Spear Half-Hanzō

Mori Yoshinari

Oda Clan

Mori Yoshinari

Called “Spear Hanzō,” he left the Saitō for Nobunaga and fought at Inō and Okehazama. Stand with him at the isolated Kyoto approach and help protect his young sons, and he will treat you as kin entrusted with life and death.

Life

Spear Hanzō

Ambition

Lead Nobunaga’s advance into Kyoto and the pacification of Ōmi, making the courage of Mino’s warriors known throughout the realm.

Since leaving the Saitō to serve Nobunaga, he has believed in his lord’s capacity. He means to open the Oda road to the realm with his spear alone.

If the Oda cannot hold this strategic ground in Ōmi, their rear will be exposed just after reaching Kyoto, and their bid to unify the realm may collapse.

Obstacles of the era

The combined armies of Azai and Asakura pressing south
Enryakuji and its warrior monks turning hostile
An isolated castle force with little chance of resupply

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

The fame of “Sanza the Attacker,” the Oda house’s foremost spearman.

Turning point

The old wound of losing his eldest son, Yoshitaka, in the assault on Takedayama Castle in Echizen.

How he treats others

His concern for the future of his young sons, including Nagayoshi and Ranmaru.

Principle he will not yield

Abandoning a castle and strategic post entrusted to him by his lord.

Historical path

1540–1555

He leaves the Saitō and enters Oda service, making his name with a long spear.

Spare and stern; his eyes brighten at spear feats, and he speaks of loyalty without compromise.

1556–1567

A trusted elder retainer who serves at Inō, Okehazama, and the campaign for Mino.

Plainspoken and composed, he speaks of battle with the weight of a veteran retainer.

1568–1569

After the march on Kyoto, he holds Ujiyama Castle and guards the capital’s eastern approach.

Hard and steady, every word about the castle and Kyoto’s approach carries an old commander’s gravity.

1570

With few troops, he defends Ujiyama to the death and dies in battle.

Each word is iron as he speaks of his duty and final battle; only thoughts of his young sons soften his voice.

Final chapter

1570 (aged 48)

In the first year of Genki, an Azai–Asakura force of thirty thousand advanced on Ujiyama Castle. Yoshinari led just over a thousand men into battle, killing several enemy commanders before warrior monks struck from behind. Surrounded on every side, he fell in a fierce last stand.

Bleeding from his wounds, he swung his cross-shaped spear and held Ujiyama Castle until the enemy advance stopped.

His blood bought Nobunaga time, and his sons Nagayoshi and Ranmaru inherited his name as warriors. His death made the Mori house a tragic emblem of martial loyalty.