Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga was born on June 23, 1534 in Owari Province (today the western part of Aichi Prefecture). His father, Nobuhide Oda, was a prominent military leader (daimyo), so the boy was not only familiar with the art of samurai, but also learned tactics and strategy. According to Japanese ancient tradition, upon reaching adulthood, the young man received a new name - Oda Saburo Kazusanosuke Nobunaga.

After the death of his father in 1551, Nobunaga fought for several years with representatives of his clan for supremacy. Nobunaga's main rival was his younger brother Oda Nobuyuki. In the decisive Battle of Ino in 1556, Oda Nobunaga defeated his enemies, capturing his brother. At the request of his mother, Nobunaga spared Nobuyuki, but when he again decided to rebel, the elder brother executed the younger without hesitation.It was only in 1559 that Nobunaga finally managed to become the head of the Oda clan and unite most of the Owari province under his rule. Fearing a young and ambitious rival in the struggle for supremacy in Honshu, the most influential feudal lord of the island – the daimyo of Suruga Province (today Shizuka Prefecture) Imagawa Yoshimoto invaded Owari in May 1560 with a 25-thousand army.

Nobunaga had only 5,000 warriors, but after a series of unexpected maneuvers, he defeated the enemy army. Imagawa Yoshimoto had a total of 40,000 warriors. Young Nobunaga, launched a sudden and decisive attack with 2,000 warriors on the enemy army while it was encamped. During a heated battle, Imagawa was killed, and his vassals hastily retreated.

The crushing defeat of the outnumbered enemy in the Battle of Okehazama glorified Nobunaga throughout Japan. The body of the deceased Yoshimoto was beheaded, and his family weakened so much that it recognized its vassal dependence on the house of Oda. Mikawa Province (today the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture), which was ruled by Tokugawa Ieyasu, split off from Imagawa's possessions. This talented daimyo defected to Nobunaga's side, greatly strengthening the Oda clan.In 1564-67 . Nobunaga waged a difficult war against the influential Saito Dosan clan, which was subordinate to Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture), which ended with the victory of Oda. He captured the enemy citadel - Inabayama Castle, converting it into his own residence - a powerful medieval stone fortress Gifu.

In 1568, Nobunaga, in alliance with the influential Takeda clan, confirmed Ashikaga Yoshinaki as shogun (the supreme governor of Japan, who primarily served as commander-in-chief), capturing the then capital Kyoto. As the influential Nobunaga sought to limit the shogun's powers in his favor, disagreements soon arose between them.

To get rid of Nobunaga's dictate, the shogun created a coalition, which included the noble samurai clans Takeda, Asakura and Azai, as well as the Buddhists of the largest monasteries of Honganji and Enryakuji. On August 9, 1570, in the decisive Battle of Anegawa, the shogun's 13,000-strong army was defeated by the army of Nobunaga and his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu, numbering up to 20,000 fighters. The Takeda, Asakura and Azai clans lost 1,100 noble samurai and commanders only killed.In 1571, Nobunaga, enlisting the support of Emperor Ogimachi, continued the war against the Asakura and Azai clans, gradually depriving them of their strength, finances and possessions. Then in 1573, the shogun turned for help to Takeda Shingen– the powerful daimyo of Kia Province (now Yamanashi Prefecture). While Shingen was at war with Tokugawa, Nobunaga stormed Kyoto and captured the shogun. Takeda's unexpected death finally undermined the power of the coalition.

Having become the emperor's chief adviser, Nobunaga in 1574 with the most severe measures pacified the uprising of Buddhist monks in the province of Echizen. Nagashima, the stronghold of the rebels, was stormed, after which 20,000 monks and the garrison of the fortress were executed by burning.

Meanwhile, Shingen's son Takeda Katsuyori decided to seize power in Kyoto. To do this, he attacked the domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nobunaga's main ally. Katsuyori laid siege to Ieyasu's residence, Nagashino Castle. Tokugawa, who had about 5,000 fighters, called on his ally to help. Oda Nobunaga hastened to the rescue with his 30,000-strong army.The commanders advised Katsuyori to move away from the walls of Nagashino, drag the enemy along with him, and then, reinforced with reinforcements, attack in a more favorable situation and on more favorable terms. However, the young and ardent leader of the Takeda clan considered the retreat shameful and ordered to prepare for battle. His army numbered 15,000 men. On June 28, 1575, 5 km from Nagashino (today the castle is part of the city of Hora and, Mikawa Province), the opposing sides met for a decisive battle on the Sidarahara plain.

In terms of quantitative and qualitative composition, the opposing armies were far from equal. There were 35,000 fighters under Nobunaga and Tokugawa, according to other sources (38,000). Takeda Katsuyori had 15,757 warriors: 4,254 mounted and 8,508 foot samurai, as well as 2,995 ashigaru (650 of them had arquebuses). Experienced Nobunaga and Tokugawa understood that the enemy army, consisting entirely of professionals, is a very formidable force, despite the numerical minority.Katsuyori relied on a frontal attack, the main striking force of which was heavy cavalry and detachments of selected samurai. Nobunaga and Tokugawa chose a defensive option, dividing their army into several echelons. Oda had high hopes for firearms obtained from Portuguese merchant mariners.

About ten of the most powerful attacks were made by Takeda Katsuyori on the positions of his enemies, but the lead of the arquebuses turned out to be stronger than swords, spears and bows. Katsuyori's unreasonable planning of the battle and behavior on the battlefield cost his army 10,000 dead and died of wounds. The total number of losses of Nobunaga and Tokugawa forces killed and wounded reached 6000 people.

After the crushing defeat at Nagashino, Katsuyori retreated to his province. Nobunaga was not going to immediately do away with the Takeda clan in order to use it as a counterbalance to his numerous opponents. Oda once again walked through the rebellious province of Echizen with fire and sword. More than 12,000 thousand rebellious monks were killed, and 40,000 were turned into slaves, some of which were sent to Asian and European markets.In early 1576, the deposed shogun Ashikagu Yoshinaki put together a second coalition against Nobunaga. This time it included the clans of Takeda, Mori and Uesugi, as well as the surviving Buddhist monasteries. With great difficulties and losses, Nobunaga managed to defeat the monks. While Oda himself was at war with the stubborn Buddhists, his advanced detachments and fleet were defeated by the troops of Mori and Uesugi.

Only in 1580, having stormed their main stronghold of Buddhists – the Honganji Monastery, Nobunaga finally pacified the militant monks. The following year, Oda's 60,000-strong army invaded Iga Province (today Mie Prefecture), slaughtering most of the population, setting fire and ravaging many villages. This brutality was directed against the ninja saboteurs who settled in the province.

In March 1582, Nobunaga finally ended the Takeda clan. Now the provinces of Kozuke, Shinapo and Kai were under the rule of Oda. Together with the previous conquests, Daimyo Nobunaga became the de facto master of Honshu. Daimyo Oda was at the height of his power. He intended to crush the Mori clan by gathering troops for a large-scale campaign.On June 2, 1582, during his stay in Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga found himself surrounded in the Honno-ji temple by conspirators, led by his commander Akechi Mitsuhide. After a hard fight, Nobunaga's guards and bodyguards were killed. Oda himself, wounded in the arm by a bullet, in order not to be captured, acted in the spirit of samurai traditions, committing ritual suicide - seppuku.

The main results of Nobunaga's rule and military-political activities were described in the most complete and detailed way by historian A. A. Iskenderov: "The reforms and transformations carried out by Oda Nobunaga affected almost all aspects of the life of Japanese society. But they were of particular importance in the field of improving military affairs. In fact, he made a real revolution in the military field, completely abandoning the previous system of military organization and the old methods of warfare. Using firearms on a large scale, including cannons, he created special units in his army from soldiers armed with firearms (teppotai). Along with them, he significantly strengthened the squads of spearmen (sotai). Under him, the construction of military vessels with iron plating began.But perhaps the most important thing that allowed Nobunaga to achieve a great military advantage over his opponents was the creation of a massive regular army by him. In fact, he was the first among the feudal lords of the time of Troubles who not only understood the importance and necessity of a permanent army, but also managed to form such an army of samurai, whom he completely turned into professional military...

The new weapons, combined with significant changes in the tactics of conducting military battles, significantly strengthened the combat power of the armies of Oda Nobunaga and his allies, thereby ensuring complete military superiority over the opponents. In fact, no feudal lord in these conditions could count on success in a military confrontation with Nobunaga's army.

The main result of Oda Nobunaga's activity during his short period in power should be considered that he managed to significantly advance the process of unification of the country, which inexorably led to the cessation of continuous feudal wars and feudal strife. It was coming to the formation of a single centralized Japanese state."