Nobunaga 003: Nobunaga's Friends and Enemies
In today's talk we will discuss the situation in the Oda family.
This is the inevitable infodumping talk that will happen sooner or later, so let's get it over with. I'll make it as painless as possible with short descriptions.
In previous posts we talked about how Nobunaga was seen as unfit to lead because of his weird personality and behaviors. There is an overwhelming voice of opposition in the Oda faction against him being appointed the successor of Oda Nobuhide as the leader of Danjou no jou(弾正忠) Oda branch.
Here is a summary chart showing which team the Oda people were on. Feel free to reference back to this to remind yourself as you read. We will go over these people one by one.
Oda Nobuyuki(織田信行)
Childhood name Kanjuurou(勘十郎). Nobuyuki was a full brother of Oda Nobunaga, as in, they share the same father and mother.
He was often described as a very polite and proper young man, directly contrasting Nobunaga's wild ways.
He was seen by many as a more suitable person than Nobunaga to become the successor.
Dotagozen(土田御前)
Some say it's very hard to be a fair parent no matter how much you pretend to like all your kids equally, but some parents don't pretend at all.
Meet Dotagozen, wife of Nobuhide, mother of Nobunaga, Nobuyuki and a few other full-siblings of Nobunaga, including the famous Oichi(お市).
This woman was very obvious in playing favorites. She adored Nobuyuki and despised Nobunaga. You can imagine, if your own mother hates you, it makes it very easy for others to comfortably target you as well. She was likely a center figure responsible for the faction-wide Nobunaga-hate.
Oda Nobuhide(織田信秀)
At this point he didn't show a clear preference for his successor yet. Though it's likely that he was pressured by his wife Dotagozen and many anti-Nobunaga retainers to choose Nobuyuki.
Shibata Katsuie(柴田勝家)
Hey, here's someone you might know.
At this time Shibata Katsuie was already a very prominent warrior in the Oda faction.
Nicknamed "Attacking Shibata"(kakare Shibata,/掛かれ柴田) and "demon Shibata"(oni Shibata/鬼柴田) because he was a fierce warrior in battle. An all time favorite for many modern video games.
Bad news for Nobunaga, Katsuie was very opposed of Nobunaga becoming the successor and was very clear in his support of Nobuyuki. Having the No. 1 warrior in your family on your rival's side did not bode well at all for Nobunaga.
Hayashi Hidesada(林秀貞)
Hayashi Hidesada held high position in the Oda family as well, on par with Katsuie. His opinion of Nobunaga was also similar to Katsuie's.
Interestingly, Hidesada was appointed as the chief adviser to Nobunaga after Nobunaga became an adult. You'd think this kind of relationship would cause him to support Nobunaga, but it clearly didn't happen that way.
Or you can argue that directly interacting with the young Nobunaga made Hidesada dislike him even more.
Hayashi Michitomo(林通具)
Hayashi MIchitomo was Hidesada's younger brother. Like Hidesada, Michitomo also disliked Nobunaga.
Likely the more vocal out of the two brothers regarding hating Nobunaga, because he was not officially affiliated with Nobunaga like his brother.
Supported Nobuyuki, therefore was yet another member of "Team Nobuyuki" plotting to have Nobuyuki replace Nobunaga as successor.
(The first name Michitomo is debated. Credible sources only listed him as Hayashi Mimasaka no Kami/林美作守, which is last name + court title. Here I'll just use Michitomo.)
Sakuma Nobumori(佐久間信盛).
Another important Oda retainer.
Nicknamed "retreating-Sakuma(shirizoki Sakuma/退き佐久間)" for his skills in stopping enemy force's advance in order to allow friendly main force to retreat in losing battles (this practice is termed shingari(殿). This "retreat" here is not a comment on cowardice but rather on the skills in distracting and stopping the pursuing enemies. The nickname is often mentioned together with Shibata's("attacking Shibata, retreating Sakuma").
Nobumori wasn't as vocal as the haters listed above. He likely didn't approve of Nobunaga's ways either, but at the same time he probably also thought "Team Nobuyuki" was over-doing it. You might say that although he "generally" agreed with everyone here, he had some sympathy for Nobunaga.
Kawajiri Hidetaka(河尻秀隆)
One of the older retainers of Oda. Among the important retainers, Kawajiri was one of the few that remained relatively neutral.
Didn't despise Nobunaga as much as his peers. Also didn't do much to help either.
This might change soon.
Okay. I think that's enough enemies for Nobunaga. Let's talk about some friendlies.
Hirate Masahide(平手政秀)
He was introduced in previous articles. Nobunaga's teacher and biggest supporter.
The old man was constantly concerned about the situation Nobunaga was in. He did not believe that Nobuyuki should replace Nobunaga as the successor, but he couldn't exactly bring convincing arguments to the table against people like Shibata and the Hayashi brothers, because Nobunaga's odd personality and behaviors were extremely hard to defend.
The old man tried to convince Nobunaga to change his ways and show everyone that he was normal and suitable to lead, but Nobunaga didn't listen to him :(
Maeda Toshiie(前田利家)
Another person you might recognize from games and anime.
Except at this time point he was just a little boy...
Friendly with Nobunaga and would eventually become his koshou(小姓), which was somewhat like a page to a knight in the western world.
Like Nobunaga, Toshiie was also known for odd chuunibyou-like behaviors(flamboyant clothing, rude manners). The actual term for this kind of people was "kabukimono(傾奇者)", roughly meaning "deviant" or "crazy ones".
Had no say in supporting Nobunaga in the successor controversy as much as he wanted to help.
Ikeda Tsuneoki(池田恒興)
Ikeda Tsuneoki was the son of Nobunaga's wet nurse.
His mother was also made Nobuhide's concubine, so he grew up together with Nobunaga. He was almost like a bother to him.
Probably the person Nobunaga trusted the most at this time.
Like Toshiie, Tsuneoki was also just a kid that didn't matter in family politics. As much as he liked Nobunaga there was little he could help him.
Oda Nobuhiro(織田信広)
Remember how we said Nobunaga was the oldest son of Nobuhide?
Well, that was technically not true.
Nobunaga did have an older brother, Nobuhiro.
The reason Oda was still considered the "oldest" was because Nobuhiro was the child one of Nobuhide's concubines, not of one of his wives.
This was actually an important distinction, because in most families at the time, sons of concubines had no rights to inheritance and therefore could not become the successors to whatever the position the fathers had.
Because of this, Nobuhiro was not really considered as a candidate like Nobuyuki was.
But... rules are meant to be broken, right?
We'll have to see.
We covered a lot of characters in the Oda faction today. Here are the takeaways:
1. Nobunaga and his brother Nobuyuki were competing to be named as their father Nobuhide's successor.
2. Nobunaga had a LOT of enemies in the Oda faction, including his own mother.
3. Nobuyuki had a LOT of supporters. Enough to be a serious threat to Nobunaga's future.
4. There were people who liked Nobunaga, but unfortunately most were too young to matter so they couldn't do shit.
5. Luckily, daddy Nobuhide didn't make up his mind yet. So Nobunaga still had a chance.
Plot will move forward in the next article. Get ready for a brief history of Mino province, the famed Saitou Dousan and the Battle of Kanouguchi!
This is the inevitable infodumping talk that will happen sooner or later, so let's get it over with. I'll make it as painless as possible with short descriptions.
In previous posts we talked about how Nobunaga was seen as unfit to lead because of his weird personality and behaviors. There is an overwhelming voice of opposition in the Oda faction against him being appointed the successor of Oda Nobuhide as the leader of Danjou no jou(弾正忠) Oda branch.
Here is a summary chart showing which team the Oda people were on. Feel free to reference back to this to remind yourself as you read. We will go over these people one by one.
 |
| Oda Nobuyuki, Nobunaga's younger brother and rival. |
Childhood name Kanjuurou(勘十郎). Nobuyuki was a full brother of Oda Nobunaga, as in, they share the same father and mother.
He was often described as a very polite and proper young man, directly contrasting Nobunaga's wild ways.
He was seen by many as a more suitable person than Nobunaga to become the successor.
| Dotagozen, Nobunaga and Nobuyuki's mommy. |
Dotagozen(土田御前)
Some say it's very hard to be a fair parent no matter how much you pretend to like all your kids equally, but some parents don't pretend at all.
Meet Dotagozen, wife of Nobuhide, mother of Nobunaga, Nobuyuki and a few other full-siblings of Nobunaga, including the famous Oichi(お市).
This woman was very obvious in playing favorites. She adored Nobuyuki and despised Nobunaga. You can imagine, if your own mother hates you, it makes it very easy for others to comfortably target you as well. She was likely a center figure responsible for the faction-wide Nobunaga-hate.
 |
| Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga and Nobuyuki's daddy. |
We introduced Nobuhide before. Head of the Danjou no jou Oda branch, father of Nobunaga and Nobuyuki. The big "boss man" of everybody mentioned in this article.
Shibata Katsuie(柴田勝家)
 |
| Shibata Katsuie |
At this time Shibata Katsuie was already a very prominent warrior in the Oda faction.
Nicknamed "Attacking Shibata"(kakare Shibata,/掛かれ柴田) and "demon Shibata"(oni Shibata/鬼柴田) because he was a fierce warrior in battle. An all time favorite for many modern video games.
Bad news for Nobunaga, Katsuie was very opposed of Nobunaga becoming the successor and was very clear in his support of Nobuyuki. Having the No. 1 warrior in your family on your rival's side did not bode well at all for Nobunaga.
 |
| Hayashi Hidesada |
Hayashi Hidesada(林秀貞)
Hayashi Hidesada held high position in the Oda family as well, on par with Katsuie. His opinion of Nobunaga was also similar to Katsuie's.
Interestingly, Hidesada was appointed as the chief adviser to Nobunaga after Nobunaga became an adult. You'd think this kind of relationship would cause him to support Nobunaga, but it clearly didn't happen that way.
Or you can argue that directly interacting with the young Nobunaga made Hidesada dislike him even more.
 |
| Hayashi Michitomo(actually a picture of Hidesada from another game because Michitomo is rarely shown in games,) |
Hayashi Michitomo(林通具)
Hayashi MIchitomo was Hidesada's younger brother. Like Hidesada, Michitomo also disliked Nobunaga.
Likely the more vocal out of the two brothers regarding hating Nobunaga, because he was not officially affiliated with Nobunaga like his brother.
Supported Nobuyuki, therefore was yet another member of "Team Nobuyuki" plotting to have Nobuyuki replace Nobunaga as successor.
(The first name Michitomo is debated. Credible sources only listed him as Hayashi Mimasaka no Kami/林美作守, which is last name + court title. Here I'll just use Michitomo.)
 |
| Sakuma Nobumori |
Another important Oda retainer.
Nicknamed "retreating-Sakuma(shirizoki Sakuma/退き佐久間)" for his skills in stopping enemy force's advance in order to allow friendly main force to retreat in losing battles (this practice is termed shingari(殿). This "retreat" here is not a comment on cowardice but rather on the skills in distracting and stopping the pursuing enemies. The nickname is often mentioned together with Shibata's("attacking Shibata, retreating Sakuma").
Nobumori wasn't as vocal as the haters listed above. He likely didn't approve of Nobunaga's ways either, but at the same time he probably also thought "Team Nobuyuki" was over-doing it. You might say that although he "generally" agreed with everyone here, he had some sympathy for Nobunaga.
 |
| Kawajiri Hidetaka |
One of the older retainers of Oda. Among the important retainers, Kawajiri was one of the few that remained relatively neutral.
Didn't despise Nobunaga as much as his peers. Also didn't do much to help either.
This might change soon.
Okay. I think that's enough enemies for Nobunaga. Let's talk about some friendlies.
| Hirate Masahide |
Hirate Masahide(平手政秀)
He was introduced in previous articles. Nobunaga's teacher and biggest supporter.
The old man was constantly concerned about the situation Nobunaga was in. He did not believe that Nobuyuki should replace Nobunaga as the successor, but he couldn't exactly bring convincing arguments to the table against people like Shibata and the Hayashi brothers, because Nobunaga's odd personality and behaviors were extremely hard to defend.
The old man tried to convince Nobunaga to change his ways and show everyone that he was normal and suitable to lead, but Nobunaga didn't listen to him :(
 |
| Maeda Toshiie |
Maeda Toshiie(前田利家)
Another person you might recognize from games and anime.
Except at this time point he was just a little boy...
Friendly with Nobunaga and would eventually become his koshou(小姓), which was somewhat like a page to a knight in the western world.
Like Nobunaga, Toshiie was also known for odd chuunibyou-like behaviors(flamboyant clothing, rude manners). The actual term for this kind of people was "kabukimono(傾奇者)", roughly meaning "deviant" or "crazy ones".
Had no say in supporting Nobunaga in the successor controversy as much as he wanted to help.
 |
| Ikeda Tsuneoki |
Ikeda Tsuneoki was the son of Nobunaga's wet nurse.
His mother was also made Nobuhide's concubine, so he grew up together with Nobunaga. He was almost like a bother to him.
Probably the person Nobunaga trusted the most at this time.
Like Toshiie, Tsuneoki was also just a kid that didn't matter in family politics. As much as he liked Nobunaga there was little he could help him.
 |
| Oda Nobuhiro |
Oda Nobuhiro(織田信広)
Remember how we said Nobunaga was the oldest son of Nobuhide?
Well, that was technically not true.
Nobunaga did have an older brother, Nobuhiro.
The reason Oda was still considered the "oldest" was because Nobuhiro was the child one of Nobuhide's concubines, not of one of his wives.
This was actually an important distinction, because in most families at the time, sons of concubines had no rights to inheritance and therefore could not become the successors to whatever the position the fathers had.
Because of this, Nobuhiro was not really considered as a candidate like Nobuyuki was.
But... rules are meant to be broken, right?
We'll have to see.
We covered a lot of characters in the Oda faction today. Here are the takeaways:
1. Nobunaga and his brother Nobuyuki were competing to be named as their father Nobuhide's successor.
2. Nobunaga had a LOT of enemies in the Oda faction, including his own mother.
3. Nobuyuki had a LOT of supporters. Enough to be a serious threat to Nobunaga's future.
4. There were people who liked Nobunaga, but unfortunately most were too young to matter so they couldn't do shit.
5. Luckily, daddy Nobuhide didn't make up his mind yet. So Nobunaga still had a chance.
Plot will move forward in the next article. Get ready for a brief history of Mino province, the famed Saitou Dousan and the Battle of Kanouguchi!
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