Nobutada Oda was a military leader of the Momoyama period.
Background
Nobutada Oda was born in 1557 in the castle of Kiyosu in Owari, present-day Aichi Prefecture, he was known in childhood as Samposhi, but with his coming-of- age ceremony in 1572 he assumed the name Kankuro.
He was the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga.
Career
He took part in the attack on Asai Nagamasa in the castle of Odani in Omi, distinguishing himself for his military prowess. In 1574 he joined his father in helping to put down the ikko ikki, a peasant revolt led by priests of the Shin sect of Buddhism, that had broken out at Nagashima in Ise. When his father moved to the newly built castle of Azuchi in Omi in 1576, he became the lord of Gifu Castle. In 1577 he helped to put down another ikki revolt in Saiga in the province of Kii and the same year went on to attack and wipe out Matsunaga Hisahide and his son Hisamichi, who were ensconced in a castle on Mt. Shigi in Yamato and were opposing Nobunaga.
In 1578 he assisted Hashiba Hideyoshi in the campaign to wipe out resistance in the province of Harima. He led the vanguard in an attack on Takeda Katsuyori in the province of Kai in 1582, attacked Takeda again at the castle of Takato in Shinano, and finally wiped out the Takeda forces in another battle in Kai. The same year, when he and his father were in residence in Kyoto, Akechi Mitsuhide attacked Nobunaga at the Honno-ji, driving him to suicide. Nobutada, determined to resist Akechi Mitsuhidc’s attacks and avenge his father’s death, took up a position in Nijo Castle, but though he struggled valiantly, he found himself overpowered and committed suicide.