The Three Unifiers, Heroes of Nagoya Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu | Functionality | Visit Nagoya-Nagoya city guide (2023)

One of the most enigmatic, innovative, and charismatic samurai leaders of the Warring States period was Oda Nobunaga. Born in the Nagoya region, there are many places associated with Nobunaga, but one of the most famous is the Okehazama Battlefield.

In 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto and his army of more than 25,000 men invaded Nobunaga territory and encamped in a mountainous area known as Okehazama. Nobunaga set out from his castle in Kiyosu and although he could only muster 2,500 men, a ratio of ten to one, he decided to attack the invaders on their own terms rather than let them attack him at his castle.

Along the way, Nobunaga and his men stopped briefly at Atsuta Jingu, Japan's second holiest Shinto shrine, to pray for success. He and his men tossed a handful of coins to prayer and rejoiced to see all five lands face up, surely this was an auspicious sign!

Nobunaga led his men to Okehazama, now in a southern suburb of the city of Nagoya, and took a detour that put him in a position overlooking Imagawa's headquarters. Celebrating their recent victories, the Imagawa samurai had stripped of their armor and were drinking in the June heat when Nobunaga attacked, thinking they were safe. Nobunaga's men went straight to General Imagawa Yoshimoto's tent and caught him and his men off guard. Imagawa was quickly crushed and Nobunaga claimed victory. There are two locations associated with the actual battle, a small park in the Midori neighborhood of Nagoya and another in the nearby town of Toyoake. Local maps and signs can guide you to places associated with Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto such as Fort Zensho-ji, the park where Yoshimoto was killed, Chofuku-ji Temple where the heads of the vanquished are found, and the remains of the seven Nanatsuzuka wells, where Nobunaga ordered the locals to bury the war dead.

After his overwhelming victory, Nobunaga gave thanks to the gods of Atsuta Shrine and built a great and impressive gate and a high, thick wall of mud and bricks around it to protect the sacred sites. This gate and most of the wall were destroyed during the air raids of World War II, but portions of the wall known as Nobunaga's Wall survive in the forest as the outskirts of Atsuta and are frequented by his admirers and those who seek divine help, just as Nobunaga had done before the Battle of Okehazama.

Nobunaga had greater success in his efforts to control the nation and bring peace to the country in the years that followed. In 1582, when he was about to unify Japan, one of his most trusted generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, inexplicably turned and attacked Nobunaga at the Honno-ji Temple in Kyoto. Surrounded and wounded by the melee, Nobunaga set the temple's sanctum ablaze, slashing himself samurai-style and being consumed by the flames.

＞＞ Santuario Atsuta

Born to a low-ranking ashigaru foot soldier, Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose through the ranks of Nobunaga's army thanks to a sharp mind and shrewd political skills.
Hideyoshi was fighting in what is now Okayama Prefecture when his general Akechi Mitsuhide defected and killed his master Nobunaga. Hideyoshi quickly pleaded for peace with those he had attacked, turned his men around and within days moved his forces to Kyoto, attacking and defeating Akechi's troops.

After seeking revenge for his master's death, he again elevated Hideyoshi's position among the Oda generals, and through careful manipulation of the great Nobunaga's sons and generals, Hideyoshi was able to seize power for himself on behalf of Oda's grandson, Nobunaga , Samboshi, to usurp. .

Hideyoshi is said to have been born where the Toyokuni Shrine now stands, in Nakamura Park in the city of Nagoya. About 80m west of the shrine is the Hideyoshi Kiyomasa Museum, dedicated to Hideyoshi and his warrior cousin Kato Kiyomasa. Another 80 meters east of the shrine is Jousen-ji Temple, which features a statue of the man who would rise to taiko, or grand chancellor, as well as a tree planted by Hideyoshi and various items of local heroes.

Hideyoshi continued Nobunaga's quest for unification and eventually brought peace to the war-torn nation before dying in 1598, leaving a five-year-old son as his heir. To maintain Toyotomi rule, Hideyoshi organized a council of five regents, the most influential daimyo warlords, to rule in his son's place until the boy came of age. At the head of this five-man council was Tokugawa Ieyasu.

＞＞ Nakamura-Park

＞＞Hideyoshi-Kiyomasa-Gedenkhalle der Stadt Nagoya

Ieyasu was born in 1543 at the height of the civil war at Okazaki Castle in Aichi Prefecture. His father's land was under pressure from the Oda clan to the west and the Imagawa clan to the north and east. An alliance was necessary to survive, but who to trust was a point of contention between him and his own men. He chose the Imagawa and sent his six-year-old son Ieyasu as a hostage to the Imagawa. However, the samurai tasked with delivering the child to the Imagawa believed that an alliance with the Oda clan was in Okazaki's best interests, so the child was rerouted to Oda Nobunaga's father. From six to nine, Ieyasu was held hostage by Oda and sent to Imagawa Yoshimoto in a subsequent hostage exchange for the next 10 years.

Ieyasu finally got rid of the Imagawa in 1560 at the age of 19 when Imagawa Yoshimoto was killed by Oda Nobunaga at the Battle of Okehazama. Ieyasu then allied with Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Two years after Hideyoshi's death in 1600, the nation split into two factions, the pro-Toyotomi forces of the West and those now loyal to Ieyasu, the Eastern forces. Both sides clashed in central Japan at Sekigahara, just 50 km west of Nagoya, where the largest samurai battle took place. 160,000 samurai fought for seven hours before Ieyasu claimed victory. Two years later, Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun.

Although there were still people loyal to the Toyotomi clan in Osaka, the possibility of war still existed. To prevent western forces from entering the eastern areas and to protect Ieyasu's base in Edo (Tokyo), a magnificent castle was built in Nagoya directly over the Oda clan's castle where Ieyasu was imprisoned as a child. Nagoya Castle was one of the most beautifully designed and impressive castles of all time, a true display of authority. From Nagoya Castle, with its iconic golden tiger fish roof ornaments, Ieyasu would lead two more attacks on Osaka, destroying the last remnants of the Toyotomi clan and consolidating their complete control over Japan. He died two years later, in 1616, at the age of 73.

Nagoya Castle and its masterpiece, the Honmaru Goten Palace, should be at the top of your must-visit list! The son of Ieyasu, the first lord of Nagoya, Yoshinao's descendants would continue to maintain the castle, and with the collapse of the feudal period in 1868, they handed the castle over to the authorities in good order. Nagoya was the first castle to be declared a national treasure in 1930. The Nagoya-based Tokugawa clan later established the Tokugawa Museum of Art, the world's finest collection of weapons, armour, artwork and artifacts belonging to the daimyo warlords, including various items recognized as nationals. Treasures, scrolls and personal belongings of the Great Lord, Tokugawa Ieyasu himself. This museum and the adjacent Tokugawa-en Gardens and Nagoya Castle are just a few of the must-see attractions in Nagoya.

＞＞ Schloss Nagoya

＞＞ The Tokugawa Art Museum

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