ODA Nobunaga

織田信長 (1534-1582)

ODA Nobunaga was born in 1534 at Nagono castle, the predecessor of Nagoya castle. A gifted military commander, he succeeded in unifying the rival feudal lords of the Sengoku period (1467–1568), who had been fighting one another, and in forcing them under a centralized government. He adopted Western firearm technology, recruited peasants as soldiers, conquered numerous provinces and  ordered the construction of the fireproof Azuchi castle, welcomed Christian missionaries from Portugal, and broke the political power of the Buddhists -most notably by destroying the Enryaku-ji temple near the imperial capital of Kyôto. He died in 1582 during a surprise attack.