Oda Nobukatsu (織田信雄, 1558-10 June 1630) was a samurai of the Azuchi Momoyama period, second son of Oda Nobunaga. He survived the decline of the Oda clan from its political pre-eminence and became a daimyo in the early Edo period.
Kitabatake clan
In 1570, Nobukatsu became the adopted heir of Kitabatake clan and married a daughter of Totomori, the former lord of Kitabatake. This marriage led to a forced truce between the Oda clan and the Kitabatake clan.
In 1575, Nobukatsu officially became the head of the family. The following year, he killed his father-in-law and took control of the clan.
Death of Nobunaga
When Nobunaga and his heir, Oda Nobutada, died in the Honnō-ji incident in 1582, problems arose over who would succeed to the lordship of the Oda clan.
Although Nobukatsu, Nobutaka's younger brother, was destined to become the new lord, the clan members chose Nobutada's son, Oda Hidenobu, then two years old. It is said that the opinion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very influential in this decision. Nobukatsu then changed his surname to Oda.
Decline of Nobukatsu
During the chaotic years that followed, Nobukatsu joined Hideyoshi in destroying Nobutaka. However, their relationship soured and Nobukatsu allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu to fight Hideyoshi at the battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584.
After more than half a year of battles, Hideyoshi persuaded Nobukatsu to make peace by offering him the security of dominion. Nobukatsu accepted this offer and became Hideyoshi's vassal.
Later, when he served at the siege of Odawara (1590), he refused to accept Hideyoshi's order to change his dominion and not only lost his original domain but was also forced to become a monk under the supervision of some of Totomi's obligees.
A few years later, with Hideyoshi's anger appeased, Nobukatsu regained some ground to exercise his power.
He became Toyotomi Hideyori's guardian after Hideyoshi's death. However, he betrayed the Toyotomi clan at the siege of Osaka and surrendered to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
As a result, he was allowed to remain daimyo by the Tokugawa shogunate. Although he is often described as an incompetent general, he managed to survive a series of upheavals.
After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, he became the master of the Uda-Matsuyama estate in Yamato province (modern Nara prefecture) and lived there comfortably for the rest of his life.
Family
- Father : Oda Nobunaga (1536-1582)
- Adoptive father : Kitabatake Tomonori
Brothers:
- Oda Nobutada (1557-1582)
- Oda Nobutaka (1558-1583)
- Hashiba Hidekatsu (1567-1585)
- Oda Katsunaga (1568-1582)
- Oda Nobunhide (son of Nobunaga) (1571-1597)
- Oda Nobutaka (2) (1576-1602)
- Oda Nobuyoshi (1573-1615)
- Oda Nobusada (1574-1624)
- Oda Nobuyoshi (died in 1609)
- Oda Nagatsugu (died in 1600)
- Oda Nobumasa (1554-1647)
Sisters :
- Toku-hime (1559-1636)
- Fuyuhime (1561-1641)
- Hideko (died in 1632)
- Eihime (1574-1623)
- Hōonin
- Sannomarudono (died in 1603)
- Tsuruhime
