The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga by Ōta Gyūichi (review)

Few people have captured the imagination of students of Japanese history as has Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582). Nobunaga was one of the three so-called unifiers of pre-modern Japan, together with Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616). He stood out not only as a military genius who succeeded in conquering half the country despite overwhelming odds, but also because of his rebellious youth and outlandish appearance. The most important source on the life and career of this fascinating figure is Shinchō kōki, written by Ōta Gyūichi (1527–1613)—who for almost ten years served on Nobunaga’s administrative staff. Ōta completed the work a decade into the Tokugawa period and thus some thirty years after Nobunaga’s violent death.

All but the first of Shinchō kōki’s sixteen volumes follow the East Asian historiographical tradition of listing facts and events in a straightforward chronological manner. According to Ōta, the great majority of the facts presented in the chronicle are extracts from diaries that he himself kept—utilizing his privileged vantage point as a witness to this turbulent period. As Elisonas and Lamers, the translators and editors, clearly point out, the first volume was probably never intended to be part of the chronicle and should be seen more as an anecdotal war tale. This does not make the volume any less significant, and its fantastic stories about the exploits of the young Nobunaga whet the appetite for what is to come.

While the chronicle is filled with violence and mayhem as the author takes us from one battlefield to the next, it also serves as a highly valuable source describing the cultural pursuits of warlords during this historical period. Details of noh performances, tea ceremonies, sports competitions, arts, and fashion provide interesting diversions and serve to nuance the images of the ferocious warlords at the close of the violent Sengoku period. The chronicle should appeal not only to a select few scholars with a particular interest in Nobunaga, but also to a much broader audience. It shows how warriors navigated a complex and often lethal political environment, and it strikes a balance between two of the most common descriptions of Nobunaga: a Machiavellian prince of unsurpassed cruelty and an enlightened ruler with a keen mind open to new ideas.

While Ōta is full of admiration for the accomplishments of Nobunaga, he also sees his subject’s flaws. On several occasions he criticizes Nobunaga for his merciless cruelty against his enemies, whether warriors, women, or children. However, Ōta also shows there were times when Nobunaga felt pity for his victims. He relates, for example, how on one occasion Nobunaga had a large number of women and children crucified and otherwise executed in revenge for their lord’s treacherous act. Despite having issued the command on which these terrible deeds were carried out, Nobunaga then expressed remorse upon hearing the reports of tearful warriors who were distressed over the deaths. Though warlords had to be ruthless, this did not always mean they were cold-blooded killers.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga illustrates the function of violence in politics at the close of the medieval period. Wars were not always won on the battlefield: they were won just as often through defection by enemy warriors overly concerned about their possible fate and that of their families, and part of Nobunaga’s great success was no doubt his ability to stage gruesome displays of violence. In other words, he was a master at using violence as a vehicle of communication.

The fates of Nobunaga’s victims are generally described in much the same way as they are in war tales of previous centuries—not as pitiful but as the inevitable result of karma or bad judgments by the victims’ lord. Thus the killer is seen as the tool, or vehicle, of destruction, rather than as the direct cause. In this way...