also known as Kitabatake Tomotoyo was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nob ...

. He was the second son of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

. He was adopted as the head of the

Kitabatake clan The Kitabatake clan was a clan that ruled south Ise Province in Japan and had strong ties to the eastern provinces through Pacific sea routes. Among its leaders included Kitabatake Tomonori. Clan heads # Kitabatake Masaie (1215–1274, founder ...

from

Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears ...

. He survived the decline of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

from political prominence, becoming a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' in the early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. Though often described as an incompetent general, Nobukatsu was a skilled warrior. In the

battle of Komaki and Nagakute The , also known as the Komaki Campaign (小牧の役 ''Komaki no Eki''), was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu ...

, he used a 13th-century ''

tachi A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when she ...

'' of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school, to slay a samurai known as Okada Sukesaburō. The blade came to be known as "Okada-giri Yoshifusa", now a national treasure.

Biography

In 1570, Nobukatsu became an adopted heir of the

and married a daughter of the former lord of Kitabatake, Tomonori. The true nature of this marriage was a condition of truce forced by the Oda clan to the Kitabatake clan. In 1575, Nobukatsu officially became the head of the family. The next year, he killed his father-in-law, imprisoned the previous lord, who was his father by adoption, and completely took over the Kitabatake clan. In 1579, eager to achieve fame, Nobukatsu directed a first invasion of Iga,

Iga Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the T� ...

, which only ended in disastrous failure and severe rebuke from his father. Two years later in 1581, Nobunaga himself led the second invasion with an army of several ten thousand, destroyed the whole region and placing control of

Iga province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the T� ...

in Nobukatsu's hands.Nishigaki, Matsushima (1975), p. 104

Death of Nobunaga

When Nobunaga and his heir, Nobutada, died at the

Honnō-ji incident The was the assassination of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, on 21 June 1582 (2nd day of the sixth month, Tenshō 10). Nobunaga was on the verge of unifying the country, but died in the unexpected rebellion of ...

in 1582, problems arose about who would succeed the lordship of

. When Nobukatsu and his younger brother, Nobutaka, quarreled over the matter, a council decided on the infant son of Nobutada, Oda Hidenobu. The opinion of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

was most influential on this decision. At this point, Nobukatsu changed his surname back to Oda. He succeeded his father as lord of Owari, Mino and

Decline of Nobukatsu

In 1583, during the succeeding chaotic years, Nobukatsu joined with Hideyoshi to destroy Oda Nobutaka. However, soon their relationship became hostile too, and Nobukatsu allied with

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

to fight Hideyoshi in the

Battle of Komaki and Nagakute The , also known as the Komaki Campaign (小牧の役 ''Komaki no Eki''), was a series of battles in 1584 between the forces of Hashiba Hideyoshi (who would become Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1586) and the forces of Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu ...

in 1584. After more than a half year of battles, Hideyoshi persuaded Nobukatsu to make peace, offering him the security of the dominion. Nobukatsu took this offer and practically became a retainer of Hideyoshi. Later in 1590, when he served at the Odawara Campaign, he refused to accept Hideyoshi's order to change his dominion, and later he not only lost his original domain but was also forced to become a monk under the supervision of some Toyotomi retainers. A few years later, Hideyoshi's anger eased and Nobukatsu regained some land to rule. In 1598, he became the guardian of

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

after Hideyoshi's death. However in 1615, he betrayed the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

at the

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, and surrendered to

. As a result, he was permitted to remain a ''

'' by the Tokugawa shogunate. Though he is often described as an incompetent general, he managed to survive the series of upheavals. After the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, he became the lord of the Uda-Matsuyama Domain in

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

(modern-day

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

), and comfortably lived the rest of his life.

Family

*Father:

(1534–1582) *Adopted Father: Kitabatake Tomonori * Brothers: ** Oda Nobutada (1557–1582) ** Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) **

Hashiba Hidekatsu Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991). ''The Cambridge History of Japan'', volume 4, p. 115 was a Japanese samurai, also known as Oda Hidekatsu, the fourth son of the famed feudal warlord Oda Nobunaga and was adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at a yo ...

(1567–1585) ** Oda Katsunaga (1568–1582) **

Oda Nobuhide was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga, the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy ''shugo'' (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of t ...

(1571–1597) ** Oda Nobutaka (1576–1602) ** Oda Nobuyoshi (1573–1615) ** Oda Nobusada (1574–1624) ** Oda Nobuyoshi (died 1609) ** Oda Nagatsugu (died 1600) ** Oda Nobumasa (1554–1647) * Sisters: ** Tokuhime (1559–1636) ** Fuyuhime (1561–1641) ** Hideko (died 1632) ** Eihime (1574–1623) ** Hōonin ** Sannomarudono(died 1603) ** Tsuruhime * Children: ** Oda Hidekatsu ** O-hime (1585-1591), married

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May ...

** Okani ** Oda Takao ** Oda Nobuyoshi (1584-1626) ** Oda Takanaga (1590-1674) ** Oda Nobutame (died 1666) ** Oda Yoshio (died 1651) ** Oda Nagao ** Gyokuyūin (Yae-hime, wife of Hjikata Katsutaka)

In popular culture

Nobukatsu appears as a mere fool in the comedy film ''

The Kiyosu Conference is a 2013 Japanese period comedy film directed by Kōki Mitani. The film is based on a novel of the same name written by Mitani a year prior, itself a reference to the real-life (''Kiyosu Kaigi'') held on June 27, 1582, the first joint politi ...

'' (2013), but is portrayed somewhat sympathetically in the action film '' Mumon: The Land of Stealth'' (2017).

References