In 1570, Nobukatsu became an adopted heir of the
Kitabatake clan and married a daughter of the former lord of Kitabatake,
Tomonori. The true nature of this marriage was a condition of truce forced by the Oda clan to the Kitabatake clan. In 1575, Nobukatsu officially became the head of the family. The next year, he killed his father-in-law, imprisoned the previous lord, who was his father by adoption, and completely took over the Kitabatake clan. In 1579, eager to achieve fame, Nobukatsu directed a first
invasion of Iga,
Iga Province, which only ended in disastrous failure and severe rebuke from his father. Two years later in 1581, Nobunaga himself led the second invasion with an army of several ten thousand, destroyed the whole region and placing control of
Iga province in Nobukatsu's hands.
Death of Nobunaga When Nobunaga and his heir,
Nobutada, died at the
Honnō-ji incident in 1582, problems arose about who would succeed the lordship of
Oda clan. When Nobukatsu and his younger brother,
Nobutaka, quarreled over the matter, a council decided on the infant son of Nobutada,
Oda Hidenobu. The opinion of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was most influential on this decision. At this point, Nobukatsu changed his surname back to Oda. He succeeded his father as lord of
Owari,
Mino and
Ise Provinces.
Decline of Nobukatsu Okadagiri Yoshifusa
made in the Kamakura period. The name of this tachi'' comes from the fact that during the
Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584, Oda Nobuo used this sword to kill Okada Shigetaka, his retainer who was suspected of being a traitor.
National Treasure In 1583, during the succeeding chaotic years, Nobukatsu joined with Hideyoshi to destroy
Oda Nobutaka. However, soon their relationship became hostile too, and Nobukatsu allied with
Tokugawa Ieyasu to fight Hideyoshi in the
Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584. After more than a half year of battles, Hideyoshi persuaded Nobukatsu to make peace, offering him the security of the dominion. Nobukatsu took this offer and practically became a retainer of Hideyoshi. Later in 1590, when he served at the
Odawara Campaign, he refused to accept Hideyoshi's order to change his dominion, and later he not only lost his original domain but was also forced to become a monk under the supervision of some Toyotomi retainers. A few years later, Hideyoshi's anger eased and Nobukatsu regained some land to rule. In 1598, he became the guardian of
Toyotomi Hideyori after Hideyoshi's death. However in 1615, he betrayed the
Toyotomi clan at the
Siege of Osaka, and surrendered to
Tokugawa Ieyasu. As a result, he was permitted to remain a
daimyō by the Tokugawa shogunate. Though he is often described as an incompetent general, he managed to survive the series of upheavals. After the establishment of the
Tokugawa shogunate, he became the lord of the
Uda-Matsuyama Domain in
Yamato Province (modern-day
Nara Prefecture), and comfortably lived the rest of his life. ==Family==