Dōsan Saitō

Dōsan Saitō is Nō's and Yoshitatsu's father as well as Tatsuoki's grandfather. Known as the "Viper" and ruler of the neighboring Mino province, he had his daughter marry Nobunaga to form a truce between the rival clans.

His Nobunaga's Ambition counterpart is sixty-fifth place in Gamecity's character popularity ranking for 2015. The Nobunaga no Yabou 201X poll for 4-star officers puts him in forty-sixth place together with Fuyuhime. He placed thirty-ninth in the Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi poll for most favorite father.

Prior to his playable appearance, Saitō appeared in cutscenes in the stories of Nobunaga and Nō and was an NPC in Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3. The dagger and orders he gave his daughter for her marriage are a recurring part of older games.

Samurai Warriors
The first and fourth numbered installments has him appear in the introductory cinematics for the Oda scenarios. He has his daughter married to Nobunaga with orders to kill the upstart. His daughter ultimately defies him due to being enchanted by her husband. Dōsan has a minor battle appearance in the fourth title. His association with a viper is often tied to him or his children in the series's spin-off games.

He plays a minor role in Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3. In the very first stage, the battle of Nagaragawa. Here Dōsan actually believes in Nobunaga's ability to unite the land, leading him to favor Nobunaga (and not his son) to rule Mino. He begins the battle held captive by Yoshitatsu's men, and will always be executed when the player approaches either him or Yoshitatsu.

In Samurai Warriors 5, Dosan first appears to defend Mino from Nobunaga's first invasion. Despite condescendingly calling Nobunaga lord 'Nitwit', he becomes begrudgingly impressed over the course of the skirmish and agrees to peace once Nobunaga beats him in the field. However, he knows Nobunaga is too weak to actually attack Gifu Castle so both sides agree to a mutual peace with him marrying off his daughter to Nobunaga. During this marriage, Yoshitatsu and Toshimitsu Saitō defy orders and attack the loving couple in Owari's manor. Dosan secretly dispatches Mitsuhide Akechi to help Nobunaga and Noh escape. His actions don't come without consequence as this provokes a Saito civil war and Yoshitatsu revolts at Nagara river ultimately slaying Dosan. When Nobunaga finally claims Mino after defeating Yoshitatsu, he claims himself as Dosan's legitimate successor.

Kessen
He is briefly mentioned at various times in Kessen III by Kicho and Mitsuhide. He personally trained his daughter how to use a sword and saved Mitsuhide from the invading Hōjō at an early age. Disgusted by Mitsuhide's audacity to protest Kicho's marriage to Nobunaga and his feelings for his daughter, he banished him from Mino. An adult Kicho mentions that she has no inhibitions for joining the Oda's attack on her homeland, since her relatives killed her father for their current seat of power.

Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga no Yabou 201X Dōsan is first seen greeting his visiting son-in-law and daughter in Mino. His army can hold their ground against the UMA so he initially deems Special Liberation Organization agents as gratuitous peddlers. Nobunaga and Mitsuhide request that he reconsider his assessments, yet he isn't convinced until he personally witnesses the agents in action. Dōsan commands for their forces to work together and recommends Hideyoshi to Hanbei. He thanks the agents for their hard work when the UMA portal in Mino is sealed.

Guruguru Dungeon Nobunyaga has him co-star in the Misuhuide Legend event. Doranyan immediately suspects Misuhuide of treachery and outright refuses his request to serve the Saitō. He backpedals when Kicho-nyan begs him to reconsider and lets Misuhuide stay to appease her. The Saitō lord swiftly crushes the Toki clan when they attempt to invade Mino. He is impressed by Nobumiide, the lone enemy who foresaw the Toki's lost cause and left before its destruction. Doranyan therefore arranges a marriage alliance with the Oda to prevent pointless bloodshed.

When the father tells his daughter the news, he is aghast by her unruliness towards him. He misunderstands her feelings on the matter, believing that she is being charmed by Misuhuide. He believes they are trying to elope once he learns the two youths have disappeared from his castle. Outraged, he personally hunts Misuhuide down and kills him. The protagonist's tea bowl erases this timeline.

Oda Nobunaga Den
Oda Nobunaga Den keeps Dōsan's initial distrust yet paradoxical curiosity for the unkempt youth. He initially believes he can outwit Nobunaga and visits Owari with the intents of seeing the youth's character. Nobunaga is purposely late to their meeting, instead finding it more imperative to practice marching the troops outside the villa Dōsan is waiting. One glance at the sight is enough to convince him of the youth's grandeur. After he sends his daughter and hears her opinions of Nobunaga, Dōsan is impressed and supports Nobunaga's conquests from afar.

About two years later, however, Dōsan becomes a victim to mutiny and is being overwhelmed by Yoshitatsu's forces at Nagarakawa. The player has the option to try to provide assistance or ignore his plight due to travel expenses. His death is unavoidable in either scenario. If Nobunaga rides to Nagarakawa, he will be able to personally witness Dōsan's demise and will need to issue a grueling escape from Yoshitatsu's massive army.

Voice Actors

 * Dan Woren - Kessen III (English-uncredited)
 * Kirk Thornton - Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence (English-uncredited)
 * Claus Brockmeyer - Samurai Warriors (German-uncredited)
 * Munehiro Tokita - Samurai Warriors (Japanese)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Kessen III (Japanese)
 * Unsho Ishizuka - CR Sengoku no Arashi ~Nobunaga no Shou~
 * Chafurin - as Saitō Doranyan in Butai Nobunyaga no Yabou (voice only performance)
 * Kazuhiro Yamaji - Nioh 2 (Japanese)
 * Shuki Imagawa - Samurai Warriors 5
 * Hiroki Hasegawa - Nobunaga no Yabou Shutsujin
 * Shunichi Maki - Hana Oboro ~Sengoku-den Ranki~

Live Action Performer

 * Masato Yanagisawa, Kenta Mishima - Nobunaga no Yabou -Enbu- (2020 version)

Quotes

 * "Kill the fool."

Trivia

 * In Kessen III, Dōsan Saitō's model reused his model from Samurai Warriors.