A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower (23 page)

Nobunaga was an extraordinary man. He was the ultimate warlord, without peer when it came to brutality and self-interest. He had members of his own family murdered (such as his younger brother Nobuyuki in 1557), but that was nothing special. What was special was his habit of having up to 20,000 of his already defeated enemies burned alive, including any civilians who happened to be caught up in the massacre.
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He had a particular penchant for massacring Buddhist priests, for he saw them as troublesome and potential threats, thanks to a history of popular Buddhist-inspired uprisings over the previous hundred years or so.
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Whilst the Buddhists represented a potential threat, they were not strong enough to merit any attempt on his part towards reconciliation. He preferred to try to destroy them.

European visitors of the day were astonished not only by Nobunaga’s cruelty and ruthlessness, but by his massive ego. He even erected a temple where he could be worshipped, and declared his birthday a national holiday.
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It may have been that a belief in his own absolute supremacy was the reason he did not seek legitimisation through the title of sh
gun or similar, for it would place him in a theoretically inferior position to whoever conferred it.
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Certainly, his spurning of legitimacy was unusual in Japanese history.

However, there was construction amidst the destruction. He gave captured land to his vassals and started a policy of territorial redistribution that was to be developed further by his successors. In June 1575 he deployed 3,000 musketeers to help defeat Takeda Katsuyori (1546–82) in the Battle of Nagashino. This was the first significant use of firearms in Japanese warfare, and showed Nobunaga’s astuteness in realising the potential of this weapon that the Europeans had brought with them.
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It was to set a trend. As early as 1571, in a manner reminiscent of the Taika Reforms of a thousand years earlier, he also started a survey of the agricultural lands under his control. In 1576, again reminiscent of the Taika Reforms, he started to confiscate weapons held by peasants, and that same year he standardised weights and measures. Also in 1576 he started construction of a great castle headquarters at Azuchi, on the shore of Lake Biwa to the east of Ky
to.

His ultimate aim was inscribed on his personal seal –
Tenka Fubu
, meaning ‘A Unified Realm under Military Rule’. He achieved about half of this aim before his life was cut short in an appropriately violent way, in 1582, on a campaign against the M
ri family in western Japan. Ironically for a man who burned temples, he was trapped inside a burning temple, Honn
ji, after one of his officers, Akechi Mitsuhide (1526–82), turned against him. It is possible he simply burned to death, but more likely that he chose to kill himself first.
⁶³

Nobunaga’s plan to unify the land was carried out further by his retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi was another remarkable figure. He rose from the humble position of footsoldier to be the most powerful person in the land. An extremely shrewd and capable man, his abilities were recognised by Nobunaga, in whose forces he served from 1558. Nobunaga also seems to have had a personal liking for him, and nicknamed him ‘Monkey’ (
Saru
) because of his rather simian features. He was successively promoted, recognised as a brilliant strategist, and became one of Nobunaga’s leading generals.

Upon Nobunaga’s death Hideyoshi pursued and defeated his lord’s attacker Akechi Mitsuhide. He then made peace with the M
ri family.

Nobunaga had three sons. One of these, Nobutada (1557–82), died with him at Honn
ji. Another, Nobutaka (1558–83), was disposed of the following year jointly by Hideyoshi and Nobunaga’s third son Nobukatsu (1558–1630). Nobukatsu wanted to become head of the Oda family, but he was thwarted. Hideyoshi had Nobunaga’s infant grandson Hidenobu (1580–1605, the son of Nobutada) recognised as heir instead, while in practice he wielded power himself. Like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi never actually became sh
gun, but unlike Nobunaga he did take a number of legitimising high titles, such as regent.

Hideyoshi’s power continued to expand through a mixture of alliances, as with the M
ri, and successful battles. One of his most successful campaigns was in 1587 against the ambitious and powerful Shimazu family of Satsuma Province in southern Ky
sh
, who were trying to extend their power northwards. Following his victory he strategically redistributed fiefs in Ky
sh
to ensure that his own loyal followers were able to keep potential enemies in check.