James Baquet

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was one of Japan’s “daimyos,” or feudal lords. He was active during the late Sengoku period, a time characterized by almost constant military conflict. There had been many futile efforts to reunify the country after the collapse of its feudal system; Nobunaga made one of the more successful efforts, unifying most of the main island of Honshu through military conquest. This made him one of Japan’s “three unifiers,” along with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu (who became the first of the Tokugawa shoguns).

Nobunaga was, to put it bluntly, not a gentle man. He brutally suppressed opposition. On the other hand, free trade and the arts flourished under his government.

In 1560, when he was still a rising star, Nobunaga faced an army of 25,000 men, under warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto, marching toward Kyoto to take down the faltering shogun. Their route led them through Nobunaga’s territory. Nobunaga’s advisors suggested that, as he only had 2,500 men — a tenth of Yoshimoto’s — he hole up in his castle at Kiyosu. But Nobunaga knew his castle could not withstand a siege, and decided to go on the offensive.

Yoshimoto’s army camped near the village of Okahazama — not far from modern Nagoya — where Nobunaga had often engaged in falconry (while conducting secret war games). Oda led his troops to a nearby temple and had his men raise banners to give the impression that his force was much larger than it actually was.

Oda’s army caught Imagawa’s by surprise. They were celebrating their recent victories over some nearby fortresses, and most had removed their armor because of the heat (it was June). Under cover of a thunderstorm, Nobunaga’s troops rushed the center of the camp, causing the panicked Imagawa troops to run. When their general came out of his tent to organize resistance, he found himself facing Nobunaga’s samurai, two of whom attacked and killed him. Most of Yoshitomo’s senior officers were also dead, and the remainder of his army fled or surrendered.

Considered one of Japan’s most important historical turning points, the Battle of Okehazama’s location is today a National Historic Site, and the battlefield is a park.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. join together again

2. prospered, grew

3. attack

4. hide (in), stay inside

5. put down, disallowed

6. ineffective, useless

7. hunting with birds

8. failing

9. terrible frightened

10. directly, without tact