![Nōhime Gifu Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/N%C5%8Dhime_Gifu_Castle.jpg)
, also known as Kichō (帰蝶), was the legal wife of
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan.
Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
, a major ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' during the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
of
Japanese history
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...
. Her proper name was Kichō, but since she came from
Mino Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
, she is most commonly referred to as Nōhime ("Lady of Mino"; ''Nō'' is an abbreviation for Nōshū (濃州), other name of Mino Province, and ''
hime
is the Japanese word for princess or a lady of higher birth. Daughters of a monarch are actually referred to by other terms, e.g. {{nihongo3, , 王女, Ōjo, literally king's daughter, even though ''Hime'' can be used to address ''Ōjo''.
...
'' means "lady, princess, noblewoman"). She was renowned for her beauty and cleverness.
Nōhime's father was the daimyo
Saitō Dōsan
, also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤 利政), was a Japanese samurai during the Sengoku period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Dōsan"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809.
He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics. His hono ...
and her mother was known as Omi no Kata. Nō herself appears very little in any historical record, and there is little information on the dates of her birth or death; however, proposed dates for her birth fall in 1533–
35. According to one historical record, Lady Nō was
infertile
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
, and when Nobunaga's concubine Lady
Kitsuno
was a concubine of Japanese ''daimyō'' Oda Nobunaga during the Warring-states period (or Sengoku period) in Japanese history. She was born into the third generation of the prosperous and influential Ikoma clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan ...
gave birth to
Oda Nobutada
was a samurai and the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, who fought in many battles during the Sengoku period of Japan. He commanded armies under his father in battles against Matsunaga Hisahide and against the Takeda clan.
Biography
Oda Nobutada w ...
, the child was given to Lady Nō, Nobunaga's legal wife, to be raised as Nobunaga's heir.
Marriage to Nobunaga
![odanobunaga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Odanobunaga.jpg)
Nō was said to be extremely intelligent and stunningly beautiful. At their wedding, Nobunaga described her as having "the mind of a genius and the appearance of a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
." She was married to him in 1549, during a truce between his father,
Nobuhide, and hers (Saitō Dōsan).
The marriage is believed to have been a political gesture, with little actual love between them. Although she was his official wife, it is often believed that he focused his love on his
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
,
Kitsuno
was a concubine of Japanese ''daimyō'' Oda Nobunaga during the Warring-states period (or Sengoku period) in Japanese history. She was born into the third generation of the prosperous and influential Ikoma clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan ...
, who bore him his first son,
Nobutada. Nō was never able to conceive a child with Nobunaga, and it was believed that she was
infertile
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
.
Due to the lack of historical record, there is not much information as to what became of Nō or even the date of her death. Overall, it can be said that her life as it is now known is more of a tentative mixture of legends, folktales and half-truths. Nō's official grave is at Sōken-in (), a subtemple of
Daitoku-ji
is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" ('' sangō'') by which it is known is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex today covers more ...
in Kyoto.
Legends and speculation
One theory posits that Nō was acting as a
spy
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
, or even
assassin
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...
, for her father; at that time it was not an uncommon practice for a wife to relay information to her maiden family. Given Nobunaga's reputation at the time as the unruly "Fool of
Owari" (''Owari no Utsuke'' 尾張の虚け), it was also not impossible for Dōsan to want Nō to assassinate him, as she was skilled in both the sword and a selection of martial arts.
As for her alleged role as a spy, there is a popular story where Nobunaga purposely gave Nō false information regarding a conspiracy between two of her father's head servants and their plans to betray him. Her father had both men executed, and thus weakened himself by eliminating those loyal to him.
![Honnoj](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Honnoj.jpg)
In 1556, Nō's father was killed in a coup carried out by his own son,
Yoshitatsu, in Mino Province. This reduced Nō's value as a wife. Her inability to conceive and her supposed spying were held against her. She influenced Oda Nobunaga to invade Mino after her father was killed by her brother. Yoshitatsu would die in 1561. Succeeded by a less-than-capable heir (Tatsuoki), the Saito clan would be defeated in the
Siege of Inabayama
The of 1567 was the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to defeat the Saitō clan in their Japanese castle#Architecture and defenses, mountaintop castle and conquer Mino Province, Japan.
It was a short two-week siege, fought between 13 an ...
. Nobunaga and Nō would rebuild it as
Gifu Castle
is a Japanese castle located in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Along with Mount Kinka and the Nagara River, it is one of the main symbols of the city. The castle is also known as . It was designated a National Historic Site in 2011 ...
, becoming an important Oda clan outpost.
Incident at Honnō-ji
The fate of Nōhime is uncertain, but it is said that she died in the flames of Honno-ji while fighting with her
naginata
The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...
against enemy soldiers. However it is said that she managed to survive the battle and escaped the flames of
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
alive.
After the
Honnō-ji Incident
The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his ...
which claimed the lives of Nobunaga and his son
Nobutada, it was uncertain where Nō went. Some speculate that she died at Honnō-ji, but the woman alleged to be Nō was more often believed to be a retired prostitute to whom Oda Nobunaga had taken a liking. Nevertheless, after the incident, Nobunaga's wives and female servants were all sent to
Azuchi Castle
was one of the primary castles of Oda Nobunaga located in the Azuchi neighborhood of the city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. The site of the castle was designated a National Historic Site in 1926, with the designation upgraded to that of a ...
, which was Nobunaga's castle of residence. Among the women was a certain Lady Azuchi (安土殿 ''Azuchi dono''), who was taken in by Nobunaga's second son,
Nobukatsu. This Lady Azuchi is widely believed to have been Nō in disguise as she soon after disappeared from the castle into the night.
Other survival theories
Afterwards, it was often rumoured that she had attempted to raise her father's clan in Mino under her name, but was killed by an assassin sent by the Akechi, who had been tracking her since her escape from Honnō-ji.
The most commonly accepted form of Nō’s life after the death of Nobunaga is that she was under the care of her adopted son Nobukatsu until he was defeated by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
, then was under the care of the Toyotomi until her death in 1612.
In fiction
* In the ''
Samurai Warriors
is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, rele ...
'' franchise, she is portrayed as a sultry and deadly woman who fights using assassin weapons and bombs. Her relationship with Nobunaga is portrayed as a toxic love, with her always trying to kill her husband and Nobunaga considering it a fun game. However, their relationship tends to change based on the game.
* In the ''
Sengoku Basara
is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom, and a bigger media franchise based on it, including four anime shows, an anime movie, a live action show, a magazine series, a trading card game, and numerous drama CDs, light nove ...
'' game and anime series, she is depicted as a beautiful and elegant woman who is loyal to her husband, with matchlock pistols, jackhammers and guns as weapons.
* In the game ''
Nioh
is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja. It was released for PlayStation 4 in February 2017, and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment internationally, and by Koei Tecmo in Japan. An edition for PlayStation 4 and ...
'', she appears as a ''
yuki-onna
is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore that is often depicted in Japanese literature, films, or animation.
She may also go by such names as ''yuki-musume'', cited by ("snow daughter"), ''yuki-onago'' ("snow girl"), ''yukijorō'' (雪女郎, ...
''. She was resurrected by the main antagonist and was killed in one-on-one battle with the main protagonist after he is dispatched to
Honnō-ji
is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan.
Honnō-ji incident
Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident – the assassination of Oda Nobunaga – that occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nobunaga lodged at ...
temple to solve mystery behind the snow that appeared out of nowhere in middle of June. In the fight, she uses ice magic and
naginata
The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...
made out of ice. She reappears in the prequel ''
Nioh 2
is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 4. It was published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide on March 13, 2020. It is both a prequel and sequel to ''Nioh'' (2017). Versio ...
'' as the half-sister of the main protagonist Hide, and ends up dying in the Honnoji incident alongside her husband Nobunaga.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nohime
1530s births
1612 deaths
16th-century Japanese women
17th-century Japanese women
Oda clan
People of Sengoku-period Japan
Saitō clan
Women of medieval Japan
16th-century Japanese people
17th-century Japanese people