "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon", Hotei Publishing, Leiden, Netherlands, 2001, cloth, 272pp., 165 color ills., 235 x 343 mm, ISBN 90-74822-428
Manfred Pohl, "Geschichte Japans", C.H.Beck Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3 406 47990 I

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