Nobunaga Oda

Nobunaga Oda is the title character of the strategy series, Nobunaga's Ambition. He also appears as a bonus character in Dynasty Warriors using his visual look from the Nobunaga's Ambition series. He made his debut as a "Warriors" character in Samurai Warriors. He is generally considered to be the Samurai Warriors equivalent to Cao Cao.

He is Nohime's husband, Oichi's older brother, Nagamasa Azai's brother-in-law. His successor is his son, Nobutada, though he often does not live to continue his father's legacy. He is one of Japan's three unifiers along with his former generals, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa. In the first Samurai Warriors, he's 33 years old. In the Samurai Warriors series, he's symbolized by the character "heaven" (天), the character for "supremacy" (覇), and black feathers.

Role in Games

 * "Come on, Demon King. Live up to your name."
 * ―Lu Bu; Warriors Orochi

Samurai Warriors
Nobunaga is a powerful warlord who seeks to unify and rule Japan. He earned his fame by destroying Yoshimoto Imagawa's forces at Okehazema. He is often referred to as the "Demon King" in ode to his sheer ruthlessness. In the first game, he starts his conquest on the land after Okehazama by tackling the Mino forces and the Ikko rebels. If he fails to kill the Ikko rebels, they will join forces with his rivals Shingen and Kenshin. He then has to fend off a fearsome force and simultaneously deal with the mutiny amongst his army.

In his upper path, Mitsuhide rebels against him at Honnoji. No, in a show of her characteristic love, turns against Nobunaga and is intent on taking his life. With the help of his sister and Ranmaru, he is able to safely escape. Though he survives Honnoji, he is forced to retake Azuchi Castle, his home base of operations. Knowing that Mitsuhide and the other traitors against him are there, he goes to end their resistance. Once he defeats them, he sets the castle on flames and promises to someday join them in hell.

In Samurai Warriors 2, Nobunaga forms a closer relationship with Mitsuhide, who becomes a sort of apprentice to him. His story focuses more on his conquest of the Uesugi and Takeda clans than the previous title. After he succeeds suppressing his rivals, Mitsuhide betrays him at Honnoji. His son, No, Ranmaru, and a handful of surprised retainers help Nobunaga in battle. In the last moments of his duel with Mitsuhide, his opponent spares his life and accepted death to escape Nobunaga's cruelty. Moved by his final words, Nobunaga states that he never wanted his retainer to die but will continue to live in honor of the man he slain.

His dream stage is an extension of his story mode and Nobunaga begins his final conquest to unite the warring states. Since the attack at Honnoji caused universal confusion with his ranks, Ieyasu gathered a "Anti-Nobunaga" coalition with the greatest daimyo in the land. This included the remaining Uesugi forces, the Date army, and the Shimazu clan. Nobunaga, inspired by Mitsuhide's vision, decides to only fight worthy battles and orders for none of the enemy generals to be killed. Once Nobunaga defeats them, he becomes the grand unifier of Japan. He spares Ieyasu's life and beckons him to rule Mikawa for him.

Warriors Orochi
During Orochi's story, Nobunaga acts as the last warlord to defy Orochi's forces as the "last hope for humanity". The two battle at Mikatagahara, where Nobunaga eventually has to retreat.

In Warriors Orochi, Nobunaga is seen as a fearsome neutral party. In reality, he is gathering various warriors to join his resistance against Orochi, despite Kanetsugu's initial observations. He is also fascinated by Cao Cao, the conqueror that several people state he resembles. He acts as the figurehead for the Samurai force and is seen as a heroic mastermind. Throughout the story, Nobunaga predicts the future, such as Cao Pi and Sun Ce eventually betraying Orochi. He is one of the four characters to lead a major resistance force (the others being Cao Pi, Sun Ce, and Zhao Yun) and temporarily join forces with his rivals, Shingen and Kenshin. After Orochi's defeat, the three warlords separate.

Nobunaga is given a lesser role in the sequel and is absent for the first half of the game. In the Samurai storyline, Sakon Shima looks to construct a powerful force to combat Kiyomori Taira. At Hu Lao Gate, Sakon sends a messenger to seek an audience with Nobunaga and convince him to join the anti-Orochi alliance. In the middle of the battle, Nobunaga appears with reinforcements and helps Sakon defeat Kiyomori. In the Wei storyline, however, at the Tong Gate, Nobunaga and his vassals help Xiahou Dun route a desperate Kiyomori. He continues to build a friendship with Cao Cao.

Nobunaga shares his Dream stage with the other unifiers of Japan and wage a contest with the rulers of the Three Kingdoms.

Kessen
Nobunaga briefly appears in the first Kessen as an aspiration in the sky. Moments before Ieyasu departs for Sekigahara, Nobunaga wishes for his dream to live on with Ieyasu. His message to Ieyasu continues to inspire him throughout his campaigns.

In Kessen III, the roles are switched and Nobunaga is the main protagonist. He is very close to his wife, Kicho, and is well liked by his generals. Unlike his Samurai Warriors counterpart, he is symbolized in some way by a hawk.

As far back as he can remember, Nobunaga has an ongoing dream of his death in a fiery room. He sees two blurred figures in it and believes that they will probably shape his fate. He confides this dream to Kicho, who believes that it maybe a premonition. At Honnoji, his life is saved by Kicho's metal hair clip, a memento she left behind for him and kept close to his chest. With all of his enemies joining Mitsuhide, he leads a resistance to destroy his rival and save the land from any further warfare. In the extra ending for the game, he eventually travels overseas and makes peace with Spain. He also allows an overseas village to be built and expresses wishes for all of Japan to learn about Christianity and European history.

Development
Initially, the designers aimed to portray him as "Sengoku's demon king" and went with their spin on the typical Nobunaga attire seen in fiction. They gave Nobunaga a sword to enforce his trait of quickly eliminating anyone who opposes him. His first design aimed to create a "new manly" image of Nobunaga that didn't look too similar to his appearance in the Nobunaga's Ambition series. For his redesign, they wanted to differentiate him further by emphasizing his symbolic item in the series, which is black feathers. To keep the dramatic flow of action for his character, they decided to split his mantle and adorned his armor's collar with feathers.

Personality
Akin to his historical counterpart, Nobunaga fancies Noh theater, spits in the eye of old traditions, and is seen as a dangerous man by his enemies. Like most fictional accounts, he's cold and indifferent to the suffering of innocent people and of others' opinion of his methods. He enjoys the prospect of facing death and generally remains unfazed when the tides turn against him. In the second game, Nobunaga also adopts a devil's advocate motif, often asking others their desires and a way for him to grant them. He boldly declares that he is predestined to rule the land as it's the heavens and land's desire.

Though he may seem callous, he's depicted with a shred of sympathy in his recent appearances. He trusts his generals to carry out their missions and is seen forgiving them in select scenarios. He adopts a lighter mood in his Dream stage, in which he seeks to create a land of peace and be its unlikely savior from chaos. His heroic qualities are better demonstrated in the Warriors Orochi series. In the Japanese script for his Warriors appearance, Nobunaga speaks in a theatrical tone and dramatically pauses before speaking the last syllable of his sentences.

His Kessen III counterpart focuses on the other aspects of Nobunaga's persona, in which he judged people based on their capabilities over status and was fascinated by European travelers. In a better light than his Samurai Warriors incarnation, he is a witty and charismatic leader who shares happy relations with his allies. He tries to avoid war if possible but is usually forced to fight due to his persistent enemies.

Voice Actors

 * Douglas Rye - Samurai Warriors (English)
 * Brent Schaus - Samurai Warriors 2, Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power (English)
 * Chris Kent - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * John Murphy - Kessen (English; credited for "Shadow")
 * Crispin Freeman - Kessen III (English)
 * Yukimasa Kishino - Dynasty Warriors (Japanese)
 * Jūrōta Kosugi - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi (Japanese)
 * Ryōtarō Okiayu - Kessen, Kessen III (Japanese)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Nobunaga's Ambition Online (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "The world needs Nobunaga... At least until I have eliminated all who oppose me."
 * "I have come to make this land my own."
 * "Worthless!"
 * "Useless!"
 * "It seems you are of some use to me."
 * "Time to turn this battlefield into a hell on earth...if I can get motivated."
 * "Return to dust!"
 * "Advance, rip out their throats"
 * "Time for something...a little unorthodox."
 * "All too easy..."
 * "It's just that simple"
 * "Is that so?"
 * "Turn this battlefield into the netherworld itself!"
 * "Why did you dogs resist me?"
 * "What would you do with a bird that refused to sing?"
 * "I would simply wait until it does, my lord. What think you of my answer, Lord Nobunaga?"
 * "You are indeed a patient man."
 * "Then my lord, what would you do?"
 * "Kill it... Why would I do anything else?"
 * Nobunaga and Ieyasu; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "Lord Nobunaga! Hideyoshi's off playing with his courtesans again! Can't you do something?"
 * "Dry your tears, Nene. Your beauty grows day by day. Your husband knows not what he has. If he doesn't watch out, he will lose the sweetest treasure he owns."
 * Nene and Nobunaga; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires


 * "There is not enough room in this world for both of our ambitions. Who will be the one to fall?"
 * "The victor will be whom the heavens desire."
 * Cao Cao and Nobunaga at Fan Castle; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Ieyasu... I entrust my dream to you, my vision of an united land. My dream cannot die. It must not die..."
 * Nobunaga's spirit talking to Ieyasu; Kessen


 * "The world is only a dream. You just have to be bold and live it."
 * Nobunaga's thoughts about dreams; Kessen III

Samurai Warriors
He wields a two-edged straight sword imbued with dark energy and has the power to hurl a dark "force" blast at his foes. This appearance has led to some game reviewers to jokingly refer to him as Darth Vader. His combative technique is useful in both crowds and one-on-one combat as it is very forward and direct with few relative openings - those only generally seen when he does in fact, power up his 'force' moves. His technique also effectively shows him 'gliding' and levitating in various strikes, further emphasizing his 'magical' properties.

Samurai Warriors 3
Stage to clear for Unique Weapon - Incident at Honnoji

Personal Info
Nobunaga was truly a rebel of his times who never seemed to fit the mold of his society. He cared little about what other daimyo thought of him and only made friends with people who amused him. However, his fickle nature with the people around him often distorted the truth behind his actions. For instance, an insert from the Nobunaga Gouki states that he tinted the three skulls of his enemies Azai Hisamasa, Azai Nagamasa, and Asakura Yoshikage with golden metal. Fictional accounts state that this was due to his bitterness towards these "meddlesome pests" and he drank from them as personalized mugs. In reality, he wanted to respect and honor their remains. Many accounts from his generals and enemies said that he was a cold and cruel revolutionist. He either personally killed or ordered the deaths of many people, sparing no one based on age, status, or gender. He also had an eccentric taste in humor as he gave many of his retainers and children endearing yet somewhat degrading nicknames, such as Monkey or Bald Rat for Hideyoshi.

He's perhaps best known for his friendly tolerance of foreign settlers, then known to the rest of the Japanese providence as "Southern barbarians". He participated in their events and dressed in a rider's mantle and European helmets. He befriended the missionary Luís Fróis, whose chronicles in his time in Japan were pinnacle for a third person account of Nobunaga. Through their friendship, Nobunaga marveled the advancement of European society and was pleased when he saw a globe to represent the world (a contrast to his retainers who thought the idea was pure nonsense). In his notes, Luis described Nobunaga as:

"[A man who] has little hair on his mustache. He speaks in a shrill voice, always like a general, yet is very rude. He likes justice and benevolence, but abundantly respects honor to the point of arrogance. Rarely listens to his subordinates while making decisions but he is very skillful. People abnormally revere his presence. Doesn't drink liquor. Talks to me in a very humble tone and treats me respectfully but this is not always the case with other daimyo. He has a superior intellect and good judgment but he disregards gods and Buddha; he doesn't believe in fortune-telling. Though he participates in religious ceremonies, he declared that there is no world of immortality or a postmortem place for the soul. While talking with others, he dislikes indirect expressions."

Records indicate that Nobunaga even sent a folding screen painting of Azuchi Castle to Pope Gregory XIII but its whereabouts remain unknown.

His other interests include dancing, falconry, equestrianism, archery, and Go (the move "Nobunaga's cradle" is named after him). He particularly liked Bon festivals and sumo wrestling and hired some of his personal aides to also be adequate wrestlers. In modern conversions, he was approximately 165 cm (5'5") tall and weighed 60kg (132 lbs). He had one wife, two concubines, twelve sons, ten daughters, and three adopted daughters. One of his surviving modern descendants is a professional figure skater.

Early Years
Nobunaga was born under the childhood name, Kippoushi, at Shobada Castle. His father was Oda Nobuhide and his mother was Toda Gozen, who is believed to be the one of Toda Tsuchida Masahisa's daughters. His clan is speculated to be descendants of either the Taira clan, the Fujiwara clan, or Saiko Kichinosuke but the details regarding these claims are sadly lacking. Early records suggest the second option since, at one point, Nobunaga curiously adopted the Fujiwara name. When Nobunaga was born, his father was serving the governor of Owari, Shiba Yoshimune, and defended their territory from Imagawa Yoshimoto.

When he was two years old, he was sent to Nagoya Castle and spent most of his youth there. He acted unruly for someone of his status and dressed himself in bright and outlandish clothing. He took an interest in matchlock rifles, played as a commoner with the townsfolk, and adopted the local slang, calling his parents "Dad" and "Mom". Since his conduct was considered bizarre and rude to the court, he was quickly nicknamed The Fool of Owari (尾張の大うつけ or たわけ). He entered battles at an early age by serving as his father's reserve guard. During this time, he met Imagawa Yoshimoto's hostage, Matsudaira Takechiyo (later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu).

In the year 1546, he experienced his coming of age ceremony at Furuwatari Castle and was named Oda Kazusanosuke Nobunaga (織田上総介信長). When he was thirteen, he was also called Saburo Nobunaga by his mother and other nobles in the court. He was married to Nōhime when he was fourteen to create an alliance between the Owari and Mino provinces. When his father died in 1551, Nobunaga became the head of the clan. However, he refused to attend his father's funeral, which caused an outright uproar amongst the Oda vassals. When he did pay his respects to his father's alter, he threw the ceremonial ashes in the same way a sumo wrestler throws salt to purify the ring. Hirate Masahide, a loyal servant who looked after his young lord's future, committed suicide to protest Nobunaga's disrespectful actions. The event was the first reported incident of Nobunaga showing regret for his behavior. Since then, he adopted better etiquette but he continued to be sarcastic and eccentric. In a meeting regarding the displeasure amongst his retainers, he reportedly only said "Is that so?" (であるか) to the complaints.

Due to several retainers conflicting opinions regarding Nobunaga, the Oda clan split in a civil conflict. He was challenged by his uncle, Oda Nobutomo, and his younger brother, Oda Nobuyuki. Nobutomo and Nobuyuki joined forces to conspire Nobunaga's downfall and manipulated Shiba Yoshimune to be their puppet ruler. Yoshimune secretly sympathized with Nobunaga and when Nobutomo learned of this, he was killed. His heir, Shiba Yoshikane, barely escaped Nobutomo's men while crossing a river and went to Nobunaga for safety.

To gain the power needed to overthrow the conspirators, Nobunaga allied with his other uncle, Oda Nobumitsu, who slew Nobutomo at Kiyosu Castle. Nobumitsu mysteriously died soon after in 1556 and many speculated that he was assassinated in some way by his nephew. In the same year, he also sent reinforcements to help Nōhime's father, Dosan, against his rebellious son. It was a lost battle and Mino's daimyo became Saito Yoshitatsu. With Yoshikane in his good fortune, Nobunaga also allied with Imagawa Yoshimoto since they were lords in the same province. This allowed some protection along the Oda's eastern boarders.

A few months later, Nobuyuki staged a rebellion with Oda vassals Shibata Katsuie, Hayashi Hidesada, and Hayashi Mochitomo. To counter, Nobunaga gained the support of Mori Yoshinari, Sakuma Nobumori, and Sakuma Morishige. On August 24 the same year, Nobunaga -in spite of facing overwhelming odds- defeated his brother at the Battle of Ino. Their mother intervened on the conspirators' behalf and they were pardoned. The next year, however, Nobuyuki again planned to rebel. When Nobunaga was informed of this by his new vassal Katsuie, he faked illness to get close to Nobuyuki and assassinated him in Kiyosu Castle.

Battle of Okehazama
In 1560, Yoshimoto gathered an army of 25,000 men and started his march toward Kyoto, with the excuse of aiding the frail Ashikaga shogunate. The Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province was also to join Yoshimoto's forces. In comparison, the Oda clan could rally an army of only 1,800, and the forces would also have to be split up to defend various forts at the border. Under such dire circumstances, Nobunaga was said to have performed his favorite Atsumori dance, before riding off with only a few attendants to pray in a shrine.

The Oda clan's generals did not believe that they would win this impossible war. Only the night before, Katsuie had tried in vain to change Oda Nobunaga's mind about a frontal attack; he kept reminding Nobunaga of the joint army's complete lack of manpower compared to the Imagawa soldiers, who, according to rumors, numbered 40,000 men. Hayashi Sado no Kami Hidesada, the remaining adviser from Nobuhide's days, even argued for surrender without fighting, using the same reasoning as Katsuie. Upon this advice, according to the clan's chronicler, Nobunaga yelled:

"Imagawa has 40,000 men marching toward this place? I don't believe that. He 'only' has 25,000 soldiers. Yes, that is still too many. So Sado, you want me to surrender. What if we do surrender? Will you be satisfied losing your life that way? What if we hold like Katsuie wants? What if we stay here in this castle, lock it up, and wait until the Imagawas lose their appetite, stop the siege, and go home? We would prolong our lives for 5 or 10 days, and what we cannot defend will stay as such. We are at the bottom of the pit, you know, and our fate is interesting. Of course the misery is great, too. But this is how I see it: it's the chance of a lifetime. I can't afford to miss it. Do you really want to spend your entire lives praying for longevity? We were born to die! Whoever is with me, come to the battlefield tomorrow morning. Whoever is not, stay where you are and watch me win it!"

Nobunaga was right; Yoshimoto deliberately leaked the highly exaggerated number of his soldiers out to scare the Oda clan, and the official chronicler of the Imagawas put it down as was usual in medieval battle records to exaggerate numbers. While Yoshimoto's men were celebrating their early victories over the Oda troops, Nobunaga and his men charged down the mountainous terrain from Zenkoji. Aided by the heavy thunderstorm and the unprepared Imagawa troops, Nobunaga's ambush was a startling success. His victory dispelled most doubts about his capabilities and labeled him as a genuine threat to Owari's neighbors.

Rapidly weakening, the Imagawa clan no longer exerted control over the Matsudaira clan. In 1561, an alliance was forged between Oda Nobunaga and Matsudaira Motoyasu, despite the decades-old hostility between the two clans. Tradition dates this battle as the time that Nobunaga first noticed the talents of Kinoshita Tokichiro who would eventually become Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Rise to Power
After Saito Yoshitatsu's death, Nobunaga set his sight on the weakened Saito clan ruling Mino. The current ruler of Mino was the comparatively incompetent Saito Tatsuoki. To simultaneously aid his territory's defense and add to his military strength, he issued an alliance with Azai Nagamasa and solidified their pact by marrying his sister, Oichi, to him. This allowed him to concentrate on crushing the Saito clan. Five years after their first conflict, Nobunaga took various castles within Mino and gained the trust of the influential Mino trio (Inaba Yoshimichi, Ujiie Bokuzen, and Ando Morinari). He forced Tatsuoki to retreat to Nagashima, Mie in 1567 and completely subjugates the Mino clan in 1568. Tatsuoki survived until he was later killed by Nobunaga's men in 1570. To avoid military conflict with Mino's ally, Takeda Harunobu, the Oda and Takeda clan made a matrimonial alliance between Matsuhime (Harunobu's seven year old sixth daughter) and Oda Nobutada (Nobunaga's eleven year old eldest son).

At age 33, Nobunaga had successfully expanded his territory and designated Inabayama Castle to be his new base of operations. He renamed his new home to be Gifu and started to use the personal seal, Tenka Fubu (天下布武), to signify his new ambition. It is literally translated as "unite the land under military might" or "below the heavens (rain), warriors cover all". To follow suite, he attacked Kitabatake Tomonori in the neighboring Ise sector in late 1568. By 1570, after a brave fifty day resistance, Kitabatake surrenders after his retainers betray him and he refuses to agree to the treaty requirements to make Nobunaga's second son, Nobuo, his heir. He becomes a monk and his daughter, Yukihime, became Nobuo's wife for any possible offspring.

In September 1568, Ashikaga Yoshiaki went to Gifu to ask Nobunaga to start a campaign toward Kyoto. Yoshiaki was the brother of the murdered thirteenth shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshiteru, and wanted revenge against the killers who had already set up a puppet shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihide. Nobunaga agreed to install Yoshiaki as the new shogun and, grasping the opportunity to enter Kyoto, started his campaign. An obstacle in southern Ōmi Province, however, was the Rokkaku clan. Led by Rokkaku Yoshikata, the clan refused to recognize Yoshiaki as shogun and was ready to go to war. In response, Nobunaga launched a rapid attack, driving the Rokkaku clan out of their castles. Their decisive encounter was the Battle of Kannonji Castle, one of the early military accomplishments for Nobunaga's retainers: Kinoshita Tokichiro, Niwa Nagahide, and Takigawa Kazumasu. Shortly after, Nobunaga had reached Kyoto and driven the Miyoshi clan out of the city. Yoshiaki was made the 15th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate.

Historians generally agree that Nobunaga had the entire Kansai region under his control by 1569.



First Anti-Nobunaga Sentiments
After he established Yoshiaki as the shogunate, Nobunaga presented him with his personally written laws called the Tenchu Onokite (殿中御掟). Nobunaga would oversee the shogun's every movement and had permission to call arms at any time. His laws tried to make capital punishments more practical and separated religion from government affairs. Aside from controlling the shogunate, it also recognized the common man's accomplishments over nobility and pressed for military rule. Since Yoshiaki owed his ally, he reluctantly passed nine of these articles and five more in January 1570. As he approved more laws, however, Yoshiaki began to plot Nobunaga's demise.

In April 1570, Nobunaga decided to conquer the Asakura clan and stake his claim on the Echizen Province. Against the advice of his vassals, he gathered an army with Tokugawa Ieyasu and took various Asakura castles. While Nobunaga's troops were marching through Kanegasaki, Azai Nagamasa joined forces with the Asakura and betrayed the Oda clan. Taken by surprise, Nobunaga was forced to retreat. Tokichiro, Ieyasu, Ikeda Katsumasa, and Akechi Mitsuhide served as the rear guard as he fled. It is said that out of his army of 30,000 only ten men safely arrived with him back to the capital.

By this time, other daimyo who disagreed with Nobunaga's methods began to rise at Yoshiaki's request. They were Azai Nagamasa, Asakura Yoshikage, Takeda Shingen, Mōri Terumoto, and the Miyoshi trio (Iwanari Tomomichi, Miyoshi Masayasu, Miyoshi Nagayasu). Additionally, the Buddhist monks at Ishiyama Hongan-ji, who were displeased with Nobunaga removing the omnyoji's influence in the court, also joined the circle. They were later dubbed the "Nobunaga Encirclement" or the "Nobunaga Coalition" (信長包囲網).

Determined to stop Nobunaga's forces, the Asakura and Azai clans moved to stop him at Anegawa. On August 9, the smaller Tokugawa army and the larger Oda army were victorious in driving them back. Only seventeen days later, Nobunaga also had to strengthen his defenses against the Miyoshi trio. His enemies were eventually reinforced by the Ishiyama sect who weren't allied with Yoshiaki. By September 23, his opponents called off the assault and the Noda and Fukushima Castles remained under Oda control.

Simultaneously, the Azai and Asakura armies rebounded from their defeat with 30,000 men and attacked the Oda troops near Sakamoto. Mori Yoshinari and Nobunaga's younger brother, Oda Nobuharu, were killed in battle. The two armies stationed themselves at Mount Hiei and Nobunaga moved to counter them at Usayama Castle. He once again drove them back by December 17. While he was fighting them, however, the Ishiyama sect rebelled under Kennyo's leadership and attacked the Nanashima (later known as Nagashima) forts. During their first siege, another of Nobunaga's younger brothers, Oda Nobuoki, was killed in battle. At a loss, Nobunaga asked Emperor Ogimachi to call for a ceasefire with the Asakura and Azai clans. Under royal order, they obeyed. In Ōkubo Tadataka's book, Mikawa no Monogatari, Nobunaga reportedly said, "The heavens are waiting to devour the Asakura. Hope is not lost."

While defending his boarders from all sides, Nobunaga contemplated on a method to cripple the coalition against him and gain more allies in Kyoto. In January 1571, Hosokawa Fujitaka sent a letter stating that Mount Hiei must be taken within that year or the Azai forces would claim it. The mountain was an important strategic point in defending Nobunaga's second base, Kyoto, and also the home of Enryaku-ji, a highly respected temple and home for the rebellious sohei (warrior monks). After quelling the resistance surrounding the mountain, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi marched their armies upwards in September. As the 30,000 men came closer to the temple, Nobunaga was offered gold to bribe him to leave. The closer he marched, more gold he was offered. Nobunaga never accepted the peace offering; he was convinced that the people within the temple were corrupt and used their pious background to dodge government punishment. On the night of September 30, his army burned the temple and killed many women and children. The total fatality count is estimated to be 3,000~4,000 people; the numbers vary due to the amount of innocents involved. While it is seen as a controversial move by his vassals, the rest of the country thought it was a heinous act against tradition and humanity.

In May the same year, he also began his longest military campaign against the Ikko (Ishiyama) sect rebels. In Nagashima, Nobunaga lost many men near the location of their first battle and was forced to temporarily withdraw when he was injured by gunfire in June.

His ally, Ieyasu, held off Shingen's attacks and called for aid in 1572. Nobunaga sent 3,000 men and two of his retainers, Hirate Hirohide and Sakuma Nobumori. To his surprise, Shingen was victorious at the Battle of Mikatagahara and severely weakened Ieyasu. Shingen's following march towards the capital was halted when he suddenly died near Noda Castle. Seemingly aided by the heavens, accounts of Nobunaga's "demon" reputation usually originate during these years. He was specifically nicknamed the "Red Ogre" (赤鬼) after the Enryaku-ji massacre.

Coalition Collapse
Shingen's death threw Yoshiaki's allies into confusion and allowed Nobunaga to gain the momentum he needed. Yoshikage, who was previously barricaded near Nijō and Makishima Castle, fled from the capital. Left with no immediate defenders against Nobunaga, the Muromachi shogunate was ruined and Yoshiaki was banished. In August 1573, Iwanari Tomomichi was subjugated by Fujitaka during the second battle at Yodo-ko Castle. In the same month, Nobunaga lead 30,000 men and conquered the Asakura's home, Ichijōdani Castle. Two months later, he also attacked Odani Castle, Nagamasa's home. During the siege, Nagamasa and his parents (Hisamasa and Ono-dono) were killed. Oichi was returned to Nobunaga before the castle fell completely.

In November the same year, Nobunaga marched towards Miyoshi Yoshitsugu's home in Kawachi Province. Yoshitsugu and Yoshiaki were raising a revolt and Sakuma Nobumori was sent to take care of it. Facing Nobunaga's might, many of Miyoshi's retainers mutinied and the clan was ruined by November 16. On December 26, the powerful Matsunaga Hisahide also surrendered to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga was able to destroy most of the resistance against him except for the Ikko sect. Since he hated prolonged battles, Nobunaga withdrew his troops in October to focus on the Miyoshi trio. One of his retainers, Hayashi Michimasa, died during this conflict. The siege of the Nagashima forts didn't end until 1574 when Nobunaga constructed a wooden barricade to trap the Ikko sect within their fort. The rebels appealed for surrender but Nobunaga wanted to annihilate them (legends state that he particularly hated the rebels' superior officer and considered the plea to be a ruse). Nobunaga ambushed the surrender party and, when they learned their men were killed, the remaining rebels also rioted. They attacked Nobunaga's family and killed two more of his younger brothers, Nobuhira and Hidenari. In response, Nobunaga decimated the rebels and their families, murdering 20,000 men and women. After this, the Nagashima riots were stopped.

Conquering Echizen
In April 1575, Takeda Katsuyori marched his army near Tokugawa's territory once more. Though his main goal was to finish off the Tokugawa clan, he also wanted to punish the "traitor" Okudaira Nobumasa. With an army of 15,000 men, Katsuyori took Nagashino Castle and marched closer on Okudaira's troops. They were reinforced by Nobunaga's 30,000 manned army on May 12. When Katsuyori withdrew his troops, Nobunaga joined forces with Ieyasu's troops from Mikawa. Six days later, the army of 38,000 marched towards Katsuyori's position and fought at Nagashino on May 21. According to the Nobunaga Gouki, Nobunaga used 1,000 arquebusiers to stop the incoming Takeda cavalry. The Tokugawa records insist that 3,000 riflemen were used. Regardless of the number, Nobunaga's reliance on the firearm revolutionized the way how they were used in Japanese warfare.

While Nobunaga was visiting the temple built for his beloved retainer, Maeba Yoshitsugu, internal strife began in Echizen. The proprietor of the riot was the same man responsible for Yoshitsugu's death, Tomita Nagashige. Hearing of the public unrest, Kennyo ordered one of his followers, Shimotsuma Raisho, to lead the Echizen riots. They declared Nobunaga to be an evil influence for the country and raised arms. Thinking this was his chance to finally gain Echizen, Nobunaga suppressed them in August. Just how Nobunaga defeated the rebels remains unclear. Nobunaga's recorder at the time, Murai Sadakatsu, wrote that it was an unsightly massacre. The Maeda family recorder states that they used non-violent methods to capture the men opposing them. Others write that the rebellion was failed from the start as the followers were not entirely united for their cause; they either surrendered or quit the field.

With a section of Echizen under his command, Nobunaga ordered Katsuie to keep an eye on it.

Second Anti-Nobunaga Sentiments
On November 4, Nobunaga was promoted from Dainagon to Konoe Daisho, the third most powerful position in the government at the time. Only fourteen days later, after he gave estate of Owari and Mino to his heir less Nobutada, he resigned from politics. However, Nobunaga continued to lead and foresaw all activities regarding his clan. In 1576, Nobunaga commissioned the building of Azuchi Castle. When it was completed in 1579, he declared it as his new place of operations and lived there.

During the same year that Azuchi Castle was being built, a chain of revolts against Nobunaga began. Since these generals gained Yoshiaki's support for their campaigns, the group is called the Second Nobunaga Encirclement. Figures included in the group are Hatano Hideharu, Yamana Suketoyo, Mōri Terumoto, Ukita Naoie, Murakami Yoshimitsu, Araki Murashige, Bessho Nagaharu, Matsunaga Hisahide, Uesugi Kenshin, and Takeda Katsuyori. The Saika sect and the Ikko sect at Ishiyama Hongan-ji are also major participants.

Nobunaga first raised arms against the rebellions in April 1576. With 30,000 men, Mitsuhide, Murashige, and Ban Naomasa met with him to defeat Hideharu and the Ikko sect at Osaka. However, he suffered a crushing defeat and many people -including high-ranking politicians- were killed during the conflict. Seeing the monks as his greatest threat, he aimed to defeat them after his loss. Marching with an army of 3,000, he planned to infiltrate and claim their base of operations, Tenno-ji, which was reinforced by the Saika sect. Despite facing the massive army of 15,000 rebels, Nobunaga chose to spearhead the attack on the early morning of May 7. Caught off guard, the rebels were defeated at the cost of suffering serious injuries and losses from the Oda army. He planned to starve the monks' resources, which worked until the Ikko sect's ally, the Mōri clan, arrived on July 13 from the shoreline. Nobunaga's men were forced to withdraw. The Ikko sect used this time to convince Kenshin and many other daimyo to aid their rebellion.

Seeing his own defenses lacking, Nobunaga ordered Mitsuhide, Murashige, Hideyoshi and other key generals to capture the nearby rivers and villages for resources in 1577. After they took Ise, they came closer to Kii Province, the homeland of the Saika sect. When they tried to march deeper within, they were ambushed by guerrilla tactics from the defending Saika snipers. Hideyoshi lost 23 men to the attack and quickly called for a retreat. Both sides shared an uneasy feeling of unrest and were not sure how to progress with the situation. Wanting to prevent a prolonged siege, the Saika formerly surrendered. Nobunaga agreed and withdrew his troops from the area. Around the same time, Katsuie razed the lands of Tedorigawa, which was located in the same province.

Matsunaga Hisahide, after joining with the remaining Miyoshi strongmen and receiving a promising reading of his future, betrayed Nobunaga the same year. By August, he had an army of 8,000, a fortified castle, and aid from the Ikko sect and the Uesugi. Though Nobunaga reportedly half regretted the decision, the Oda army journeyed toward Shigesan Castle in September. With Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi at the front, the defenses were withered by October and Hisahide committed suicide later the same month. When Naito Sadamasa died of illness at the same time, Nobunaga took advantage of the weakened Tamba Province and captured many of their castles.

Katsuie was ordered to deal with the Uesugi during their siege with Hisahide. Against Kenshin's tactics, his vassal suffered a crushing defeat at Tedorigawa. Before efforts to retaliate the Uesugi were made, however, Kenshin died of illness. The following civil dispute between Kenshin's living heirs saved Nobunaga from further attacks from Echizen. Again, he took advantage of the Uesugi strife to claim their lands, the Noto and Kaga Provinces, in 1578.

Oda Region Corps
Still dealing with the threat of multiple rebellions and wanting to expand his newly gained territories, Nobunaga decided to split his forces to deal with every conflict simultaneously. He planned to send each of his top-ranked generals in approximately ten different parts of the country.
 * Oda Nobutada - Takeda territory; vassals such as Kawajiri Hidetaka and Mori Nagayoshi faced Katsuyori
 * Sakuma Nobumori - Ishigami-Honganji district; ordered to suppress the Honganji rebels
 * Shibata Katsuie - Hokuriku region; faced Uesugi Kagekatsu with Maeda Toshiie and Sassa Narimasa
 * Akechi Mitsuhide - Kinki or Kansai prefecture; with help from Hosokawa Fujitaka, suppressed Hatano Hideharu's rebellion
 * Hashiba Hideyoshi - Chugoku region; sent to deal with Mōri Terumoto
 * Takigawa Kazumasu - Kanto sector
 * Oda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, Hachiya Yoritaka - Shikoku territory
 * Tokugawa Ieyasu - ordered to suppress the Tokiado region
 * Oda Nobukatsu - ordered to suppress Iga
 * Oda Nobuharu - ordered to suppress the Kii province

Nobunaga gave them permission to rule each part of their respective land and promised to pay them greatly. If possible, he also wanted them to conquer the surrounding territory. The Oda army used the newly conquered provinces from Echizen to bolster their forces. His decision to wage constant warfare was met with mixed impressions with his men, causing his vassals, Bessho Nagaharu and Araki Murashige, to defect or revolt.

Hideyoshi captured Murashige during his early stages of rebellion but spared him supposedly due to their ties of friendship. When Nobunaga heard of his vassal's betrayal, he was shocked; his vassals were not. Nobunaga agreed to Mitsuhide's suggestion to hold Murashige's wife hostage and personally lead the siege against the defector in the years 1578 and 1579 at Arioka Castle. He lead an estimated 50,000 man army with Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi and Matsui Yūkan's forces. His adversary endured their assault with 10,000 soldiers. Despite their numbers, the Oda army fared badly due to secret sympathizers with Murashige, ambushes from the local monks, and other simultaneous conflicts. Their situation did not improve until Nakagawa Kiyohide and Dom Justo Takayama surrendered. Soon after, the castle was taken and Murashige fled. As punishment, the rest of his family was executed -excluding his wife and child whom escaped.

During this time, the Oda army was continuously routed due to the vastly superior Mori clan. Their army took advantage of the mutinies against Nobunaga and fought fierce naval campaigns. When Murashige was defeated, the tables had turned when the influential Ukita Naoie submitted to Nobunaga. Bessho Nagaharu was one of the main generals who continually opposed Hideyoshi's advance. When he heard that the Mori were weakened and was cut off from any support, he chose to commit suicide. On Nobunaga's behest, Hideyoshi also headed for Yamana Suketoyo, a man who surrendered to his lord but, after being neglected regarding his conditions of surrender, betrayed the clan in 1575. Though elderly by this time, he was considered to be a threat since he helped fund the resistance against Nobunaga. He was slain when Hideyoshi's troops surrounded his castle on May 21, 1580.

Nobukatsu, who was specifically ordered to only supervise his designated area for the time being, got infuriated by his stagnant occupation and decided to invade the Iga province in 1579. He aimed to repair the dilapidated Maruyama Castle and use it as his base of operations. News of his scheme quickly reached the Iga ninja and the shinobi, Shimoyama Kainokami, was sent to deal with the threat. Nobukatsu suffered a crushing defeat when his troops were ambushed by the ninja troop lead by Kainokami. Nobunaga was soon informed of the blunder and harshly scolded his son for the obtrusion. In 1581, Nobunaga gathered 40,000 volunteers to invade Iga and made Nobukatsu the army's leading commander. It is said that nearly every resident within Iga was ready to stake their lives to oppose the Oda army. This time, the Oda army was able to navigate the lands easier due to guidance from the Koga shinobi, Tarao Mitsutoshi, and two Iga ninja defectors. Gamō Ujisato also aided them and the Iga ninja were soon isolated in one castle. The events after this point remain disputed between four accounts. Nobunaga either decided to have a ceasefire, ordered the Iga ninja to be slaughtered, opted for their surrender and service, or the Iga ninja in the castle revolted a final time and were slain. In either case, Iga was subdued and was integrated under the Oda name.

Friction between Nobunaga and his vassals continued to build with his abrupt rulings. One such infamous instance was when he ordered Ieyasu's son (Matsudaira Nobuyasu) and wife (Tsukiyama-dono; also Nobuyasu's mother) to commit suicide due to loose rumors regarding treachery in 1579. When the Honganji rebels eventually surrendered in 1580, Nobunaga heard that their enemies were holding secret talks with ally generals. Based on this reasoning, he banished Hayashi Hidesada and Andō Morinari. Both incidents made the forces for and against Nobunaga hold passionate debates regarding his questionable judgment. Many stated that he was only using their misfortunes to fuel his own ulterior motives. In spite of whatever people thought about him, Nobunaga was at the height of his power in 1581. His properties nearly tripled since his campaigns in 1569. On February 28 the same year, he held a parade in Kyoto to celebrate his success. He designated Niwa Nagahide as the general who would demonstrate the strength of his army and invited Emperor Ōgimachi to attend.

Takeda Subjugation
Kiso Yoshimasa, a Takeda vassal who was angered and disgusted with Katsuyori's methods, decided to defect to the Oda clan on February 1, 1582. He took his younger brother, Akematsu Yoshitoyo, with him as a hostage. Understandably, Katsuyori was infuriated with the betrayal and instantly ordered Yoshimasa's wife, noble concubine, and child to be crucified. Thinking that the Oda resistance would be light, he marched with Takeda Nobutoyo to reek vengeance. His army numbered 15,000. Nobunaga heard of the instance two days later and marched with his son, Nobutada, from Ina Province. Joining him from four different directions were Ieyasu, Hōjō Ujimasa, and Kanamori Nagachika.

The Takeda troops were demoralized by the mass army formed against them and gradually suffered from various defections within the first month of conflict. Their castles fell one after another and were given to Nobunaga's generals. Nobunaga, after addressing the situation, did not take an active part during the campaign and designated himself on stand by. His son, however, won various stakes to fame when he captured Takato Castle, which was defended by Nishina Morinobu and Oyamada Masayuki. His accomplishments forced Katsuyori to flee from his position the following day. Reinforcing his army, Nobunaga rode from Azuchi Castle on March 5, 1582 to block the general's escape path. As a result, Katsuyori couldn't rendezvous with Sanada Masayuki in the manner he originally planned. The Oda army gave chase and set fire to any castle that Katsuyori escaped to.

Katsuyori fled to Temmokuzan about two or three days later with his son, Nobukatsu. When he was denied entry by his vassal Oyamada Nobushige, he and his son were embittered by defeat. They committed suicide soon after. When Takigawa Kazumasu went to inspect the area on March 11, his force was fiercely attacked by the remaining Takeda loyalists, which totaled to 100 or 300 men. Many of the Takeda's remaining generals were killed in the final charge. By this time, Nobunaga had returned to Azuchi Castle and received Katsuyori and his son's heads on March 14. Upon the Takeda's demise, he declared, "I shall pardon none who have submitted, as the roots and its offspring shall be exterminated as a whole." With this order, the "hunt for the Takeda" was quickly issued.

He assigned awards and territories to his vassals, personally going to inspect the Shinano Province in April. During this time, he ordered the death of Shoki Kaisen on accusations that the monk twisted the land's well being.



Incident at Honnoji
Nobunaga began his plans to invade the Shikoku region, obtained by Chōsokabe Motochika, for summer the same year. Oda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, Hachiya Yoritaka were sent in advance to begin preparations for their campaign.

On April 4, Ieyasu visited Azuchi Castle to celebrate his victory during the Takeda subjugation. Nobunaga ordered Mitsuhide to entertain him on the 8th and 10th. His vassal continued to act as an entertainer for his guests until June 6, when Hideyoshi requested reinforcements. According to the Akechi Gunki (Mitsuhide's edited biography from the Edo Period), Nobunaga was gravely dissatisfied with Mitsuhide's performance by this time and gave him a rather harsh scolding and beating. He replaced the latter's position with his page, Mori Naritoshi, and ordered Mitsuhide to reinforce Hideyoshi.

Meanwhile, on June 19, Nobunaga prepared the troops that were scheduled to be sent to the Chūgoku region. After this, he paid a visit to Honnō-ji. Mitsuhide, who was supposed to be marching towards Hideyoshi, suddenly turned back to Kyoto. From here, the following events are generally split between two different stories. It is assumed that Nobunaga fought the invading troops with a spear and Naritoshi sacrificed his life for his lord's safety. He was overwhelmed, however, when the Akechi troops set fire to the temple. The other account prevalent with the Akechi troops was that Nobunaga saw the threat and, when hope was lost, set fire to the temple himself and stayed within the flames. He either committed suicide through the traditional method or voluntarily let the flames engulf him. He was either 48 or 49 when he died. Hideyoshi later dedicated a shrine to his lord at Daitoku-ji. On November 17, 1917, Nobunaga was given the posthumous rank of Shou-ichi, a distinguished and honorable rank to commend the daimyo's contributions for Japan.

Akechi Hidemitsu recorded that he tried searching for Nobunaga's remains but lamented that they weren't found. This has lead to some speculation regarding the daimyo's actual whereabouts during this time. Some say that he escaped the disaster and committed suicide in a completely different location. Others state that Nobunaga did die at the temple yet his remains were respectfully hidden and buried by a priest who admired him. Mitsuhide captured the pious man but released him when he couldn't find anything suspicious about him. Recently, in 2007, the area where the incident occurred was thoroughly investigated and scorched tiles and planks were found. With hopes to know the truth behind Nobunaga's final moments, the investigation around the area continues to this day.

Trivia

 * In Hideyoshi's opening movie in Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends, Nobunaga says that he read about a great man who said, "Alea iacta est".