Sakuma Nobumori
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was a
retainer Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for w ...
for the
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, severa ...
. He was thus treated as Nobunaga's most important retainer and would come to fight in every important battle under Nobunaga's command such as the 1567
Siege of Inabayama Castle The of 1567 was the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to defeat the Saitō clan in their mountaintop castle and conquer Mino Province, Japan. It was a short two-week siege, fought between 13 and 27 September 1567, or in the Japanese ...
, the 1571 and 1573
Siege of Nagashima The , taking place in 1571, 1573, and 1574, were part of Oda Nobunaga's campaigns against the Ikkō-ikki, arguably among his greatest enemies. Nagashima, in Owari Province along Japan's Pacific coast, was the location of a string of river island fo ...
.


Early life

Born in what is now Minami-ku,
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...
(situated in contemporary Aichi District, Owari Province) and serving under
Oda Nobuhide was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy ''shugo'' (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of the ...
, Sakuma was entrusted with the care of the young Oda Nobunaga. Although he briefly supported
Oda Nobuyuki , also known as , was the son of Oda Nobuhide and younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, who lived 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. ...
in his abortive attempts at rebellion in 1557. Unlike other retainers whose support Oda Nobunaga as clan leader, Sakuma remained steadfastly loyal to Nobunaga, and fought for him consistently. Sakuma was called Noki Sakuma (退き佐久間), which literally means "retreating Sakuma," because of his cautious tactics.


Military life

In 1554, Nobumori took part in the
Battle of Kiyosu Castle Battle of Kiyosu Castle or Battle of Kaizu (August 16, 1552 - April 20, 1554) was the first victory of the young Oda Nobunaga in his struggle to unite the province of Owari against his cousin, Oda Nobutomo, deputy governor of northern Owari. B ...
against
Oda Nobutomo was a Japanese warlord during the Sengoku period. He was head of the Kiyosu Oda faction of the Oda clan, and ruled the four southern districts of Owari Province as '' shugodai''. After Oda Nobuhide died in 1551, Nobuhide's son Nobunaga was in ...
, uncle of Nobunaga. In 1555, Nobumori took part in the
Battle of Ino A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
against
Oda Nobuyuki , also known as , was the son of Oda Nobuhide and younger brother of Oda Nobunaga, who lived 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. ...
, younger brother of Nobunaga. In 1560, he is one of Nobunaga main force at the
Battle of Okehazama The took place in June 1560 in Owari Province, located in today's Aichi Prefecture. In this battle, the heavily outnumbered Oda clan troops commanded by Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the front-running ...
against
Imagawa Yoshimoto was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become S ...
. In 1567, he fought in the
Siege of Inabayama Castle The of 1567 was the final battle in Oda Nobunaga's campaign to defeat the Saitō clan in their mountaintop castle and conquer Mino Province, Japan. It was a short two-week siege, fought between 13 and 27 September 1567, or in the Japanese ...
against Saito Tatsuoki from
Saitō clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that ruled Mino province in the Sengoku period. The clan appropriated the name of a defunct samurai clan named "Saitō" that had previously hailed from Echizen province and claimed descent from Fujiwara Toshih ...
where he was in the reserve division. In 1570, He was successful attacking Mitsukuri castle in the campaign against the
Rokkaku clan The was a Japanese samurai clan Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 53 of 80">"Rokkaku" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 49 DF_53_...
_and_helped_to_suppress_rebellions_caused_by_Buddhist_sects_in_Echizen_Province.html" ;"title="DF 53 of 80/nowiki>">DF 53 ...
and helped to suppress rebellions caused by Buddhist sects in Echizen Province">DF 53 of 80/nowiki>">DF 53 ...
and helped to suppress rebellions caused by Buddhist sects in Echizen Province. In 1571, Nobumori fought against Ikkō-ikki rebellion in Sieges of Nagashima. He also set fire and burn down Enryakuji at Siege of Mount Hiei. Nobumori was given Kurita District, Shiga, Kurita County, Omi Province as chigyo-chi (household territory) in November, 1571. In 1572, he and
Takigawa Kazumasu , also known as Sakonshōgen (左近将監), was a samurai retainer and military commander of Oda Nobunaga, and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during Japan's Sengoku period. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Toshihisa and later Kazumasu ...
led 3,000-man unit formed part of the reinforcements dispatched by Nobunaga to aid
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
's approximately 8,000 soldiers against the 30,000 led by
Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...
in the Battle of Mikatagahara, Sakuma retreated after a preliminary engagement. His fellow commander
Hirate Hirohide (1553–1572) was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, and an officer under the Oda clan. During the battle of Mikatagahara, Hirohide was sent by Oda Nobunaga under Sakuma Nobumori to provide reinforcement to Tokugawa Ieyasu. When he was att ...
, however, who fought alongside the Tokugawa troops, lost his life, and the conflict ended with a crushing defeat of the Tokugawa-Oda alliance. In 1575, he participated in the
Battle of Nagashino The took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for t ...
against the
Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...
. In 1576, after
Harada Naomasa Harada (written: ) is the 52nd most common Japanese surname. Notable personalities with this surname include: *, Japanese actor *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese rock climber *, Japanese ...
's death during the campaign against the heavily fortified and well-supplied Honganji temple in Osaka, Sakuma was chosen as Harada's replacement as commander of the
Siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji The , taking place from 1570 to 1580 in Sengoku period Japan, was a ten-year campaign by lord Oda Nobunaga against a network of fortifications, temples, and communities belonging to the Ikkō-ikki, a powerful faction of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist mo ...
and given troops from seven provinces placing him in command of the largest Oda-clan army among the Oda retainers. However, unlike his colleagues
Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...
,
Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...
or Hashiba Hideyoshi who all won battles on the fronts to which they were assigned, Nobumori made no progress against the fearless Buddhist zealots. In 1580, after ten years of warring, Nobunaga had the
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
mediate a truce to end the war. That same year, Nobunaga drafted a document containing a nineteen-point accusation against Sakuma's, including past failures with those against the Honganji. Nobunaga banished Sakuma and his son Sakuma Nobuhide to the temple on Mount Koyasan, where they were forced to spend their days in the monk lifestyle. The man who came to lead the largest force in the Kinki area (Kansai) after Nobumori was
Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...
, and along with the severe human affairs which brought unrest to the vassals, this banishment was often said to be linked to
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 ...
death at the Honnoji Incident.


Death

Nobumori's banishment has widely been regarded as representative of Nobunaga's cold-blooded treatment against even his longest-serving retainers underscoring the clan leader's shortcomings as a military commander. Nobumori, however, had reportedly held frequent tea parties and seemed more interested in these rather than focusing on military affairs. He never devised, after all, any overarching military measures against the Honganji, even though their war had remained in a stalemate. It has also been recorded that since childhood, Nobumori had been openly critical of
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 ...
. Sakuma died in 1582 at Totsugawa in
Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...
. He was posthumously named Doumu Keigan (洞無桂巌) and Souyu (宗佑).


Family

* Sakuma Nobuhide ( :Ja:佐久間信栄): Son


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakuma, Nobumori 1528 births 1582 deaths Samurai Oda retainers