Author's Games: Samurai

Meet The Enemy: Nobunaga Oda

Please keep in mind this is my personal variation of him, and not actual history. I already included a lot about the real Nobunaga, so this is just what I'm doing/tweaking about him.

Name: Nobunaga Oda (No-boo-nah-guh Oh-duh).

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Appearance: He has slanted, almond-shaped coal-black eyes. They're almost always narrowed and hardened, mostly because of the harsh leader he has to be. The only one who sees his eyes softened and full of emotion, is his wife. He has shoulder-blade length, sleek black hair that he keeps tied back at the the back of his head. He is muscular; the body of a samurai who has trained for many years. His kimono is typically purple, with black haori and hakuma.

Weapon of choice: Typical katana/wakizashi on his left hip.

Personality: Nobunaga is a general, and the diamyo of his clan—the Oda clan. He is fully prepared to rule Japan, which makes him a harsh general. Outsiders or members of other clans often see him as cruel, rude, arrogant and sarcastic. Even those within his own clan have difficulty just being around him at times. His fighting style and ruthlessness in battle has made him a man others fear. With his wife and three-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, he is loving and compassionate, often smiling and laughing with them. They are his life, and the time when he can truly allow himself to feel free and open.

Background: Nobunaga's father was a just and yet cruel diamyo. He trained Nobunaga ever since he was four-years-old, often times with harsh tactics. Despite his childhood, he grew up to impress his father, and swore than he would surpass his father's abilities. Eventually, he did. His father died in battle, although it was openly known that Nobunaga never attended the funeral. When he did se his father's alter, he spread the man's ashes around the alter like a sumo wrestle does with salt. It was so disrespectful that a man named Hirate Masahide, who was a loyal servant who looked after Nobunaga, committed seppuku just to restore honor to the clan name. At just seventeen, Nobunaga took over as clan leader from his uncle, who ruled until Nobunaga came of age. There was civil war, as Nobunaga's brothers sided with his uncle in trying to keep him from becoming clan leader. His uncle mysteriously died and his brothers disappeared. He married Ayumi, who had been his childhood friend, at just nineteen. She became pregnant soon after, but Nobunaga was attacked in his home by a ninja named Hanzo. Ayumi was hurt, and though she managed to live, they lost the baby. Nobunaga never forgave Hanzo for his betrayal. His father's katana was called called Bushikatagi, which means samurai spirit, had been a family heirloom that he had used ever since his father gave it to him on his deathbed when Nobunaga was twelve. Because of Hanzo's betrayal, Nobunaga vowed never to unsheathe Bushikatagi until the moment he used it to kill Hanzo. Until then, he has used a regular katana. When he was twenty, a year later, Ayumi had another baby, a boy named Reiko, and another year after that, they had a girl, which they named Oichi.

Important side characters with them: Ayumi is his wife. Reiko is his three-year-old son, and Oichi is his two-year-old daughter. He has trained Akechi Mitsuhide for four years now.

What influences their decisions in battle: Nobunaga knows the importance of strategy in battle. Though he believes in killing, he will often think things through. Many of his own soldiers, and even samurai from other clan, acknowledge him as the master strategist. It is part of what makes him an unstoppable force.

Belief: Nobunaga, above all else, believes in death. It is inevitable, the true unstoppable force. He has seen it many times, and many others, caused it himself. He follows bushido wholeheartedly, but he believes in loyalty above all else. Using a katana to strike down all enemies who oppose him, raising his family's name higher than it has ever been, is what bushido means to him.

More fun facts about Nobunaga: The part about his father's funeral, him spreading the ashes and the servant committing seppuku about it, was all true.

Real life Nobunaga, had one wife, two concubines, twelve sons and ten daughters.

His uncle and two brothers really did have a civil war against him.

He was known for being sarcastic. During one meeting discussing displeasure with his soldiers, its recorded, that he just repeated "Is that so?"

When he was young, he was forced to live in a separate castle for training, and he caused so much trouble and acted so rebellious, that he had a title and became known as The Fool of Owari (the place where he lived).

So yeah. Just so you guys know some real history, compared to what I'm changing for the sake of Samurai :)

Also, I haven't quite come up with how sponsorships will work in the story line, so I'll have a separate chapter for that, including how many each Enemy will sponsor. :)