Oda clan

Oda clan
The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family continued as daimyo houses until the Meiji Restoration. After the Meiji Restoration, all four houses of the clan were appointed Viscount in the new system of hereditary peerage.
History
Origins
The Oda family in the time of Nobunaga claimed descent from the Taira clan, by Taira no Chikazane, a grandson of Taira no Shigemori (1138–1179).
Taira no Chikazane established himself at Oda (Echizen Province) and took its name. His descendants, senior retainers of the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji), shugo (governors) of Echizen, Owari and other provinces, followed the latter to Owari Province and received Inuyama Castle in 1435. This castle was built towards 1435, by Shiba Yoshitake who entrusted its safety to the Oda family. The Oda had been shugo-dai (vice-governor) for several generations.
Independence
In 1452, after the death of Shiba Yoshitake the vassals of the Shiba, like the Oda in Owari Province and the Asakura clan in Echizen Province, refused the succession of Shiba Yoshitoshi (1430–1490) and supported Shiba Yoshikado (died ca. 1480), and began to divide the large domains of their suzerains among themselves, and had become gradually independent in the domains which had been ceded to them. In 1475, the Oda had occupied the greater portion of Owari Province, but the Shiba would continue to try to regain authority until Shiba Yoshikane (1540–1600), who had to leave Owari.
The other famous castle of the Oda is Kiyosu Castle, built between 1394 and 1427 by Shiba Yoshishige who entrusted the castle to the Oda clan, and named Oda Toshisada vice-governor of the province. Toshisada had four sons. The fourth son, Nobusada, who lived in Katsubata Castle, was the father of Nobuhide and the grandfather of Oda Nobunaga.
Nobunaga's reign
Nobuhide took Nagoya Castle in 1525 (it was given to Nobunaga in 1542), and built Furuwatari Castle. Oda Nobutomo held Kiyosu Castle, but he was besieged and killed in 1555 by his nephew Oda Nobunaga who operated from Nagoya Castle. This led to the family being divided into several branches, until the branch led by Oda Nobunaga eclipsed the others and unified its control over Owari.
Then turning to neighboring rivals, it, one by one achieved dominance over the Imagawa, Saitō, Azai, Asakura, Takeda and other clans, until Nobunaga held control over central Japan. However, Nobunaga's plans for national domination were thwarted when he fell victim to the treachery of his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide who forced Nobunaga into suicide during the Incident at Honnō-ji in the summer of 1582. The Oda remained titular overlords of central Japan for a short time, before being surpassed by the family of one of Nobunaga's chief generals, Hashiba Hideyoshi.
Edo period
Though the Oda were effectively eclipsed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi following Nobunaga's death, it is not often known that the Oda continued to be a presence in Japanese politics. One branch of the family became hatamoto retainers to the Tokugawa shōgun, while other branches became minor daimyō lords. As of the end of the Edo period, these included Tendō Domain (also known as Takahata Domain, Dewa Province, 20,000 koku), Yanagimoto han (Yamato Province, 10,000 koku), Kaiju han (also known as Shibamura han; Yamato Province, 10,000 koku), and Kaibara han (Tanba Province, 20,000 koku).
During the reign of the daimyō Nobutoshi, the Oda of Tendō Domain were signatories to the pact that created the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei.
After Meiji Restoration
After the Meiji Restoration in 1871, the feudal domains were abolished, and all the four houses of the Oda clan were appointed Viscount in the new hereditary peerage (kazoku).
Descendants
Descendants of the Oda clan can be found throughout Japan, mainly in the south and southwest.
Notable figures
Oda Chikazane (ca. 13th century)
Oda Nobuhide (1510–1551)
Oda Nobuhiro (died 1574)
Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582)
Oda Nobuyuki (1536–1557)
Oda Nobukane (1548–1614)
Oda Nagamasu (1548–1622)
Oda Nobuharu (1549–1570)
Oda Nobuzumi (1555–1583)
Oda Nobutada (1557–1582)
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583)
Oda Nobukatsu (1558–1630)
Hashiba Hidekatsu (羽柴 秀勝, 1567–1593)
Oda Katsunaga (1568–1582)
Oda Hidekatsu (織田 秀雄, 1583–1610)
Oda Hidenobu (1580–1605)
Oda Nobutoshi (1853–1901)
Oda Nobunari (1987–)
Notable female members
Oichi (1547–1583)
Lady Otsuya
Tokuhime
Kitsuno
Nōhime
Dota Gozen
Clan retainers
Senior retainer families
Hirate clan
Takigawa clan
Sakuma clan
Fuwa clan
Hayashi clan
Shibata clan
Niwa clan
Maeda clan
Sassa clan
Notable retainer families
Akechi clan
Hashiba clan
Tokugawa clan
Nobunaga's notable retainers
Senior retainers in Owari Province
Hirate Masahide
Hayashi Hidesada
Murai Sadakatsu
Kawajiri Hidetaka
Mizuno Nobumoto
Sakuma Nobumori
Shibata Katsuie
Takigawa Kazumasu
Mori Yoshinari
Sakai Masahisa
Niwa Nagahide
Ikeda Tsuneoki
Sassa Narimasa
Maeda Toshiie
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Hachisuka Masakatsu
Hori Hidemasa
Sakuma Morimasa
Yamauchi Katsutoyo
Hasegawa Hidekazu
Naitō Shōsuke
Harada Naomasa
Yanada Masatsuna
Ōta Gyūichi
Iio Sadamune
Others
Takenaka Hanbei
Kuroda Yoshitaka
Akechi Mitsuhide
Ujiie Bokuzen
Inaba Yoshimichi
Andō Morinari
Matsunaga Hisahide
Kuki Yoshitaka
Kani Saizō
Kanamori Nagachika
Gamō Katahide
Gamō Ujisato
Mori Ranmaru
Asakura Kageakira
Fuwa Mitsuharu
Araki Murashige
Hirate Kiyohide
Hosokawa Fujitaka
Ikeda Nobuteru
Ikoma Ienaga
Maeda Gen'i
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Others (cont.)
Murai Sadakatsu
Nakagawa Kiyohide
Takayama Ukon
Tsutsui Junkei
Wada Koremasa
Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Asano Nagamasa
Hachisuka Hikoemon
Ishida Mitsunari
Murai Nagato
Tsutsui Junkei
Sakon Shima
Kuroda Kanbei
Yamanuchi Katsutoyo
Horio Mosuke
Kitabatake Toshikatsu
Maeno Suemon
Tōdō Takatora
Akada Shigeyoshi
Akada Shigetaka
Aochi Shigetsuna
Atagi Nobuyasu
Chō Tsuratatsu
Others (cont.)
Endō Taneshige
Fukutomi Hidekatsu
Gotō Takaharu
Hachiya Yoritaka
Hatakeyama Sadamasa
Hayashi Shinjiro
Hirate Norihide
Horiuchi Ujiyoshi
Ikai Nobusada
Inaba Masashige
Kaganoi Shigemochi
Kanemitsu Masayoshi
Katō Yoshiaki
Kawajiri Hidetaka
Kotsokuri Tomomasa
Kyōgoku Takatsugu
Maeba Yoshitsugu
Maeda Toshiharu
Maeno Nagayasu
Mikumo Shigemochi
Takigawa Kazumasu
Sakuma Nobumori
Yasuke
Clan castles
Castles of Nobunaga's Residence
Nagoya Castle
Kiyosu Castle
Komakiyama Castle
Gifu Castle
Azuchi Castle
Prominent castles and commanders
Tamaru Castle : Oda Nobukatsu
Nagahama Castle : Hashiba Hideyoshi
Sakamoto Castle : Akechi Mitsuhide
Fukuchiyama Castle : Akechi clan
Kameyama Castle : Akechi clan
Kuroi Castle : Akechi clan (Saitō Toshimitsu)
Shōryūji Castle : Hosokawa Fujitaka
Sawayama Castle : Niwa Nagahide
Maebashi Castle : Takigawa Kazumasu
Shigisan Castle : Matsunaga Hisahide
References
Information on the Oda clan's background
Japanese clans
Daimyo