When was Oda Nobunaga born and when did he die?

He was born in 1534 and died in the Honnō-ji Incident on the 2nd day of the 6th month of 1582, aged 49 by the traditional Japanese count.

When was the Battle of Okehazama?

In 1560, when Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto.

What were Nobunaga’s free markets (rakuichi)?

Orders allowing free trade in a market town. Nobunaga issued one for the town below Azuchi Castle in 1577, and an earlier one for Kanō in Mino in 1567.

Oda Nobunaga: a timeline of his life

From a warlord in Owari province to within reach of unifying Japan, until his death at Honnō-ji. Here is Oda Nobunaga’s life, based on Japanese reference dictionaries.

1534 Born
1551 Becomes head of the clan after his father Nobuhide dies
1560 Defeats Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama
1567 Takes Inabayama Castle in Mino and renames it Gifu; free-market order for Kanō
1568 (9th month) Enters Kyoto with Ashikaga Yoshiaki
1571 Burns Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei
1573 Expels Yoshiaki; the Muromachi shogunate ends
1575 Defeats Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino
1576 Begins building Azuchi Castle
1577 Free-market order for the town below Azuchi
1582 (6th month, 2nd day) Honnō-ji Incident: attacked by Akechi Mitsuhide, he takes his own life, aged 49 by the traditional count

From Okehazama to Kyoto

Victory over Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama in 1560 made Nobunaga’s name. In 1567 he took Inabayama Castle in Mino and renamed it Gifu, and in 1568 he entered Kyoto backing Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Against the old powers

In 1571 he burned the temple complex of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, and in 1573 he expelled Yoshiaki, ending the Muromachi shogunate. In 1575 he defeated Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino.

Azuchi and free markets

He began building Azuchi Castle in 1576 and in 1577 issued a free-market order for the town below it. That 13-article document is an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Honnō-ji

On the 2nd day of the 6th month of 1582, he was attacked by Akechi Mitsuhide at Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto and took his own life.

Sources: Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponica), Encyclopedia Mypedia, Sekai Daihyakka Jiten, Nihon Jinmei Daijiten+Plus, Yamakawa Japanese History Dictionary (via Kotobank); Shiga Prefecture.

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