Oichi

Oichi (お市) is one of Nobunaga's younger sisters and Nagamasa's wife. Historically, she later becomes Katsuie's wife, which is implied to also occur in select Koei titles. Cherished by her family and said to have been well loved by their retainers for her beauty, Oichi is the famous mother of the Three Azai Sisters.

In the first Samurai Warriors, she is 15 years old and her height is 158 cm (5'2"). Her height is 162 cm (close to 5'4") in the second and third titles. Fans voted her to twenty-first place in Gamecity's Samurai Warriors 3: Empires character popularity poll.

Her Samurai Warriors counterpart shares a duet image song with Nagamasa titled Dokoshie ni Saku Hana.

Role in Games

 * "That's clearly no ordinary toy!"
 * ―Xing Cai; Warriors Orochi

Samurai Warriors
Oichi is a kind individual who believes in her loved ones. After helping her brother at Okehazama, she joins the Oda ranks at Inabayama Castle. Though worried for her sister-in-law's feelings, the elder calms her by merely stating that she is making a choice. Contemplating Nō's words, she marries to Nagamasa and is forced to fight her brother years later at Anegawa. Wanting to find an alternative solution to the conflict, she believes that Nō can convince Nobunaga to stop while defending her husband and Yoshikage.

If she fails to succeed in either task, she gives into fighting her brother and believes that she is the only one capable of killing him. Despite Oda officers and her husband trying to dissuade her from this path, she aids the Azai march at Azuchi Castle to take Nobunaga's life. They succeed and Nagamasa becomes the near unifier of the land. Nō, mad with Nobuanga's death, leads the remaining Oda officers into rebellion at Honnōji. As they fight, Ieyasu and Hideyoshi also voice their objection to Nagamasa's new seat of power. Slaying a majority of the Oda followers, Oichi is resolute to continue fighting beside her love in her brother's name.

An Oichi who quickly routs Nobunaga at Anegawa saves the Azai main camp from danger. Hoping to fulfill her wish, she hurries to meet her brother in Azuchi Castle to negotiate peace between her two families. Arriving at the top floor, she instead meets Mitsuhide and learns of his plans to defect. With this in mind, she and her husband hurry to Nobuanga's rescue at Honnōji. She convinces her brother to live past the betrayal and he escapes with Nō and Ranmaru. Enjoying a fireworks show after their victory, the two men share a brief exchange of apologies and reconcile.

In Samurai Warriors 2, she begins her story happily married with Nagamasa yet distrusts her brother's word of good faith for his alliance with the Azai. Grabbing the closest weapon she could find, she joins her husband in suppressing bandits in a nearby village. As Nobunaga breaks his promise to not attack the Asakura, Nagamasa decides to pursue the Oda to aid his family allies. Oichi, wanting to fight for her lover than her family, joins the chase at Kanegasaki and aids the Azai-Asakura front at Anegawa.

Winning the latter conflict causes the formerly conquered forces to revolt against Nobunaga. Taking advantage of this time of weakness, Yoshikage declares himself leader of the resistance and asks both Nagamasa and Oichi to attend the fight at Mt.Usa. Although they are successful, Nobunaga regroups, deals with the rebels, and surrounds Nagamasa and Yoshikage at Odani Castle. Incredibly guilt-ridden for his actions and knowing that he wouldn't survive, Nagamasa sends Oichi back to the Oda. Nobunaga then orders his sister to lead the attack and end the Azai-Asakura alliance permanently. As per her husband's wish, she strikes him down in combat. Crying over his body, she sadly confesses her love for him a final time before he disappears into several flower petals.

Her dream stage is a contest staged by Nō at Shizugatake. Wanting to find a definitive answer over which one is the most beautiful, they clash with the Oda supporting Nō and the Azai supporting Oichi. Although she initially states that the battle is pointless, Oichi humorously gives in to the competition to prove that she is at least more beautiful than her sister-in-law.

Again joining her brother's ranks at Okehazama in the third title, she has a chance meeting with Nagamasa while paying her respects to a fallen soldier. Joyfully curious about the cheerful stranger, she decides to enter the fray to learn more about him. As the Oda officers notice the love between them, both lovers marry due to their feelings for one another and have their blessings from the Oda family. Though becoming good friends with his brother-in-law, Nobunaga tells his sister that she is the only one capable of making her wishes come true. Her dream is to help support Nagamasa's vision of a serene land filled with flowers, which she affirms after helping her brother take Inabayama Castle. When Nagamasa decides to aid Yoshikage, Oichi realizes that her husband's kindness causes her anxiety and hesitates to fight her brother. Both Nobunaga and Nagamasa notice her strain, suggesting that she return to her brother if her husband's decision pains her too much. Touched by her husband's sincerity, Oichi decides to stay by the Azai through any hardship and swears to strike down Nobunaga.

In spite of her newfound devotion, Nagamasa asks her to leave for the Oda after the Asakura fall and wait for the country he wants to create. On her trip back, she realizes her husband's dream can be made a reality with her beside him and rides back alone to rescue Nagamasa at Odani Castle. Telling her husband that they can realize his vision together, the lovers reunite and protect the castle. Routing her brother's army, they eventually gain the potential to see their dream realized. However, Shingen, Ujiyasu, Kenshin, Ieyasu, and Nobunaga oppose their rise to power and lead their armies against them at the Yogoko Lakeside. Striving to prove their love and conviction to the other lords, Nagamasa declares the conflict will be their last battle. Upon their victory and the other lords' consent, Oichi and her husband share a happy moment in the gentle, new peace.

Warriors Orochi
Throughout the series, Oichi is faithfully following Nagamasa. During Warriors Orochi, she joins his resistance against Cao Pi and is given the task to guard their allies' reinforcement point. Following their defeat, she wishes to share the same fate as her lord and joins Wei's ranks.

In Warriors Orochi 2, she acts as Yoshikage Asakura's guide to Nagamasa. She states that her husband's noble character allowed her to gain their ally. She shares her dream mode with Sun Shang Xiang and Da Qiao. In this stage, she works with her teammates to protect a petrified Nagamasa, who was frozen by Da Ji. After defeating Okuni and a lecherous Dong Zhuo, the spell over her lover is broken and he is free to move once more.

After Orochi's second defeat, she joined her husband's dream to create a land of harmony. They were overwhelmed by the serpent forces, however, and she is taken hostage for Nagamasa's loyalty. She and the other prisoners are rescued by the coalition at Xuchang. When freed the maiden once again swears to be beside her husband's side. She later supports their efforts to rescue Diaochan and Wang Yi in the past.

Pokémon Conquest
Her counterpart in Pokémon Conquest is not noted to be married to any particular person. She once enjoyed Nobunaga's company since he was kind and gentle, but once his behavior soured, she distanced herself from him. Oichi misinterprets her brother's ambition and fears he wants to destroy all of Ransei. To escape the war he commits to waging, Oichi runs away from her home, Dragnor, with her beloved Pokémon partner Jigglypuff.

When the main story begins, she happens to arrive at Aurora Castle. She spies the protagonist, who is the newly made Warlord of the country, being intimidated by two generals of the nearby kingdom of Ignis. Unable to turn away from the fight, Oichi supports him/her and helps defend Aurora. She then pleads for the protagonist to let her stay and rejoices living in a land of peace. She quickly becomes fond of her new friend and home, offering advice for the player during the tutorial stages of the game. Though she is reluctant to participate, Oichi is also a mandatory character in the decisive battles throughout the main story. The protagonist is often mute during story events, so she acts as his/her in-game interpreter for his/her feelings.

As she stays with the protagonist, Oichi eventually reveals her origins to him/her and her wish to see Ransei unified with peaceful intentions. She implores him/her to create such a land with her support. For this wish, she remains loyal to Aurora as they face Nobunaga's allies and forces. After the legendary Pokémon decides to depart from Ransei, Oichi congratulates the protagonist's successful unification. Despite her reconciliation with her brother, she accompanies the protagonist back to Aurora.

Oichi's episode has her act as Pugilis's Warlord as one of the beauties in Ransei. The six other female Warlords fight amongst themselves to decide who deserves to be known as the Queen of Ransei. Oichi personally has no interest in the competition, but she is goaded by Nō to fight for her believers. In other episodes, she often serves as a substitute Warlord for either the protagonist or her brother in their absence.

Kessen
Oichi is a non-playable character in Kessen III. She is a timid and beautiful woman who is admired by many of Nobunaga's men. After Nagamasa's death, she later tends to Kicho's wounds after Honnoji. She can be a playable unit if the game is on Expert difficulty.

Saihai no Yukue
She makes a brief off screen and unnamed cameo in Saihai no Yukue. In Chacha's memory, she apologizes for sending her daughters away. However, she hopes her death will save them and wishes for their happiness.

Development
Her youthful debut was done to create an idol character for the series. Key words to help her design were rabbit, sailor outfit, and fox. The main goal for her Samurai Warriors design was to show off the charm and uniqueness of a "Japanese girl". Her choice of weaponry was chosen for originality and to avoid the ethical issue of a child killing/being killed.

To better fit the themes set in Samurai Warriors 2, she was given a revamp that emphasizes maturity. Though notions for changing her weapon were made, the developers decided to keep her kendama as a fun alternative for players. Since her role in this game is to be the bridge between both clans, the Azai and Oda crests also don her outfit.

The producer for Samurai Warriors 3 noted that since she was made to be more mature like a woman, the team decided to give her a different weapon. He notes that her new weapon is kinda like a hula hoop.

Personality
Unlike her design counterpart Masamune, Oichi demonstrates two different personalities in her Warriors appearances. For her debut, she is a perky and optimistic teenager who cares deeply for the ones close to her. A headstrong princess, she clings strongly to her own beliefs and is stubborn to change. Her attacks all hint a degree of childish charm. However, she can be sour to the ones who don't interest her and whines if she loses. She also overexerts herself and takes desperate actions to continue fighting for her dream. Though she admires her sister-in-law, she also admits their ideals are too different for one another.

In the following titles, Oichi matures into a calm and graceful individual. In the second title, she struggles with her knowledge of her brother's unique nature as she knows that both her loved ones will inevitably fight one another. She accepts her happiness with Nagamasa as fleeting and secretly wishes for a time when her family can fight together for a common goal. She believes strongly in destiny as well as her husband's beliefs. Unlike the previous title, her ties with her sister-in-law are strained as the latter cannot stand her. Her newest incarnation openly hates conflict but feels that she has the obligation to participate in war in order to end them. She is dearly faithful towards her love and family, not wanting to cause grief to either. She regains the fierce will to defy fate like her younger counterpart. In the Japanese script, she occasionally refers to herself in third person (市, Ichi) when talking with her husband.

During the first and second installments of the Warriors Orochi series, Oichi is generally respected by the women of the Three Kingdoms era for her devotion as a wife. In turn, she admires the likes of Xing Cai, Sun Shang Xiang, Zhen Ji, and Nu Wa for their prowess and bravery in battle. The third game has her forming a bond with the brooding Wang Yi who hesitates to open her heart to the younger woman.

Character Symbolism
Oichi is symbolized by the characters "sympathy" (憐) and "cold" (凛) as well as pink sparkles of light for her Samurai Warriors appearance. During the cinematics for the series, Nagamasa and Oichi share wisterias with one another. Within the flower language, it means they will never be parted and that they both consider one another to be an imperative existence in one another's lives.

Her first kendama -second in her debut- and Normal wheel for her third appearance are named after cherry blossoms in Asian ports, a cultural symbol of transient beauty in Japan. Her second kendama -third in her debut- is named after a lily, which is known for chastity and purity within the flower language.

The original name for her third kendama -fourth in her debut- references the ball to be a mystical item found in Hinduism and Buddhism. Literally translated as a "thinking gem", the Nyoi-hoju is an artifact that grants any wish at its user's will. An item of unlimited profit, one is believed to obtain perfect happiness and prosperity once obtaining it. Oichi's wheels are made of the same material as Nyoi-hoju, except they have been crafted to form a ring instead. A viola is noted to be attached to her third weapon and her Speed weapon. Within the flower language, the viola is known as a flower of love and reserved happiness. It asks the recipient of the flower to always think of its sender for they will remain ever chaste for them. In the case of married couples, it represents a wife who admires no other man but her husband. Other traits include humbleness, modesty, and sincerity.

Her Power weapon is originally named after a camellia. In the flower language, it means pride and perfect elegance. A red flower can additionally mean effortless beauty or bashful love.

Konohanasakuyahime is a goddess of unparalleled beauty in Japanese mythology. She is the namesake for Oichi's fourth kendama -fifth in her debut- and her Unique weapon. Ninigi personally chose her for his wife due to her charms. She became pregnant in a single night. To dispel her husband's suspicions of adultery, she retreated to a burning hut and declared her children would not be hurt if they were truly Ninigi's children. She then gave birth to his three sons. Embodying the "blossoming" beauty of young women, she is known to represent multiple objects based on various myths of her name. She is thought to be a flowering tree goddess for cherry or plum blossoms or a water goddess of gentle streams. In ode of her determination to give birth, she is additionally celebrated as a goddess who protects mothers and blesses any women going through childbirth. Oichi's weapon for her newer appearances adds a chrysanthemum to its name. The flower symbolizes nobility and true love in the flower language. A golden one like the one in her weapon means graceful longing, specifically from a wife for her husband. It can also mean a short-lived yet passionate love. Her first fifth weapon instead uses cherry blossoms rather than a chrysanthemum, but the flower appears for her sixth weapon.

Benzaiten is a deva found in Hinduism and Buddhism, acting as the namesake for all of Oichi's rarest weapons. In Japan, she is accepted as a goddess and is one of the Seven Lucky Gods. Lovely maidens are named in her honor for she was known to be fair and prosperous. She blesses worshipers with monetary fortune and is often known to carry a biwa over various bodies of water. Oichi's weapon is fashioned and named after her husband in her newer appearances by using the first character of his name, "Naga" (長). It mirrors the singular character naming motif found in his weapon.

Voice Actors

 * Wendee Lee - Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2 (English-uncredited)
 * Katie Standfield - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Tara Platt - Samurai Warriors 3, Warriors Orochi series (English-uncredited)
 * Michelle Ruff - Kessen III (English-uncredited)
 * Ai Maeda - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Mami Kingetsu - Kessen III (Japanese)

Live Action Performer

 * Nozomi Sazaki - Sengoku Bushou Matsuri

Quotes

 * "This is my destiny."
 * "Yeah, way to go me!"
 * "Gotcha!"
 * "Yes! I win, right?"
 * "Perhaps not even fate can stop us now."
 * "Hey, I got one!
 * "What do ya think of that?!"
 * "Uh oh, you better watch out now!"
 * "Hey! That wasn't so hard!"
 * "Love will make me stronger!"
 * "For my love, I will go to the ends of the earth and back!"
 * "Brother... Lord Nagamasa..."
 * "This battle is all because of your meddling, isn't it?!"
 * "Do you want to be declared the most beautiful so badly that you would strike me down?"
 * "Actually, I'm starting to think about it."
 * Oichi and Nobunaga; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "Lady Oichi....is there anyone in this land more beautiful than she?"
 * "You arrive at the same time everyday, and woo me with the same tired lines. I can't tell, Monkey, if you are hopelessly loyal, or just hopelessly annoying."
 * Hideyoshi and Oichi; Samurai Warriors 2: Empires"


 * "Here you go, Ranmaru. I'd like for you to have this. It's something I had for a long time, but I no longer have any use for it."
 * "A... Kendama?"
 * "You specialize in handling blades, do you not? Then please, I insist you make use of it."
 * "Even so, I'm not sure this counts..."
 * Oichi and Ranmaru‎; Samurai Warriors 3 Empires


 * "Chacha, be sure to never forget kindness in these chaotic times."
 * "Mother... If I were to lose the one most dear to me, I'm not sure I would be able to feel that way."
 * "It's especially for those times that kindness must be kept. That way, your heart will not give in to sorrow."
 * "To forgo sorrow with kindness... I shall always remember your words to me, Mother."
 * Oichi and Chacha; Hyakuman-nin no Sengoku Musou


 * "There is no point in lamenting our fate..."
 * "What did you call me? It's not fat, you know, it's muscle!"
 * "I said fate. I would never call you fat."
 * Oichi and Xu Zhu; Warriors Orochi


 * "Oh, such a fine statue! I can't wait to take it home with me."
 * "Don't you dare touch that statue... I mean, don't you dare touch my lord!"
 * Okuni and Oichi; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Hatred only breeds sadness. That is what you told me... But could you say that even after your loved ones had been slain? How could you not turn that sadness into hatred?"
 * "...You're right. Your sadness is deep. Which is what makes it so difficult for you to keep from turning it into a deep hatred..If I was taken by such a deep sadness... then I would accept it, as sadness. I would hold onto those memories of the ones I had lost, even if it destroyed me..."
 * Oichi and Wang Yi; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "Thank you. Your presence has brightened my life. But, I fear you are too bright for me."
 * Oichi's reply to Hideyoshi's affections; Kessen III

Ground Moveset

 * undefined,(undefined),(undefined),(undefined): Points forward as she charges then dashes forward by twirling her ball in a circular motion to her front. Halts to a stop by breaking on her heels. More button taps elongates the dash forward.
 * ,undefined,(undefined),(undefined),(undefined): launches foes with her ball in an upwards swing. Twirls to hit them once more with a downwards swing. Poses for a damaging aura that restores her musou.
 * ,,undefined,(undefined),(undefined),(undefined): a wide smack with her ball before she twirls to kick the ball around her. She performs a series of hops forward, twirling her ball to her right as she does.
 * ,,,undefined,(undefined),(undefined),(undefined): spins in one place with her ball outstretched in the air in front of her, hitting her foes horizontally around her. Ends the combo by somersaulting into the air, twisting the ball below her. If she continues to spin too many times, she will instead become dizzy and stumbles to recover herself.


 * ,undefined: flips in the air to smash the ground with both of her feet.
 * ,: a low bop forward.
 * Points with her hand forward before she playfully spins her ball in the air above her head, skipping forward as she does. In her true musou, she ends with her C1.


 * Deadlock attack:

Mounted Moveset

 * ,undefined: drags her ball low to the ground before hefting it upwards. Launches foes.
 * ,,undefined: hurls ball straight to her right, stunning nearby foes.
 * ,,,undefined: sends her ball straight to the right. Oichi waves her left arm rapidly in order to balance herself upright.
 * Series of swings to her right.

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: quickly spins her ball to the right before smacking forward.
 * ,undefined: turning swing that launches.
 * ,,undefined: harsh swing to her left, smacking her ball horizontally.
 * ,,,undefined,(undefined,undefined,undefined): holds her arms outstretched in front of her and spins in one place. Tapping undefined allows her to spin more times.
 * ,,,,undefined: spins and poses with her arms in the air. As she performs the move, a blue gust of wind surrounds her and launches her foes upward.
 * ,,,,,undefined: overhead smack on the ground that stuns foes.
 * ,,,,,,undefined: spins her ball in front of her, making a whizzing sound. Creates a miniature whirlwind that sends foes flying.
 * ,,,,,,,undefined: somersaults into the air as she twirls her ball around her.
 * ,,,,,,,,undefined: (Xtreme Legends only) stands upright as she poses with her arm in the air. She gains a small health boost if she finishes.


 * mostly the same as before except she walks forward. Ends her true musou by attacking with three low swings. In her level 3 version, she is surrounded by a series of rapid pink whirlwinds.
 * R1 + : hunches into a cheering position, emitting a golden bubble around her. Allies near her will either gain a random status boost or have a small portion of their health replenished. Successful attempts in using this skill results in gaining more Musou.
 * R1 + undefined: brings her arm back before pointing forward, emitting a golden aura. Calls forth a temporary back-up unit that disappears over time.
 * Personal Skill : (Finesse) Jump after executing a charge attack.

Mounted Moveset
Like all other characters, her horse musou changes to a horse stampede.
 * ,undefined: same as before.
 * ,,undefined: same as before.
 * ,,,undefined: twirls the ball twice around her head, hitting both sides with a figure eight motion.

Same attacks excluding her C9 and Level 3 Musou. Her R1 attacks have also changed:
 * Warriors Orochi
 * R1: a harsh swing to her front, hitting foes within its range for a huge amount of damage.
 * R1 (counter): sinks low to the ground as she quickly spins her ball above her.

Ground Moveset

 * undefined,(undefined),(undefined): Oichi brings two of her four sakura hoops on her right hand forward, with the bladed hoops continuously spinning and keeping opponents in the air. She does the same thing but with the sakura hoops on her left hand and combines all four chakrams together on her right hand and makes an upward swipe.
 * ,undefined,(undefined),(undefined): She swipes the hoops in her right hand upwards to make the opponent(s) airborne, throws all of her hoops towards the opponent(s) and leaps towards them and slams them on the ground.
 * ,,undefined,(undefined),(undefined): Oichi crosses her weapons forward, crosses them upwards and swipes her right chakrams to the right to clear her opponents.
 * ,,,undefined,(undefined),(undefined): She twirls to the right with her right arm up and her left arm sideways, leaps forward while swiping her weapons to the left and leans forward with her weapon spinning twice around her, clearing any enemy that is around her.
 * ,,,,undefined: Oichi appears to be hanging her weapons on the top of the screen, while holding on and spinning around twice with her leg forward, kicking any enemy who comes in contact with her.
 * ,,,,,,,: Oichi swipes her right sakura hoops downward then does the same thing with the left, jumps up with her hoops crossed and swipes all her chakrams downwards with her right hand, same thing with the left, right, and left again. At the end, she twirls and her weapon hits all those around her.


 * Running + : Oichi runs forward and jumps forward while spinning in the air.
 * ,undefined: She jumps and lands, making a shockwave while spinning on the ground.
 * ,: She swipes her right hoops downward.
 * Oichi makes her sakura hoops spin continuously around her and makes a shockwave at the end of her Musou attack. She performs her last three normal moves of her moveset and releases a more powerful shockwave with her head looking down for her True Musou attack. Players can choose to do this or perform her usual moveset like any other character instead.
 * (Ultimate/Kaiden): She performs her True Musou attacks excluding the ending and at the end, Oichi releases four spinning pillars of pink light that damage any enemy within a large radius.


 * Spirit Cancel: Oichi places her sakura hoops in front of her and pushes forward, breaking the opponent's block or lifting enemies lying on the ground.


 * Deadlock attack: Oichi puts her weapons around the opponent and then pull them back out, appearing to have cut through them.


 * R1: Oichi twirls around and envelops herself in a radiant aura, slightly healing nearby allies and gaining Musou in turn.

Mounted Moveset

 * ,undefined: Upward swing with a single hoop.
 * ,,undefined: Lowers one hoop to bash opponent's heads.
 * ,,,undefined: Downward swing with both hoops.
 * , ,,,,,,: Oichi swipes her weapon back and forth until the moveset is over.

Ultimate Musou is now True Musou in Warriors Orochi 3. Gains the following addition.
 * Warriors Orochi
 * R1:

Samurai Warriors
Oichi uses a kendama for fighting in the first two games. She had long reach and a good crowd clearer with her kendama. Her C4 can easily clear the whole crowd or at least knock them down. In return, she lacks attack, as she has one of the lowest attack stats within all characters in Samurai Warriors.

In the sequel she is turned into the normal type character and is more efficient in crowd clearing due to her having more attacks. Her C4, C5, C7 and C8 are mainly for crowd clearing while the rest are one on one moves, however her C7 is also a good one on one move however she still retains her low attack power.

In Samurai Warriors 3, she uses sakura hoops chained together and is turned back into the charge type character. Her move set is more balanced and she loses her long reach, however she still can clear crowds with ease using her C4 and C5. She is somewhat slower so a good speed weapon is recommended. Her C3 is also a good clearer while still being a good one on one move. She still retains her low attack in this game as well.

Warriors Orochi
Oichi uses her Samurai Warriors 2 move set for the first two games of the series. Her R1 is quite powerful.

She uses her sakura hoops and turns into a Speed type in Warriors Orochi 3. Her R1 has invincibility frames and has uses whatever attributes she has on her weapons. It is recommended to use this move consistently to kill crowds. Two attributes she needs are Agility to increase her slow attacking speed and Echo to add range.

Weapons

 * See also: Oichi/Weapons

Personal Info
Oichi no Kata was prized as a beauty of her time and was cherished by her older brother. She was intelligent and speculated to be slightly taller than most woman of the age. Nobunaga once stated, "If Ichi was a man, she would make a fine warrior." Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Toshiie were said to be amongst her admirers. Likewise, it is believed that Nagamasa highly valued her as his precious wife. Based on what is known of her, people generally accept that she was faithful and loving to both her husbands.

She is said to have never liked Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which is possibly one of the reasons why she declined to be sent away while with Katsuie. Ironically, it is assumed Hideyoshi cared for her since he tried to save her and her children's lives.

Life and Death
Oichi was Oda Nobuhide's daughter and Nobunaga's younger sister. Her mother was an unnamed concubine who said to have also given birth to several of her siblings. Her other names include Ichihime (市姫), Odani no Kata (小谷の方), and Hideko (秀子).

In 1567, Oichi was married to Azai Nagamasa to create a friendly alliance between the Oda and Azai clans. Nobunaga was very grateful for the marriage and paid for the ceremony entirely (traditionally, the expenses are meant to be shared). The two clans prospered and worked well together until three years later. Seeing Nobunaga abuse the shogun's power, their relations grew sour and Nagamasa betrayed Nobunaga. A story relates that Oichi sent her brother a sack of beans tied at both ends, ostensibly as a good-luck charm but in reality a warning that he was about to be attacked from both front and rear by the Asakura and Azai clans. According to the story, Nobunaga understood the message and retreated from his brother-in-law's assault in time. Their aggressions towards one another ended with Nagamasa's death at Odani Castle.

Oichi and her three daughters (Chacha, Hatsu, and Eiyo) were allowed to return to their brother's care. Their eldest son, Manbukumaru, was killed by Nobunaga's men while their second son, Majumaru, was forced into priesthood. Oichi's life and her daughters were partially spared thanks to Nobunaga's younger brother, Nobukane. He reportedly said, "The Azai bloodline should not be spoiled." Oichi spent the next nine years peacefully living with her children in his residence.

She was remarried to Shibata Katsuie in 1582. Nobunaga's son, Nobutaka, did so to gain an alliance with Katsuie. When Katsuie lost at the Battle of Shizugatake, Oichi chose to die with him at Fukui Castle. She died at age 37. Her last words were, "As I stand here, not leaving nor waiting, a sound strikes the departing summer night. A cuckoo perhaps?" Her daughters were sent away to Hideyoshi. On the seventh anniversary of her death, Chacha drew her mother's portrait and it became known as "Portrait of One of Sengoku's Beauties". She was posthumously recognized as Empress Meisho's great-grandmother.

Today, she has a mascot character in her image (named Oichi-chan) at Azai, Shiga.

Gallery
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