Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) was a prominent daimyo of the Oda clan during Japan's Sengoku period. Born in Owari Province, he gradually expanded his power by consolidating control over his home territory and forging strategic alliances with neighboring lords.

Nobunaga is best known for his military prowess and rapid early successes, notably the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, where he defeated the Imagawa clan despite being outnumbered. This victory opened opportunities for further expansion and brought Nobunaga into a position to take Kyoto, effectively asserting significant influence over the central region and weakening the authority of the Ashikaga shogunate.

In the 1570s Nobunaga pursued centralized rule, reducing the power of rival clans and the Buddhist monasteries that maintained armed forces. He carried out the destruction of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei in 1571 and promoted economic renewal through the Rakuichi-Rakuza policy, which encouraged free markets and commerce. He also modernized his army by adopting firearms and reorganizing military tactics, and he built Azuchi Castle as a symbol of centralized authority near Lake Biwa.

Nobunaga formed important alliances, including with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and achieved notable victories such as the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 against the Takeda clan, where disciplined volleys of arquebusiers helped secure a decisive defeat for Takeda Katsuyori. These efforts laid groundwork for the eventual unification of Japan, which was continued by his successors.

In 1582 Nobunaga was killed in the Honnō-ji incident when betrayed by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. His death marked a turning point that allowed Toyotomi Hideyoshi to resume the unification project and reshape Japan’s feudal order.