Oda Nobutada
As the eldest son of the famous Samurai Oda Nobunaga; Oda Nobutada had a lot of shoes to fill in. He lived under his father’s shadow.
Like his father, he also fought as a Samurai in different battles during the Sengoku period. He was in charge of armies that fought against Matsunaga Hisahide and the Takeda clan. He was referred to at times as Lord Nobutada.
Oda Nobutada’s Promise of Marriage
To make peace with the other clans, Nobutada was betrothed to the daughter of the head of the Takeda clan: Takeda Shingen.
However, even if Shingen allowed his daughter Matsuhime to be betrothed to Takeda Shingen, he broke the peace treaty and invaded the eastern part of Mikawa, This clan was under the Tokugawa clan.
This was a plan gone awry because of this campaign it causes the death of Shingen and Ashikaga Shogunate was destroyed.
Triumphant Over Morinobu
Oda Nobutada was able to defeat Nishina Morinobu during the Siege of Takato. Nishina was a retainer who served the Takeda clan during the Sengoku period. Morinobu was the son of Takeda Shingen and Lady Yukawa.
He was adopted by the Nishina clan that belonged to the Shinano Province. This was part of Shingen’s plan to take control of the province. Morinobu tried to defeat Takato Castle along with his allies, Oyamada Masayuki.
Even if he hid inside the castle, he was still defeated by Oda Nobutada. A Buddhist priest was sent to negotiate the terms of surrender. Morinobu cut the ears and nose of the priest then proceeded in killing him. After this, he committed ritual suicide or seppuku.
Death in the Family
In the same year that Morinobu had died, Oda Nobunaga was also forced to commit suicide by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. This was mentioned in the Honno-ji Incident.
Oda Nobutada had made up his mind to fight and avenge his father’s death while at the back of his mind, he was prepared to commit seppuku instead of dying in the hands of his enemies.
Oda Nobutada was surrounded at Nijo castle and as predicted himself, he committed seppuku.
Oda Nobutada’s Family
When Oda Nobutada died, he had three wives. His official wife was Matsuhime, the daughter of Takeda Shingen. His other wives included the daughter of Shiokawa Nagamitsu and he also had a concubine whose name was not mentioned.
His eldest son was Oda Hidenobu and his younger son was Oda Hidenori who was married to the daughter of Hashiba Hidekatsu.
Depiction in Popular Culture
Even Oda Nobutada’s character in popular culture mentioned how loyal he was. However, he was an amateur compared to his father. His character was further emphasized to have fewer campaigns that he engaged.
Without his father, Oda Nobunaga, he had a few battles to face. All of these efforts were cut short because of the Honnoji incident.
He was seen as a character in Samurai Warriors 2 where players were given a mission to rescue or kill him. The decision would lie on which corner of the conflict the player decides to side with.
Image Source: 投稿者がファイル作成 [Public domain]