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First Oda Nobukatsu
Oda Nobutada
Heir to the Oda

Oda Nobutada

Oda Clan
Oda Nobutada
Life 1557–1582 (aged 26)
Title Heir to the Oda
Faction Oda Clan
Places associated with this character Owari (1570–1575), Mino (1576–1582), Kyoto (1582)
Voice and speech His clear Owari accent brightens whenever he speaks of his aspirations.
Family Nobunaga’s heir, he guarded Gifu Castle in Mino and gradually accepted the weight of succession.
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Nobunaga’s chosen heir inherited the house and destroyed the Takeda while still young. Recognize the ability hidden beneath his father’s fame, decide with him on the morning of Honnōji, and he will trust you at his back.

Life

Head of the Oda house

Ambition

Carry the Oda succession and the burden of the realm entrusted by Nobunaga, destroy the Takeda, and prove himself a true commander.

Though his overwhelmingly great father had already named him heir, battle-hardened senior retainers still watched him closely. He had to follow in that shadow. Only by destroying the Takeda in the Kōshū campaign could he earn the right to command all Oda forces through his own military reputation.

If he cannot defeat the Takeda without his retainers’ help, the second Oda lord will be dismissed as a figurehead and succession will falter.

Obstacles of the era
  • Takeda holdouts defending the mountain passes of Shinano and Kai
  • Nobunaga’s strict oversight and the scrutiny of veteran retainers
  • The challenge of supplying and commanding a large army

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

The pride of the Oda heir and his confidence as the commander who destroyed the Takeda.

Turning point

The pressure and loneliness of being tested as “Nobunaga’s son” from childhood.

How he treats others

His affection and trust for the pages who stayed with him at Nijō Palace.

Principle he will not yield

Disgracing the honor built by his father.

Historical path

1570–1575
Nobunaga’s heir, newly come of age and given his name.
His clear Owari accent brightens when he speaks of his aspirations.
1576–1581
He inherits Gifu and the succession, commanding armies on several fronts.
Calm and lucid, he speaks decisively of military affairs and succession.
1582
As commander, he conquers Kai and destroys the Takeda.
Energized and decisive, he speaks plainly about the course of the campaign.
1582
At Honnōji, he barricades himself at Nijō Palace and fights to the end.
Firm and resolute, his words about those left behind are iron.

Final chapter

1582 (aged 26)

When news of the Honnōji attack came, he moved from Myōkakuji to Nijō Palace and barricaded himself there. After helping Prince Sanehito escape safely, he led his few troops in a fierce defense. Wounded, he withdrew inside and ordered his retainer Kamata Shinsuke to assist his suicide. He was twenty-six.

He set fire to Nijō Palace and ordered the veranda boards removed to conceal his remains before taking his own life.
“The young commander entrusted with the final stages of the conquest of the realm was swallowed by the Honnōji upheaval before he could even return in triumph to Azuchi. He could have escaped the castle and sought a chance to rise again, yet the pride of the Oda heir made him stay. Such was the merciless fate that awaited him.”