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The Tyranny of Oda Nobunaga, an essay

Article · November 2010

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 Oda Nobunaga

By Luke Crocker Friday, November 26, 2010

Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長) was the first of the three unifiers of Japan in the late 16th century.
He was born in Nagoya Castle in the province of Owari in June 23, 1534. He took his own life in defeat at
the shrine of Honnô-ji in Kyoto city in June 21, 1582 at the age of 48. He was a warlord (daimyo; 大名)1
during the Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period; 戦国時代)2 and conquered most of Japan before his
death. Even with his fame of being the initiator of the unification of Japan, he was recognized by most as
a Tyrant because of the brutal methods and high temper, being very self-motivated and vain, his
ambitions led him to indiscriminately kill women and children to make sure that there wasn’t any
further vendettas against him for his actions. Nobunaga adopted a “take-no-prisoners” attitude for his
whole life. What follows are a few examples of his tyranny:

Siege of Mount Hiei

In 1571, Oda Nobunaga waged war against the
Tendai Buddhists of Mount Hiei in the battle known as
Hiei-zan no Tatakai (Siege of Mount Hiei 比叡山の戦
い). The monks there were recognized as being “anti-
Nobunaga because they disobeyed Nobunaga even
though he owned their province.” That particular
shrine had Sôhei (Warrior Monks; 僧兵) which
threatened him as they were quickly gaining in power
and influence while residing in the neighboring
province to Owari, his home province. The shrine was
by its very nature, an enemy to Nobunaga for its
independence and Influence over the surrounding
areas. The burning of this Shrine took the lives of 3000
to 4000 men, women, and children. Afterwards
Nobunaga sent out search parties to exterminate any

fleeing survivors. [Turnbull, 2003] Figure 1 Portrait of Oda Nobunaga, by Jesuit painter
Giovanni Niccolo, 1583-1590.
Iga no Ran
In the year of 1579, the second son of Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobukatsu (more commonly known
as Oda Nobuo 織田信雄), led a force of 12,000 men into the province of Iga and the homeland of the

1 th
Daimyo literally means “big name” or “big reputation” and referred to the feudal warlords of Japan from the 10 century to
th
the middle of the 19 century.
2
1467-1573
Iga no mono.3 These people are recognized as the inventors of the ninja (Spies; 忍者), and therefore
doubled as both an asset and a threat to any warlord of the time.4

Nobuo planned an attack on the three main roads leading into the Mountainous province of Iga.
However, the ninja of Iga exercised their advanced skills of information gathering and prepared their
defense ahead of time. As one might expect when facing specialists of guerrilla warfare in the forested
mountains In their own territory, it
was a disaster for the 12,000 men of
Nobuo who were not familiar with the
geography of Iga and not accustomed
to fighting with enemies they could
rarely see.

With the embarrassment of

having his son defeated, Oda decided
to take matters into his own hands.5
At the beginning of September 1580, a
council of war was held in Azuchi, and
with the advice of Fukuchi Iyô, a native
of the village of Tsuge in Iga, they
planned a strategy to invade the
province.

The Iran-ki (chronicles of the

riot of Iga; 伊乱記) diligently reports
Figure 2 The Ninja Manabe Rokurô, from the Hatano family, tries to kill Oda Nobunaga in his
the strategy to invade the area of Iga, Azuchi castle. From the Shinsen Taikô-ki by Toyonobu Muramasa in 1883. Private Collection.
and another document, the Seishû
Heiran-ki (chronicles of productive revolts; 正集平乱記) corroborates these facts. Nobunaga
surrounded the area of Iga, concentrating on six principle roads leading to Iseji villeges, Tsuge, Takamaki,
Yamato Hase, Kasama and Tarao. Each was attacked at the same time. No village was sparred. The Iga
no mono knew that they did not have the resources to defend from six armies on six fronts. Therefore,

3
The term Iga no mono (伊賀之者) designates the natives of the province of Iga; but it especially shows that very early
inhabitants of this province (as well as the province of Kôga) were known for their unorthodox methods of combat and
espionage. The fact that they are specifically singled out in this sense shows some recognition.
4
In a chronicle, detailing the life of Nobunaga Oda called the Shinchôkô-ki (信長公記), we find evidence that he called upon a
certain type of spy called Kyôdan (饗談). The first ideogram means “resonance, echo, to sound, reverberate, resound,” and the
second ideogram means “matter, conversation, discussion. Thus, this type of spy was famous for combining the ability to track
enemies and the ability to collect vital information in secrecy. This term can be translated as “one who seizes the nature of the
discussion.” [Zoughari, 2010]
5
According to the war chronicle, Iran-ki, Nobunaga’s attitude toward the Iga no Mono was that their way of life defied all that
was the warrior code, Bushidô: “The number of rebels in Iga increase daily, more presumptuous and more costly than ever,
they’ve exhausted our patience. Those that ply outrageous trade do not make any distinction between the high and low, rich or
poor classes. This attitude is a mystery to me; they disparage the hierarchy and do not have any respect for the warriors of high
rank. They practice disobedience and dishonesty; they heap dishonor on my name, the old court, and military practices alike.
Because they are traitors, they are guilty and we will punish these rebellious families. Let us go forward into Iga and punish
them.” [Zoughari, 2010]
they gathered their principle forces in two fortified towns: Heiraku-ji, a temple on a hill in the middle of
the village of Ueno, and the fortress of Tendôyama, near the castle of Maruyama.

However, even the best techniques of the ninja were not enough to hold their ground
indefinitely and Food became scarce. Seeing the cruelty of the troops of Nobunaga, certain ninja of Iga
did not hesitate to take the lives of their own wives and children in order to prevent them from being
taken by their enemies.

The final battle took place at the fortified Buddhist temple, Kannon-ji (観音寺). Like the battle of
Mount Hiei, Nobunaga implemented fire to destroy all that was within the fortifications. The invaders
either killed anyone fleeing outright, or simply threw them into the flames of their own temple. This was
the end of the legacy of the Ninja and one of Nobunaga’s last successful battles.

Honnô-ji no Hen
It was in 1582 that Oda Nobunaga was to see his last days. During what became known as
Honnô-ji no Hen (Incident of Honnô temple; 本能寺の変). Nobunaga’s successor-to-be, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi, was being personally supported in his own ambitions under Nobunaga against the Môri
forces. Having sent a significant number of his men to aid Hideyoshi, Nobunaga had only a few personal
guards with him. One of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, took advantage of this to mount a surprise
attack on Nobunaga, easily defeating the small number of guards. Nobunaga was obliged to commit
Seppuku (ritual suicide; 切腹) as was the custom for a defeated, but not dead Samurai.

This was the end of Nobunaga’s life, but certainly not the end of his influence.

The Legacy of the Tyrannical Warlord

Oda Nobunaga was the one who conquered most of Japan and made it possible for Toyotomi
Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康) to completely unify Japan and bring peace to
the land. Without any of these three warlords, Japan would have been a very different place today, and
very possibly would have still been waging civil war.

Oda Nobunaga is most known for his brutality in leading his forces, and indiscriminately Killing
Monks, Women, and Children; but few know how he had influenced the economy of Japan. By
implementing a form of free market he named Rakuichi Rakuza (Happy foundation is a happy market; 楽
市楽座) to stimulate business and the overall economy. Through these policies, he prohibited closed
monopolies, unions, and guilds. This has helped to make Japan the thriving economic leader that it is
today. [Gifu City walking map, 2007]
 Works Cited
Gifu City walking map. (2007). Gifu city (岐阜市): Gifu lively city public corperation.

Nyôgen, K. (1679). Iran-ki (伊乱記). (K. Zoughari, Trans.) Kyoto.

Ota, G. (1640). Shinchôkô-ki (信長公記). (K. Zoughari, Trans.) Kyoto.

Turnbull, S. (2003). Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.

Zoughari, K. (2010). Ninja the Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan (1st ed.). (K. Zoughari, Trans.) Paris,
France: Tuttle Publishing.

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