The Ambition of Oda Nobuna

Not to be confused with Nobunaga's Ambition.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna
Cover of the first light novel
織田信奈の野望 (Oda Nobuna no Yabō)
Genre	Historical Isekai Romantic comedy
Light novel
Written by	Mikage Kasuga
Illustrated by	Miyama-Zero
Published by	SoftBank Creative (1–10) Fujimi Shobo (11–22)
Imprint	GA Bunko (1–10) Fujimi Fantasia Bunko (11–22)
Demographic	Male
Original run	August 15, 2009 – June 20, 2019
Volumes	22
Manga
Written by	Mikage Kasuga
Illustrated by	Shigure Aoba
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine	Comp Ace
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	July 2011 – June 2014
Volumes	6
Manga
Oda Nobuna no Yabō – Himesama to Issho Shutchōban
Written by	Mikage Kasuga
Illustrated by	Futago Minazuki
Published by	Fujimi Shobo
Magazine	Age Premium
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	August 2011 – October 2012
Volumes	2
Anime television series
Directed by	Yūji Kumazawa
Written by	Masashi Suzuki
Music by	Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio	Madhouse Studio Gokumi
Licensed by	AUS: Hanabee NA: Sentai Filmworks UK: MVM Films
Original network	TV Tokyo, AT-X, TVA, TVO
Original run	July 9, 2012 – September 24, 2012
Episodes	12

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (織田信奈の野望, Oda Nobuna no Yabō) is a Japanese light novel series written by Mikage Kasuga and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. It was adapted into an anime television series animated by Madhouse and Studio Gokumi that aired from July to September 2012. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series released it with an English dub in December 2014.

Plot

Suddenly finding himself in the Sengoku period, average high school student Yoshiharu Sagara is about to be killed on the battlefield. He is saved by none other than the man who would later become the respected Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but at the cost of the latter’s life. With the course of history altered as a result of these events, Yoshiharu tries to make things right again. Yoshiharu, however, is surprised to discover that the people he meets, the places he encounters, and the historical events he is dragged into are somewhat different than what he remembers from his favorite Sengoku era video game, Nobunaga's Ambition.

Yoshiharu soon discovers that, in this version of the Sengoku period, warlords such as Imagawa Yoshimoto, Matsudaira Motoyasu, and Shibata Katsuie were all women, despite having masculine-sounding names. Moreover, Nobunaga Oda does not exist – instead being replaced by a young woman named Nobuna Oda who holds his position as a daimyo. Yoshiharu begins working under Nobuna’s command, who nicknames him saru (サル, monkey), with hopes of correcting the course of history. If Nobuna were to live the same life as Nobunaga, she would repeat cruel acts, starting with the assassination of her younger brother Nobukatsu, and would eventually be killed in the Honnō-ji Incident due to the rebellion of her vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide. Attracted by Nobuna, a cute girl with a strong personality and progressive thoughts, Yoshiharu vows to stay in this Sengoku world and live with her.

Yoshiharu, who has been immersed in historical simulation games of modern Japan, thinks of his knowledge of history as useful to change Nobuna’s cruel future. Nobuna, however, forbids Yoshiharu from telling her about her future. She does not want to be bound by prophecies, and wants to decide her future with her own ideas. Following her order, Yoshiharu makes efforts to alter history by himself alone, keeping Nobuna’s fate a secret. In doing so, he gradually realizes the difficulty of protecting her. As tensions with rival factions increase, the Oda clan often finds itself in trouble, endangering the lives of Nobuna and her band of vassals. Yoshiharu confides in several of his trusted subordinates about the Honnō-ji Incident and requests their cooperation in changing her fate.

Yoshiharu and Nobuna have immediately fallen in love with each other. However, their relationship does not progress easily, due both to their tsundere personality and to the social status barrier between them. As time goes on, many female daimyos begin to fall in love with Yoshiharu. Yoshiharu is extremely fond of women, so when a woman is in danger, he does his best to save her life, even if she is on the enemy side. Yoshimoto Imagawa and Shingen Takeda were early examples of this. Later, Kenshin Uesugi and Kyushu daimyos including Sōrin Ōtomo are in the catalogue of women saved by Yoshiharu. When he lost his memory during a battle in Osaka, Yoshiharu was picked up by Nobuna’s strong rival, Takakage Kobayakawa of the Mōri clan, and they became romantically involved. He even joined Kobayakawa’s navy and planned strategies for the coming naval battle with Nobuna on the Osaka Bay. As a result of his thoughtless actions, Yoshiharu becomes a source of conflict among political forces across Japan. The Oda clan is no exception. The conflict between Nobuna and her vassal Mitsuhide Akechi, who no longer hides her love for Yoshiharu, begins to become an obstacle to the unity of the clan.

The story features two more people who know about future history. One is missionary Gaspar Cabral, head of the Japanese branch of the Catholic Dominus Order. The other was Fujitaka Hosokawa, a younger brother of Yoshiteru Ashikaga, the previous shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. Gaspar can foresee visions of future events through a magic stone called “Platonic Solid”. Fujitaka knows the future by deciphering the ancient prophetic book Kokin Denju. Each of them independently tries to counter Yoshiharu’s alteration of history.

After Yoshiharu regained his memory and rejoined the Oda army, Nobuna dispatched him to the Kyushu island as an envoy to negotiate with daimyos in Kyushu for political maneuvering to obstruct the advance of the Mōri army. Yoshiharu pursues his mission despite Gaspar’s interference. When Yoshiharu meets the female daimyo Yoshihi Sagara in the Higo province of Kyushu, he learns that he is a descendant of the Sagara clan. Yoshihi cooperates with Yoshiharu and participates in diplomacy and battles together. After Yoshiharu completed his mission in Kyushu, Yoshihi becomes Yoshiharu’s deputy and accompanies him when he returns to Honshu.

After Yoshiharu returned from Kyushu and joined up with the Oda army, the Battle of Sekigahara broke out. Many daimyos participate in this battle. Mitsuhide falls into Fujitaka’s plot and almost succumbs to her “fate” of betraying Nobuna, but Mitsuhide stops at the last minute and reaffirms her friendship with Nobuna and Yoshiharu. In the end, the Oda army narrowly wins the battle. Nobuna almost achieved the unification of Japan, with a few exceptions of still resisting factions such as the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and the Ryūzōji clan in the Kyushu region.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, a combined European fleet appears off the coast of the Kantō region, and war begins. The Japanese allied forces led by Nobuna Oda fend off the European attack. In addition to establishing peace, Nobuna makes a commercial treaty with the England’s Queen Elizabeth I and embarks on trade and diplomacy on an equal footing. This shocked the court nobles who are in charge of court politics in Kyoto. Fujitaka incites them by creating a theory that Nobuna intends to usurp the imperial sovereignty. At Fujitaka’s instigation, the court nobles carry out a secret operation to expel foreign forces from Japan. On the night that Yoshiharu and Nobuna were married at Honnō-ji Temple in Kyoto, the temple is burned by an attack by Akechi Mitsuhide’s army, which is mobilized by a falsified imperial order.

Yoshiharu miraculously survived the Honnō-ji Incident and receives medical treatment at a Catholic church near Honnō-ji. His advisors, Hanbē Takenaka and Kanbē Kuroda, come to the church. They introduce a strategy to save Nobuna, which requires extremely difficult operations. That is, Yoshiharu must repeat time travels both to the future and to the past, complete his missions to prevent all the contradictions that would occur in history, then return to the night of Honnō-ji Incident, and rescue injured Nobuna from the burning temple. Yoshiharu decides to follow this proposal. He sets out on a journey over time and space, with the support of the people gathered at the church.

The plot above is based on the original story of the light novel. Spin-off stories and adapted works (manga and anime) have other plots. See the #Media section.

Characters

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna is a fantasy on the Sengoku period Japan that combines a romantic comedy and a historical novel with stories that are impossible as the historical facts. The novel borrows well-known events and characters from the Sengoku period, but they are quite different from their counterparts in the real history. Mikage Kasuga thus realized a strange parallel world. Takeya Tamai evaluated this novel as based on superficial and fragmented knowledge on history that readers have shared through video games or school textbooks, not on findings of academic research. Tamai also argued that character settings were the key for restructuring fragments of knowledge for entertainment. People in Kasuga's parallel world show differences from those in the real history. While gender-swapping is the most remarkable, other basic properties like the date of birth and death are often different. Such characters as Dōsan Saitō, Yoshimoto Imagawa, and Shingen Takeda survive the historical events in which their counterparts in the real history died, to make differences in what subsequently occurs.

The story tells how female Nobuna accomplishes her ambition of the unification of Japan in several years (Yoshiharu's monologue in volume 19), in which male Nobunaga failed after his thirty-year struggle, and how she participates in global politics. In the beginning, Nobuna is already the head of the Oda clan in the Owari Province, but her position is instable. The story first depicts characters in the Oda clan and in its neighbors in provinces of Mino, Mikawa, and Suruga. After Nobuna succeeded in stopping Imagawa's invasion at Okehazama (volume 1), she goes to the North (to Mino, volume 2), then goes to the West (to the capital Kyoto, volume 3), and goes further. As the Oda's reach expands, the story introduces more characters with more complex relationships among them.

Oda Clan

The status of the Oda clan as the daimyo of the Owari Province was established by the previous head Nobuhide. When he deceased, his daughter Nobuna inherited his position. The succession was not welcomed by those who supported Nobukatsu, Nobuna's younger brother. The Oda clan was thus experiencing internal conflict, when Yoshiharu suddenly appeared on the field of the battle between Oda and Imagawa. (volume 1)

Nobuna unifies her clan, negotiates with the neighbor daimyos, and defeats the Imagawa army at the Battle of Okehazama with the aid of her retainers, including Yoshiharu (volume 1). She then conquers the Mino Province (volume 2) and marches into the capital Kyoto (volume 3). The expansion of Oda power so frightens other political forces that they form an anti-Oda alliance. Nobuna also expands her network and seeks allies. The focus of the story is thus on the people around the Oda clan.

Yoshiharu Sagara (相良 良晴, Sagara Yoshiharu)

Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (Japanese); Clint Bickham (English)

A modern-day teenager who finds himself in an alternative version of the Sengoku period where some of the famous warlords of the era are female. Taking on the historical role of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who died while saving Yoshiharu's life, Yoshiharu swears to fulfill the dead man's dream of becoming a feudal lord and becoming popular with the ladies by using his knowledge from the videogame, Nobunaga's Ambition to foresee future events and help Nobuna in her quest to unite and conquer Japan and to hopefully change her real life counterpart's fate in the Incident at Honno-ji. Others also refer to him by the nickname "Saru" (Monkey) much to his chagrin, and he becomes Nobuna's punching bag whenever she gets mad or emotional.

Nobuna Oda (織田 信奈, Oda Nobuna)

Voiced by: Kanae Itō (Japanese); Emily Neves (English)

The daimyo of Owari. She has a tsundere attitude. Known by her enemies as the "Big Fool of Owari", she is a brilliant and ambitious teenage girl who plans to conquer and unite Japan to strengthen the nation and allow it to stand on equal ground with advanced European nations. An admirer of foreign culture and items, their influences inspire Nobuna's ambition. Throughout the series she is troubled by her position of leadership. As a person who is kind at heart, she seeks to rule with benevolence, fairness and kindness. However, she often finds herself in positions where she must make decisions that could compromise the integrity of her idealism. She begins to develop romantic feelings for Yoshiharu, which culminates with them entering into a secret love relationship later in the light novels. She also gets angry with Jūbei's inability to read the atmosphere as well as her constant interruptions whenever Nobuna and Yoshiharu try to share some quality time alone.

Mitsuhide Akechi (明智 光秀, Akechi Mitsuhide)

Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi (Japanese); Krystal LaPorte (English)

Also known as Jūbei, she is a brilliant tactician and strategist - although her strategies are renowned for their ruthlessness and cruelty. She also has an aristocratic education. Originally a loyal and dutiful general of the Saitō clan, she later becomes one of Nobuna's most important generals after Dōsan Saitō, leader of the Saitō clan, allies himself with Nobuna. Due to her pride and ambition, Jūbei wants nothing more than to be acknowledged by others, especially by Nobuna - who she admires very much. She has the unfortunate inability to read the mood and atmosphere in the room and has interrupted Nobuna and Yoshiharu's romantic moments on more than one occasion under the pretext of protecting Nobuna (as her relationship with Yoshiharu is supposed to be a secret). After saving Yoshiharu's life in the retreat from Kanegasaki, Jūbei begins to develop feelings for him, even to the extent of trying to marry him, even though she would constantly deny her feelings towards him until the events of volume 11. This dismays Nobuna to the point she considers executing Jūbei. During the events on volume 11, Mitsuhide finally came to admit her true feelings to him, even though the relationship between Nobuna and Yoshiharu has been exposed to Japan, she would still try to marry him, despite what has been revealed to the public. Because of Jūbei's role in the death of the real life Oda Nobunaga, Yoshiharu tries his best to avoid the Incident at Honno-ji as he is aware of everything that takes place before and after said incident.

Katsuie Shibata (柴田 勝家, Shibata Katsuie)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese); Carli Mosier (English)

Nicknamed Riku, she is a general serving under Nobuna. Originally, she was an aide to Nobuna's younger brother, Nobukatsu (future Nobusumi Tsuda), but her true loyalty lay with Nobuna. Due to an agreement that was made after one of Nobukatsu's failed rebellions, she officially became one of Nobuna's retainers (volume 1). She wears a steel breastplate that accentuates the shape of her bosom and is easily angered by those who stare at it. She develops a desire to be more feminine when she realizes that many warriors see and fear her as "Demon Shibata", going so far as to have Yoshiharu give her some dubious advice (volume 7). After the war between the Oda clan and the Asai-Asakura alliance, she is made the daimyo of Echizen.

Nagahide Niwa (丹羽 長秀, Niwa Nagahide)

Voiced by: Rei Matsuzaki (Japanese); Molly Searcy (English)

Nicknamed Manchiyo, she serves as the Oda faction tactician. She enjoys teasing others, and has a habit of assigning "points" to indicate her approval or disapproval of anything from battle strategies to bad jokes. She is considered to be the big sister of the group and cares for Nobuna greatly. After the war between the Oda clan and the Asai-Asakura alliance, she governs over Wakasa and Nobuna has her oversee the construction of the now famous Azuchi Castle.

Hisahide Matsunaga (松永 久秀, Matsunaga Hisahide)

Voiced by: Masumi Asano (Japanese); Shelley Calene-Black (English)

Also known as "Danjō" (弾正), she is a daimyo, but also one of Nobuna's retainers. A practitioner of witchcraft, she is also called "The Witch of Civil Wars" and is able to change her pipe into a spear or a sword and can use teleportation and illusion magic. She is despised by most of Japan's daimyos due to her mysterious witchcraft. As a result of being hated, she allied with the only group of people who would have her - the Miyoshi Three - and sought to burn the country to the ground. During the Battle at Kiyomizu Temple however, Danjō recognized that many of Nobuna's allies were people like her, hated and with no place in the country. Finally finding people who would accept her, she surrendered and joined the Oda faction as a strategist. Danjō believes that Nobuna will have to become a "demon" to unite Japan and temporarily attempted to steer her in that direction, much to the disapproval of Nobuna's other retainers. However, she is genuinely loyal to the "Fool of Owari" and respects her rather naive and hopeful dreams. She was acquainted with Dōsan Saitō in the past.

Danjō betrays Nobuna in Volume 9, when she plans to destroy the Todai Temple in Yamato, killing any monk who stands in her way using her war elephants and drugging troops, before marching to Kyoto and attempting to kill Nobuna. Despite her betrayal, Nobuna cannot bring herself to hate her, as she still sees her as a mother figure. When Nobuna confronts her, she revealed that she only caused that rebellion to make the monks unite against her and have Nobuna appear as a hero. She also tells Nobuna of the plans of Sakihisa Konoe and reveals that she plans to die at her Tamonyama Castle in order to bear the blame of Nobuna's past actions and restore her goddaughter's good name. Despite refusing to leave her godmother, Nobuna reluctantly agrees to her last request, promising not become a demon lord. Danjō then commits suicide by setting Tamonyama Castle on fire. At dawn, Nobuna sees a comet, as Danjō predicted, that was called "Danjō's star".

Goemon Hachisuka (蜂須賀 五右衛門, Hachisuka Goemon)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese); Hilary Haag (English)

A ninja who stutters and bites her tongue whenever she has to speak extensively. She serves under Yoshiharu, having sworn fealty to her former master Kinoshita Toukichirou and pledged to find a lord and be promoted together. She is also the leader of a task force of militiamen, brigands, and hunters who adore her and are willing to lay their lives on the line for her. Very little is known about her past as she does not talk about herself much. Due her small build, she is a very capable spy and is able to infiltrate prisons and castles with little trouble and she is also able to hold her own in a fight.

Inuchiyo Maeda (前田 犬千代, Maeda Inuchiyo)

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese); Caitlynn French (English)

She is a young girl and one of the best spear wielders of the Oda faction. Although having the formal name Toshiie (利家), she is called Inuchiyo. She is also part of Yoshiharu's loyal followers and serves as his personal bodyguard.

In the light novel, unlike her anime counterpart, she does not initially wear her tiger headdress. After cutting down Nobukatsu's page, she is temporarily exiled. When she returns during the Battle of Okehazama, she shows her appearance with the tiger headdress for the first time.

Hanbē Takenaka (竹中 半兵衛, Takenaka Hanbee)

Voiced by: Yui Ogura (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)

A highly intelligent strategist who serves Yoshiharu directly and, through serving him, serves Nobuna. Due to how kind Yoshiharu is to her, she swears her loyalty to him rather than Nobuna, but is willing to help him achieve Nobuna's ambition. (volume 2)

Initially a general of the Saitō clan, she remained loyal to the clan even after Yoshitatsu Saitō overthrew his father Dōsan. She hates meaningless bloodshed and prefers using strategies that cause the fewest casualties possible. Hanbē, being a timid girl, is afraid of the overbearing Yoshitatsu and tries to perform her duties as a Saitō clan strategist without having to enter into physical proximity of him. Yoshitatsu, however, sees this as treason and has her uncle arrested to force her into appearing before him. Hanbē later defects to the Oda clan after Yoshiharu Sagara and his allies rescue her and her uncle from Yoshitatsu. (volume 2)

As an Onmyōji, she can summon powerful Shikigami familiars. She suffers from poor health and is very frail and delicate as a result. Her health slowly begins to decline during the Asai-Asakura war and worsens right before the Battle of Harima (volume 8). Because of this, Yoshiharu fears that she will eventually succumb to the fate of her real life counterpart.

Zenki (前鬼)

Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi (Japanese); David Wald (English)

Hanbē's double and familiar. He is protective of his master against those who threaten her. He is a powerful and intelligent spirit, because his true form is Abe no Seimei (安倍の晴明), although taking the form of a Kitsune (goblin fox) usually. He foretells that Yoshiharu will have "women trouble" which comes true many times throughout the story.

In volume 9, Zenki overhears Yoshiharu's meeting with Hanbē, Kanbē, and Goemon and knows Nobuna and Shikanosuke's real life fates. Zenki sacrifices himself (as he was already to weak to reform if he was destroyed) to allow Yoshiharu rescue Kanbē. Before returning to the afterlife, he calls Yoshiharu his friend, as he made him feel like a living person for the first time in many centuries. His spirit spoke to Yoshiharu before finally disappearing.

Nene (ねね)

Voiced by: Natsuki Kitakata (Japanese); Allison Sumrall (English)

A childish girl and Yoshiharu's neighbor who treats Yoshiharu as her older brother. This relationship was arranged as a joke to fulfill Nobuna's promise to Yoshiharu to give him the most beautiful girl in the land (volume 1). Nobuna also uses Nene to keep Yoshiharu in check and to keep him from flirting with other women.

Tsuneoki Ikeda (池田 恒興, Ikeda Tsuneoki)

Voiced by: Natsumi Hioka (Japanese); Tiffany Grant (English)

A female samurai and scout of the Oda clan.

Narimasa Sassa (佐々 成政, Sassa Narimasa)

Voiced by: Erina Ogino (Japanese); Allison Sumrall (English)

Another female samurai and scout of the Oda clan.

Kazumasu Takigawa (滝川 一益, Takigawa Kazumasu)

The daimyo of the Ise Province and a retainer of Nobuna. She specializes in naval battles using her navy of female pirates who are willing to do almost anything for her. She is also a ninja who grew up in Kōga (甲賀), although she escaped from there. While apparently disliking battles on land, she is highly skilled at shooting with arquebus. (volume 5)

Her figure is almost identical to Himiko, but their personalities are opposites. Like Himiko, she also has certain psychic powers; in her case she can force anyone to answer any question she asks truthfully by touching the forehead of said person. This ability is the reason why she could not stay in Kōga and needed Nobuna's aid. (volume 5)

Yoshitaka Kuki (九鬼 嘉隆, Kuki Yoshitaka)

The leader of the female-only Kuki Pirates (or Kuki Navy) and a retainer of Takigawa Kazumasu. She is apparently on an age where her subordinates worry about her single marital status.

Kanbē Kuroda (黒田 官兵衛, Kuroda Kanbē)

The Head of the Kuroda Clan in the Harima Province, also called the Nanban Samurai and Don Simon. She used to be a Onmyōji, but then she learned alchemy. she is an expert in western knowledge and machinery. She is assigned by Nobuna to be Yoshiharu's second strategist to carry out the plan of establishing the alliance of Harima daimyos to stop the advance of the Mōri army. (volume 8)

Before she met Yoshiharu, she had a plan to return Yoshiharu to his own time. Kanbē believes in Nobuna's goal of taking control of Japan and that she can achieve it. She also believes that Yoshiharu is a hindrance to this goal. She thinks that Yoshiharu's helping Yoshimoto Imagawa was a bad choice. Yoshimoto should have died at Okehazama – otherwise, the Oda faction could be destructed by the conflict between Yoshimoto and the Ashikaga shogunate's surviving members. However, after working under Yoshiharu for a while, and hearing from Yoshiharu about the Incident at Honnō-ji, she begins to understand the truth.

She also comes to realize that she is not as capable a strategist as she believed herself to be, through experiences in the battles with Naoie Ukita in Harima. When she discovered Hanbē's serious illness through tarot reading, she did not tell it to Yoshiharu. Instead, she went to meet with Naoie, and captured and imprisoned. She was eventually rescued by Yoshiharu, but her legs had been damaged by her cramped life in prison. After the conditions of her and Hanbē began to recover, they become nearly as close as sisters.

Shikanosuke Yamanaka (山中 鹿之助, Yamanaka Shikanosuke)

A former retainer of the Amako clan in the Iwami Province and an enemy of the Mōri clan, because the Mōri destroyed the Amako. She is also the leader of the Heroes of the Remnants of Amako. Due to the many betrayals she had suffered in the past, she has great difficulty in trusting Yoshiharu's resolve to save her. But upon seeing Yoshiharu's determination and sincere care for her, she eventually accepts him as her master and becomes his retainer. Due to her suggestive talk and behavior toward suffering and pain, Yoshiharu suspects she is a masochist.

Tsuchida-Gozen (土田 御前, Tsuchida Gozen)

Nobuna and Nobukatsu's mother. She has a very estranged relationship with her daughter, which worsens even more when she thinks Nobuna killed Nagamasa Asai.

Ujisato Gamo (蒲生 氏郷, Gamō Ujisato)

The Oda clan's latest addition, who suddenly appears in volume 10. She once was a hostage of the Oda clan, but came to admire Nobuna and became her sworn-sister. She dislikes Yoshiharu for his closeness towards Nobuna. She believes that Yoshiharu is now an obstacle to Nobuna's dreams and he should leave Nobuna.

Ujisato proposes that Nobuna's best strategy against so many enemies – the Mōri clan, the Honbyō Temple, and Uesugi Kenshin – is to become a living god, like Kenshin, to ensure the devotion of their followers. She gives Nobuna the Yasakani no Magatama, one of the Three Imperial Regalia, mentioning its divine power. Although Nobuna and Yoshiharu thinks she as being just too innocent, Kazumasu suspects her hidden motive.

Saitō Clan

Dōsan Saitō (斎藤 道三, Saitō Dōsan)

Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese); Carl Masterson (English)

The daimyo of Mino. Known as the Viper of Mino, he is a politically ambitious man. Originally, he wanted to start a war with Nobuna, but after hearing her dreams and Yoshiharu's explanation of what he will be known in the future, he allies with Oda faction by making Nobuna his heir. Unfortunately, this angered his son Yoshitatsu who launches rebellion against him, forcing Dōsan, his daughter Kichō and Mitsuhide to exile to Owari. After the defeat of his son, however, he was able to retake his position as daimyo of Mino. As a father figure to her, Nobuna cares about Dōsan who she considers her stepfather. Although he was supposed to die by the hand of his son, Yoshitatsu, Yoshiharu convinced him to flee thus saving his life. Later in the light novels, he begins to suffer from an unknown illness presumably Cancer. He succumbs to his illness during Nobuna's battle against Shingen Takeda causing the former great grief. Only Yoshiharu was able to console her proving that Dōsan's trust in the young man was not in vain.

Kichō (帰蝶)

Dōsan's daughter. When Yoshitatsu rebelled against his father Dōsan, Dōsan hastily sent his daughter Kichō and Mitsuhide to Nobuna in Owari for their sake of safety.

Matsudaira (Tokugawa) Clan

Motoyasu Matsudaira (松平 元康, Matsudaira Motoyasu)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese); Margaret McDonald (English)

The daimyo of Mikawa and the future Ieyasu Tokugawa. She was merely a gentle and soft minor vassal of the Imagawa until the Battle of Okehazama. After the Imagawa were defeated at Okehazama, she gained independence and formed an alliance with Nobuna. She is the only character in the series to wear eye glasses which were later used as a joke in the light novels, and she has got a timid and humble personality as well, with her dress being like that of a raccoon. She and Nobuna were once childhood friends, when she was a hostage of the Oda clan for a while, and she always both fears and respects Nobuna, and always intends to help Nobuna accomplish her dream of conquest, both wherever and whenever possible.

Hanzō Hattori (服部 半蔵, Hattori Hanzō)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Leraldo Anzaldua (English)

A ninja serving under Motoyasu. As his master served Yoshimoto, he also served under the Imagawas. However he is more loyal to his master when he allows Yoshiharu to report the location of Yoshimoto's army to Nobuna so that his master will no longer be a vassal of the Imagawas. During the Retreat at Kanegasaki, Hanzō pretended to kill Yoshiharu, under the pretext that having Yoshiharu captured, killed and have his severed head on display would be too shameful, in order to fool their enemies into thinking he was dead.

Imagawa Shogunate

Yoshimoto Imagawa (今川 義元, Imagawa Yoshimoto)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Nancy Novotny (English)

Former daimyo of Suruga and current shogun of Japan. Yoshimoto was considered the most likely one to conquer Japan due to possessing the larger force and being related to the Ashikaga clan, the ruling shoguns during that era. However, due to her arrogance, her main army was defeated at Okehazama when the Oda clan launched a surprise attack. Yoshimoto was spared from being killed thanks to Yoshiharu's intervention. Later, Nobuna made Yoshimoto the new shogun as her figurehead to legitimatize her claim for Kyoto after the Ashikagas went into exile. She is quite attracted to Yoshiharu, though he shows no particular care for this, despite being uncommonly hormonal otherwise. Her hobby is playing soccer or Kemari (蹴鞠), when she is not in battle, often using Motoyasu as a goal keeper.

Asai Clan

Nagamasa Asai (浅井 長政, Asai Nagamasa)

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese); Blake Shepard (English)

The daimyo of Ōmi. A manipulative young woman, she is forced to hide her gender because her father, Hisamasa, refuses to accept a woman as a daimyo. She attempts to coerce Nobuna into an alliance by marriage (so she can take credit for Nobuna's victories as her "husband") by threatening to ally the Asai clan with Nobuna's enemies. However, her various attempts to gain leverage against the Oda fail due to Yoshiharu and his allies. After being told by her father that she would not be allowed back at home until she got married, a desperate Nagamasa agrees to an alliance with Nobuna with no strings attached. The Oda seal the alliance by giving Nagamasa, Nobuna's younger sister, Oichi (in reality Nobuna's younger brother, Nobusumi, disguised as a girl), as her bride. When Nobusumi and Nagamasa discover each other's true gender, they fall deeply in love. This changes Nagamasa's opinion of Nobuna Oda greatly. Previously an enemy and rival of the Oda, she refuses to fight Nobuna at Kanegasaki after the Oda attack the Asakura clan, an ally of the Asai. As a result, Hisamasa imprisons Nagamasa to take over the clan and joins Yoshikage Asakura against Nobuna. Nagamasa later faces Nobusumi in battle but spares his life due to her lingering feelings for him. After Nobuna's victory against Asai Asakura, Hisamasa commits seppuku but not before leaving a message for his daughter to live her life as normal girl. During the Oda clan's celebration with only its key retainers present, Nobuna presents Nagamasa as her sister in-law, Oichi, the name Nobusumi used when he was disguised as a girl and she lives with her husband free of her burdens at last. It is later revealed that she is pregnant with Nobusumi's child.

Nobukatsu Oda (織田 信勝, Oda Nobukatsu)/Nobusumi Tsuda (津田 信澄, Tsuda Nobusumi)/Oichi (お市)

Voiced by: Emiri Katō (Japanese); Shannon Emerick (English)

Nobuna's younger brother. Convinced by his advisers that his older sister is not fit to be the leader of their clan, he attempted a rebellion only for his sister to peacefully crush it. As a show of gratitude for having his life spared thanks to Yoshiharu, he changed his name to Nobusumi Tsuda and officially renounced the position of the daiymō of Owari. He is protected by a group of female bodyguards, all of whom are in love with him. He later unwillingly becomes a part of his sister's plot when she sends him, disguised as a girl and using the name Oichi, to be married to Nagamasa Asai. Later they fall in love with one another. During the war against Asai Asakura, Nobusumi faces Nagamasa in battle but is spared (albeit injured) due to her conflicting feelings for him and her clan. After the war, the two are finally reunited as lovers when Nobuna takes Nagamasa as her sister in-law under the name of Oichi, Nobusumi's old name when disguised as a girl, and she now lives with him. His wife later reveals that she is pregnant, much to Yoshiharu's jealousy and surprise.

Christians

Missionaries and merchants came from Europe, and some Japanese people became interested in Christianity and were baptized. They are called "Kirishitan" in Japanese. Nobuna is not a Christian, but in her childhood she met the missionary Francisco Xavier, who greatly influenced her as described in the short story added to the volume 10 of the 2015 revised edition light novel. She is tolerant of Christian missionaries because of her respect for religious freedom and her intention to import advanced European technology. After meeting with the missionary Louise Frois at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, Nobuna obtains an edict from the empress Himiko, authorizing the mission of Christianity (volume 3). She later establishes a mission school within Azuchi Castle, gathering students from Christian daimyos throughout Japan, and build Christian networks (volume 12).

Although not included in the list below, the following people were also baptized: Mitsuhide Akechi (Gracia), Kanbē Kuroda (Don Simeon), Ujisato Gamō (Leon), Yukinaga Konishi (Agostinho). (volumes 8-10 and 16)

Bontenmaru (梵天丸)

Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese); Margaret McDonald (English)

The daimyo of Ōshu in the Tohoku region and the future Masamune Date (伊達政宗, Date Masamune). She is a companion and bodyguard of Louise Frois and a potential ally of the Oda clan. Possessing heterochromia, she also has a case of chūnibyō (8th grader adolescent delusions), believing her red eye has special powers which is hidden under an eyepatch. Like Nobuna, she also has an estranged relationship with her mother. (volume 7)

Bontenmaru is also the main character of the light novel spin off Jakigan Ryū Masamune which focuses on her history and activities during the events of the main novel.

Kojurou Katakura (片倉 小十郎, Katakura Kojurō)

Masamune's aide and caretaker. She usually has to deal with Masamune's antics and tries to keep her under control. Due to her androgynous appearance, she is often mistaken for a boy much to her displeasure. (volumes 7 and 19)

Louise Frois (ルイズ・フロイス, Ruizu Furoisu)

Voiced by: Rina Satō (Japanese); Kasi Hallowell (English)

A Portuguese nun and missionary. She has come to Japan to help the sick and defenseless. Noted for extremely large breasts, which she believes are sinful due to how others react to them, however, Yoshiharu Sagara tells her a little of the future he comes from to convince her that she is not a sinner (volume 3). She has great confidence and hope in Yoshiharu, since they both share same dream, inspiration and desire for establishing a peaceful world for the people, and is willing to don her armour to help out, when Yoshiharu's group is in a big pinch or grave danger. She later accompanies Yoshiharu to Honbyō Temple, where they use skits in order to win the trust of the temple's residents (volume 6). She is the female version of Luís Fróis, who'd befriended the real life Oda Nobunaga.

Organtino

He is an Italian missionary who first appears alongside the knight Giovanna L'Ortese on the "Shima España Isle" (volume 5). He later affiliates himself with the Oda Clan due to hearing about Nobuna's openness and good treatment of foreign cultures. He is Louise's junior and looks up to her.

Giovanna L'Ortese

A knight of the honorable St. John Knights from Spain. She initially was seen as an enemy by Takigawa Kazumasu and her pirate subordinate Kuki Yoshitaka, but, after duelling Sagara Yoshiharu, it was revealed that her intentions were actually not hostile and she becomes a valuable ally against Takeda Shingen (volume 5). She believes that eating and sleeping are the two most important things to a knight, she will take the opportunity to do either of these things when it comes up and has a habit of blatantly ignoring conversations around her while eating.

Dom Justo Takayama (高山 ドン・ジュスト, Takayama Don Jusuto)

Voiced by: Seiro Ogino (Japanese); Scott Frerichs (English)

A Christian Daiymo and lord of Takatsuki (near Kyoto, in the North of Settsu Province), who aided the Oda Faction during the Battle at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. (volume 3)

Joaqim Konishi (小西 ジョウチン, Konishi Jouchin)

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese); Nick Landis (English)

A Christian merchant and samurai who aided the Oda Faction during the Battle at Kiyomizu Temple (volume 3). He is also the father of Yukinaga Konishi, who serves Naoie Ukita (volume 9) and later cooperates with Yoshiharu (volumes 15 and 17).

Miyoshi Triumvirate (Miyoshi Three) Clan

Sakihisa Konoe (近衛 前久, Konoe Sakihisa)

Voiced by: Seiro Ogino (Japanese); Mark Laskowski (English)

An imperial adviser (kampaku)and one of the leaders of the Miyoshi Triumvirate (Miyoshi Three) Clan. He was a manipulative politician who planned to take control of Japan by overthrowing the Ashikaga Shogunate with his allies and using his position to become Empress Himiko's regent. However, his plans come under threat by the Oda Faction led by Nobuna Oda whom he hates as he views her as lowly country noble. As his plans to destroy the Oda Faction failed, he slowly loses his sanity and in a desperate attempt to finally kill Nobuna, he betray his allies by setting Mount Hiei, where he and his allies are, on fire. He attempts to kill Nobuna by himself but is defeated by her and killed, crushed by the collapsing Enryaku-ji temple.

In the light novels however, he neither fights Nobuna nor dies at Mt. Hiei but he retains his manipulative and arrogant personality. He is verbally defeated by Nobuna and in order to remain alive, she forces him to serve as a messenger in order to subjugate the second rebellion of the Honbyo Temple that he helped provoke. The other condition Nobuna imposes him is that after she unifies Japan he will be forced to, either adopt Yoshiharu and allow him to inherit the Fujiwara clan, or simply pass him the title of Imperial adviser, disinherit him and allow him to take a new name. Despite hating the idea, believing he is protecting Himiko, he reluctantly agrees, but replies that the Fujiwara Clan needs time to decide. He is clearly shocked when he meets Kazumasu. He and Sougyu become terrified when they learn that the Murakami Navy is going to attack Sakai, now the only thing they can do is believe in Nobuna.

Sōkyū Tsuda (津田 宗及, Tsuda Sōkyū)

Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (Japanese); Scotty Fults (English)

A rich merchant from Sakai and a former leader of the Miyoshi Three. He joined Sakihisa's conspiracy hoping to gain a profit from it. After being betrayed by Konoe, however, he made peace with the Oda Faction.

Gōsei Shōkakuin (正覚院 豪盛, Shōkakuin Gōsei)

Voiced by: Eiji Miyashita (Japanese); Rob Mungle (English)

The Buddhist Head monk of Hiei mountain temple and one of former leaders of the Miyoshi Three. He hated foreigners and joined Sakihisa's conspiracy to expel them from Japan for spreading Christianity. As Konoe lit Mount Hiei, a sacred center of Buddhism in Japan, to kill Nobuna, Shoukakuin finally recognized the madness of the imperial adviser. The desperate monk fled the mountain but was captured by Oda forces. Nevertheless, he was released since the Oda tried to save the mountain temple with magic and his prayers would be helpful in doing so. Shortly afterwards Louise Frois joined Gōsei in praying, much to his surprise. Recognizing the benevolent nature of the missionary, the Head monk hesitantly accepted that Christianity was not generally evil and made peace with the Oda and the Christians.

Masayasu Miyoshi (三好 政康, Miyoshi Masayasu)

Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (Japanese); Scott Gibbs (English)

A general formerly working for the Miyoshi Three. He was one of the figurehead leaders of the alliance, but after being defeated at Kyoto, he and his brothers deserted and fled to Shikoku.

Nagayasu Miyoshi (三好 長逸, Miyoshi Nagayasu)

Voiced by: Shuuhei Iwase (Japanese); Rob Nash (English)

Another former general of the Miyoshi Three and Masayasu's brother.

Asakura clan

Yoshikage Asakura (朝倉 義景, Asakura Yoshikage)

Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)

The daimyo of Echizen and a former ally of the Miyoshi Three. Yoshikage desires the most beautiful women in Japan, especially Nobuna. After Konoe betrayed his allies at Hiei mountain, Yoshikage canceled his alliance with the Miyoshi Three. Nevertheless, he is still at war with the Oda Faction. He is called the era's Hikaru Genji and tends to go to his own world when someone mentions him. During the climax of the Asai-Asakura war, he commits suicide when he realizes his defeat and Nobuna's forces burn his prized paintings.

Naotaka and Naozumi Magara (真柄 直隆・直澄, Magara Naotaka, Naozumi)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu (Naotaka) Natsumi Takamori (Naozumi) (Japanese); Nancy Novotny (Naotaka), Tiffany Grant (Naozumi) (English)

Twin sister generals who serve under the Asakura clan. Beautiful but blood thirsty warriors, the Magara twins wields giant Zanbatō swords. Although famous for their martial arts, they were defeated by Katsuie Shibata during the Burning of Hiei Mountain, but spared from being killed.

Tsuchimikado Hisanaga (土三香堂 久長)

An Onmyōji at the service of the Asakura Clan and the current leader of the Tsuchimikado clan. He is cruel and quite overconfident, stating the entire reason he appeared was to take Yoshiharu's head for the Azai and Asakura clan's and their alliance. After being defeated by Hanbei, or more specifically Zenki, he began crying and ran away, returning only when Hanbei was rendered powerless and his confidence in defeating her was renewed.

Takeda Clan

Shingen Takeda (武田 信玄, Takeda Shingen)

The daimyo of Kai. Called the "Tiger of Kai", she is one of the strongest generals of the Sengoku period and rivals with the equally renowned Uesugi Kenshin. In her private and personal life, she goes by the name Katsuchiyo and is seen as a lighthearted and cheerful person. She later develops an interest in Yoshiharu, after hearing that he is described to be the "man from the heavens", going so far as to want him to become the "alpha male" of the Takeda clan by having him impregnate the clan's generals including Shingen herself hinting she has feelings for him too. She later enters into a temporary alliance with Nobuna.

Katsuyori Takeda (武田 勝頼, Takeda Katsuyori)

Shingen's younger sister.

Uesugi Clan

Kenshin Uesugi (上杉 謙信, Uesugi Kenshin)

The Daimyo of the Echigo Province of the Hokuriku region. She is a powerful warrior and viewed as a living god, nicknamed both "The Dragon of Echigo" and "The God of War" – indeed, she herself believes that she is an incarnation of Bishamonten, the Buddhist god of war (volume 12). As a devout and pious figure, she leads her "Army of Justice" to fight for those who are oppressed and end the chaos of the Sengoku period. She has the official authority to pacify the Kantō region owing to her status of Kantō Kanrei, as deputy of shogun under the Muromachi Shogunate system. In the past, she collaborated with Sakihisa Konoe and battled across the Kantō region in order to force the lords of each province to submit.

Being the rival of Shingen, they have fought each other many times on the battlefield. Mikage Kasuga wrote the spin-off story Ten to Chi to Hime to for them.

Kagekatsu Uesugi (上杉 景勝, Uesugi Kagekatsu)

Kenshin's younger sister.

Kanetsugu Naoe (直江 兼続, Naoe Kanetsugu)

A gifted military advisor of the Uesugi Clan. She has been dispatched many times to Masamune Date (Bontenmaru) in the Tohoku region. She thereby became close to Kojurou Katakura, a subordinate of Masamune. (volumes 7, 19, and 20)

Hōjō Clan

The Hojō Clan rules the Sagami province, based on Odawara Castle. As located in eastern Japan, they do not directly interfere with Nobuna’s campaign to conquer Japan, which is mainly unfolding far west of Sagami. However, Hōjō is an important diplomatic opponent of Nobuna, because it remains in potential conflict with neighboring daimyos, including Nobuna's rivals like Kenshin Uesugi and Shingen Takeda.

The Hojō clan employs the skillful ninja troops named Fuma (風魔), members of whom are dispatched to various regions to purse Hōjō's political strategy.

Ujiyasu Hōjō (北条 氏康, Hōjō Ujiyasu)

The daimyo of Sagami. Nicknamed the "Lion of Sagami", she is an ally of Shingen Takeda but dislikes her immensely. Ujiyasu prefers defensive battles that she knows she can win, much to the annoyance of Shingen.

She tries to assassinate both Nobuna and Shingen once she realizes both are defenseless, but is stopped by Yoshiharu who accidentally sees that she has a blue mole in her butt, so as to say a "Mongolian spot." She swears vengeance on Yoshiharu for that reason but prefers to wait for the right opportunity. She is mocked by Shingen as the "Washing Board of Sagami" because of her flat chest.

Senchiyo Manmi (万見 仙千代, Manmi Senchiyo)

The newest aide of Nobuna, appearing from volume 8. In secret she is a spy of Konoe ordered to kill her when the timing is right. She uses lies to make Nobuna believe she cannot trust no one and even tried to convince her of executing all her aides in the Oda Clan after Hisahide Matsunaga betrayed her, but when she lied about Yoshiharu and Yamanaka Shikanosuke being in a relationship, her jealousy beats her depression, and when Senchiyo tries to deceive her even more, the sudden appearance of Yoshimoto Imagawa ruined her scheme. Yoshimoto knocks her out with a swift soccer kick. Then she is forced by Nobuna into going with the vanguard of the army against Hisahide. When she tries to kill Nobuna from behind during the chaos, she is stopped by Goemon and taken away from the battlefield. She is then interrogated by Nobuna and Hisahide but refuses to reveal her employer. In order to hide the identity of her employer, she finally kills herself by intentionally stopping the heart. Hisahide estimated, based on her act, that she would be a Fuma ninja sent by the Hōjō Clan. Her body is later burned alongside Hisahide's when Tamonyama Castle is set on fire. It is later revealed that, thanks to the power of the Ranjatai (a piece of fragrant tree with mysterious medicinal properties), her body and soul fused with those of Hisahide's, creating a new person, as Matsunaga felt pity for the young ninja. She now calls herself "Flower Princess" Kashinkoji, "a resident from the world of dreams" (volume 9).

Honbyō Temple

Honbyō Temple (本猫寺) is the headquarter of Nyankō-shū (にゃんこう宗) in Osaka. They are the counterparts to Hongan-ji (本願寺) and Ikkō-shū (一向宗) in the real history, a religious sect with political/military power and a part of the anti-Oda alliance. In addition to its power as a religious sect, the temple occupies an area of geographical importance from both military and commercial viewpoint.

Kennyo (けんにょ)

The leader of the "Nyankō-shū" cult, a group that adores cats like gods. She believes that the world is full of sadness because of the war caused by the samurai and that laughter is the best way to bring peace. She has the ambition of uniting the whole country under the Nyankō-shū and is willing to arm her followers for that purpose, even if that means waging war with the Oda clan. She is half human, half Nekomata, which means she has the ears and tail of a cat, but that also means she is capable of regenerating from a bullet shot. According to Magoichi, Kennyo's biggest weakness is catnip.

When Yoshiharu has been detained at Honbyō Temple and Nobuna demands he to be returned to Oda Clan, Kennyo refuses and only allows her to negotiate once she makes a successful skit. To decide who keeps Yoshiharu she challenges Nobuna and the Oda retainers to a nanban kemari (soccer) match. Despite the advantage of having cat-like speed and agility, she loses the game because of her love for comedy, the moment Motoyasu loses her glasses at the last minute of the game, she and her followers begin laughing uncontrollably, which gives Nobuna and Yoshiharu the opportunity to score the victory goal. After losing she accepts disarming her forces, acting as a middleman between the Oda and Takeda forces and agreeing with Nobuna to return Yoshiharu to her side. Both the Oda and the Honbyō Temple's people agree on playing an annual cto relieve the stress and renew peace, vowing to win next time. (volume 6)

After that, she suddenly finds herself losing her powers and becoming a normal girl, so her younger sister Kyōnyo, expels her from the Nyankō-shū Temple, while she wages war against the Oda Clan under the invitation of Yoshiaki Ashikaga. The second soccer match is never held. (volume 9)

Kyōnyo (きょうにょ)

Kennyo's younger sister, who's just like her has cat ears and tail. She hated how her sister changed thanks to Magoichi Saika and never got interested in the skits or soccer games. Unlike her sister who let her emotions controlled her decisions, she is cold and serious.

After her sister loses her powers, she expels her from the Honbyō Temple and calls to arms the followers of the Nyankō-shū, causing a mass rebellion on many fronts that put the Oda on a very dire situation. She allies herself with the Mōri Clan and hires the Saika Clan to ensure her victory against Nobuna. Magoichi realizes that she does not care about how many people sacrifices their lives for her, as she is seen as an absolute authority by her followers, if it means defeating Nobuna and forcefully uniting the country under the Nyankō-shū.

Magoichi Saika (雑賀 孫市, Saika Magoichi)

The leader of the Saika clan (雑賀衆) or Saika Ikki, a mercenary and an ally of the "Nyankō-shū" and later is hired by the Date clan (volume 7) or even by the Oda clan (volume 17). While she does not believe in the "Nekogami" she enjoys making skits with Kennyo. Magoichi takes a liking to Yoshiharu and even wants him to become her husband.

She participates in the Soccer Match to decide who keeps Yoshiharu and is blocked by Goemon, Inuchiyo and Kazumasu. She is an expert at shooting with her arquebus named Yatagarasu and that also means she is deadly at kicking the soccer ball. (volume 6)

In volume 7, on the battlefield in the Kantō region, she nearly kills Yoshiharu when she accidentally shoots Yatagarasu in a moment of acting like the tsukkomi of a skit. Magoichi and her troop help Bontenmaru (Masamune Date) to retreat from the siege of the Odawara castle to ensure that the Hōjō army does not pursue them.

In volume 10, once the Honbyō Temple declares war against the Oda Clan again, she and her clan assist the Honbyō Temple and the Murakami Navy (in association with Mōri) in the battle. Despite wanting to resign and join Kennyo and the Oda, her followers convince her otherwise. She reluctantly agrees on fighting against Nobuna and says she is gonna kill her, but in her thoughts she hates herself for being so good at shooting. She also dislikes how Kyōnyo is willing to sacrifice the lives of her followers in this senseless conflict and fails to persuade her of sending the devotees home, knowing the lack of experience in the battlefield will prove fatal for many of them.

Mōri Clan and allies

The Mōri is the most powerful force in western Japan. Although based on the Aki Province, it effectively controls almost the entire Chugoku region and the Seto Inland Sea through the alliance with the Ukita clan and the Murakami Navy. When Nobuna conquers Kyoto and its surrounding areas, the Harima Province to the west of Kyoto become the front line of the battle between Oda and Mōri – or more precisely, between Yoshiharu and Naoie Ukita (volume 8). Later, two naval battles occur in Osaka Bay between the Kuki Navy led by Kazumasu Takigawa on the Oda side and the Murakami Navy led by Takeyoshi Murakami on the Mōri side (volumes 10 and 11).

It was Motonari, the previous head, who established the clan's status. Motonari used his three children to expand the power of the clan. The eldest son Takamoto became the successor to the Mōri. The two daughters, Motoharu and Takakage, were adopted into different families, Kikkawa and Kobayakawa respectively. As Takamoto unfortunately died young, his daughter Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan (volume 9). Since Terumoto is still a child, Motoharu Kikkawa and Takakage Kobayakawa are substantially in charge of the military and political affairs of the Mōri clan.

Yoshiaki Ashikaga (足利 義昭, Ashikaga Yoshiaki)

The 14th Ashikaga shogun and Yoshimoto's rival. Yoshiaki was the younger sister of Yoshiteru Ashikaga, the 13th Ashikaga Shogun before the Miyoshi Three launches a coup d'état against her brother. Fearing for their safety, Yoshiteru and his sister fled to China in exile and relinquishes his title. Upon learning that her cousin Yoshimoto became the new shogun and the Miyoshi Three were defeated by Nobuna Oda, Yoshiaki, angered that Yoshimoto "stole" the Shogunate, returns to the Japan to claim back what is rightfully hers. Declaring herself as the 14th Ashikaga shogun after having her brother give up the title, Yoshiaki returns to Japan with the help of the Mōri clan and seeks help from the Oda faction's rivals to regain the shogunate.

Naoie Ukita (宇喜多 直家, Ukita Naoie)

The daimyo of Bizen and an ally of the Mōri clan and Yoshiaki Ashikaga. He serves the Mōri Clan to ensure his position, otherwise his lands are going to be confiscated as well as he himself will be forced to commit seppuku. Treacherous and dangerous, he used many devious schemes to acquire his position. He prefers to manipulate his enemies and lure them into various traps. He is also an expert sniper.

In the war with the Oda army in Harima, he uses many strategies to frustrate and infuriate Yoshiharu, Hanbē, and Kanbē. When he captures Kanbē and almost forces her to surrender, she refuses his offer. He then threatens to execute Kanbē unless they surrender Shikanosuke Yamanaka, but Yoshiharu and Hanbē know that he will not fulfill his promise and he is just waiting for the reinforcements of the Mōri clan to arrive.

He kills men without hesitation, but would never hurt women – although he may manipulate them. Yukinaga Konishi believes the last piece of benevolence he has in his person goes to his daughter Hideie. (volumes 8 and 9)

Hideie Ukita (宇喜多 秀家, Ukita Hideie)

Naoie's only daughter. She is the only one that treated Kanbē with kindness during her time as captive. She even helps Yoshiharu rescue Kanbē from her father, as she does not want him to lose the humanity he has left and become a "demon".

Yukinaga Konishi (小西 行長, Konishi Yukinaga)

A Christian girl from Sakai who serves as bodyguard for Hideie under Naoie's orders, apparently because he wants his daughter to become a better ruler than he was.

Takakage Kobayakawa (小早川 隆景, Kobayakawa Takakage)

Younger sister of Motoharu, she is a famous general known to keep her cool no matter the situation. She is an ally of Yoshiaki Ashikaga in her fight against Nobuna alongside her sister. She always tries to keep her sister Motoharu calm, and do not let her emotions get the best of her. The teachings of her father, Mōri Motonari, influenced her deeply and, just like Nobuna, she believes Japan must be unified and be able to compete with European countries. She feels curiosity whenever Nobuna will become a savior or a destroyer. (volume 9)

At the first naval battle with the Kuki Navy, Takakage saves Yoshiharu who was hit by arrows and fell into the sea, almost dying. As Yoshiharu has lost his memory, he starts new life in the Murakami Navy and develops the relashionshp with Takakage. The romance between the two is depicted in volume 11 and the spin-off book Azuchi Nikki 2.

Motoharu Kikkawa (吉川 元春, Kikkawa Motoharu)

Older sister of Takakage. She is the Mōri Clan's number one leader when it comes to battles, and is nicknamed "The Valiant General". She is also an ally of Yoshiaki Ashikaga in her fight against Nobuna alongside her sister Takakage. She wishes to defeat Shikanosuke no matter what because of the humiliation she caused to the Mōri clan when she escaped their custody using the excuse of needing to go to the toilet to escape. Unlike Takakage, she is not a very deep thinker and only wants to see how things will go through, so she has a deep trust in her sister. However, when she is not on the battlefield, she tends to fantasize with writing derivative works depicting the love affairs between male warlords from old military stories. Takakage compares her to a Fujoshi. (volumes 10 and 11)

Murakami Takeyoshi (村上 武吉)

The Murakami Navy's leader, called "Pirate King", he is an ally of the Mōri, despite remaining semi-independent. He was very close to deceased Mōri Takamoto, Takakage and Motoharu's older brother, and he sees himself as a protector for both sisters (volume 11). His fame and prowess on the battlefield are so great that even Yoshitaka Kuki fears they will not be able to defeat him (volume 10).

Other characters

Himiko (姫巫女)

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)

The current Empress of Japan and direct descendant of Himiko, the first Empress of Japan. She has inherited psychic powers from her ancestor, thus gaining the ability to read a person's heart and mind by touching him or her. Hence, when she meets Yoshiharu and inspects along with him the death and devastation in Kyoto, which is caused by endless wars, she holds Yoshiharu in great confidence and regards. Since she is still a child, her regent, Sakihisa Konoe, uses this to his advantage to gain power for himself.

Sōkyū Imai (今井 宗久, Imai Sōkyū)

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese); David Matranga (English)

A merchant from Sakai and leader of the leader of the Egoushuu, the merchants who control Sakai. An old friend of Nobuna's father, he is willing to help Nobuna anything involving finance. He also owns a monopoly in the takoyaki market.

Media

Light novel

Original story

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna began as a light novel series written by Mikage Kasuga and illustrated by Miyama-Zero. Volume 1–10 and a spin-off novel (see below) were published between August 15, 2009 and March 16, 2013 by SB Creative under their GA Bunko imprint. On April 19, 2014, volume 11 was published by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint and all further releases were published this way.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	Oda Nobuna no Yabō (織田信奈の野望)	August 15, 2009	978-4-7973-5450-8
2	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 2 (織田信奈の野望 2)	February 15, 2010	978-4-7973-5744-8
3	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 3 (織田信奈の野望 3)	March 15, 2010	978-4-7973-5875-9
4	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 4 (織田信奈の野望 4)	September 15, 2010	978-4-7973-6123-0
5	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 5 (織田信奈の野望 5)	February 15, 2011	978-4-7973-6222-0
6	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 6 (織田信奈の野望 6)	June 15, 2011	978-4-7973-6442-2
7	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 7 (織田信奈の野望 7)	November 15, 2011	978-4-7973-6749-2
8	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 8 (織田信奈の野望 8)	March 15, 2012	978-4-7973-6898-7
9	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 9 (織田信奈の野望 9)	July 15, 2012	978-4-7973-7000-3
10	Oda Nobuna no Yabō 10 (織田信奈の野望 10)	March 16, 2013	978-4-7973-7234-2
11	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 11 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 11)	April 19, 2014	978-4-04-712970-2
12	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 12 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 12)	October 18, 2014	978-4-04-070290-2
13	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 13 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 13)	May 20, 2015	978-4-04-070291-9
14	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 14 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 14)	January 20, 2016	978-4-04-070704-4
15	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 15 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 15)	May 20, 2016	978-4-04-070896-6
16	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 16 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 16)	September 17, 2016	978-4-04-070900-0
17	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 17 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 17)	January 20, 2017	978-4-04-072171-2
18	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 18 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 18)	May 20, 2017	978-4-04-072304-4
19	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 19 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 19)	September 20, 2017	978-4-04-072306-8
20	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 20 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 20)	February 20, 2018	978-4-04-072312-9
21	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 21 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 21)	December 20, 2018	978-4-04-072763-9
22	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 22 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 22)	June 20, 2019	978-4-04-072764-6

Revised volumes 1–10

A revised version of volumes 1–10 was published in September 2015. The author and illustrator are the same as the original. The title was changed to Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban (織田信奈の野望 全国版) and the publisher was also changed to Kadokawa (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint), which are the same as the original volumes 11–22. Before the publication of this revised edition, 13 volumes of the original story had already been published.

Only the first volume uses a different cover illustration from the original GA Bunko version. Volumes 2–10 add a new special short story at the end of each volume. These are “bonus” for readers, according to the author.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 1 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 1)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-712949-8
2	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 2 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 2)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-712950-4
3	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 3 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 3)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-712951-1
4	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 4 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 4)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070159-2
5	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 5 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 5)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070154-7
6	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 6 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 6)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070155-4
7	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 7 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 7)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070157-8
8	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 8 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 8)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070158-5
9	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 9 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 9)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070156-1
10	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban 10 (織田信奈の野望 全国版 10)	September 19, 2015	978-4-04-070160-8

The author provides explanations about this revision in the afterword for each volume. According to the author’s account, there were three reasons for the revision.

The first reason for revision was that the constraint of page count resulted in omitting important episodes from the original story. Since the constraint has been relaxed thanks to changes in publishing environment, the author attempted to include new episodes. The number of pages accordingly increased for each volume of the revised edition. New important episodes are, for example, the Battle of Inō in volume 1, the attack on Yoshiteru Ashikaga in volume 2, the extinguishing of the immortal lantern of Eizan (Mt. Hiei) in volume 4, and the operations of Sanada and Fuma ninja troops in volume 7.

The second reason for revision was the inconsistent taste of the story. The author evaluates the original story as lacking coherence, especially in volumes 6 and 7, because they were written under a bad mental condition caused by the shock of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. These volumes show a significant change. The revision created totally different chapters related to the Nyankōshū religion and the Honbyō Temple. The chapters about Nobuna and Yoshiharu’s incognito visit to Odawara Castle were also completely rewritten.

The third reason was that the character settings had been changed through writing the spin-off story focusing the battles between the Takeda clan and the Uesugi clan, Ten to Chi to Hime to (see below). This experience renewed the author’s imagination of the characteristics of Shingen Takeda after she lost her advisor Kansuke Yamamoto. This difference is reflected in the figure of Shingen appearing in volume 7.

Spin-off stories

The first spin-off story of The Ambition of Oda Nobuna focused on childhood of Masamune Date (Bontenmaru), published in December 2012 by SB Creative (GA Bunko imprint). The author and the illustrator are the same as the original story.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Gaiden: Jakigan Ryū Masamune (織田信奈の野望外伝 邪気眼竜政宗)	December 15, 2012	978-4-7973-7209-0

As well as the original story, this spin-off volume has a revised version published in September 2015 by KADOKAWA (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint).

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban Gaiden: Jakigan Ryū Masamune (織田信奈の野望 全国版 外伝 邪気眼竜政宗)	Septmber 19, 2015	978-4-04-070678-8

Another spin-off story featuring Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi, titled Ten to Chi to Hime to (天と地と姫と) had been serialized on the free novel website “Fantasia Beyond” by Fujimi Shobo since June 2014. It was published as a series of books from September 2016 to October 2017 (five volumes in totals). The author is Mikage Kasuga. Illustrator is Ryosuke Fukai.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	Ten to Chi to Hime to 1: Uesugi Kenshin Ryū no Tanjō (Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban) (天と地と姫と1 上杉謙信 龍の誕生 (織田信奈の野望 全国版))	Septmber 17, 2016	978-4-04-072002-9
2	Ten to Chi to Hime to 2: Takeda Shingen Tora no Kakusei (Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban) (天と地と姫と2 武田信玄 虎の覚醒 (織田信奈の野望 全国版))	October 20, 2016	978-4-04-072003-6
3	Ten to Chi to Hime to 3: Kawanakajima Ryūko no Kaikō (Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban) (天と地と姫と3 川中島 龍虎の邂逅 (織田信奈の野望 全国版))	February 18, 2017	978-4-04-072170-5
4	Ten to Chi to Hime to 4: Kawanakajima Ryū no Jōraku Nobuna no Jōraku (Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban) (天と地と姫と4 川中島 龍の上洛 信奈の上洛 (織田信奈の野望 全国版))	June 20, 2017	978-4-04-072333-4
5	Ten to Chi to Hime to 5: Ryūsei Kōtei Kawanakajima no Densetsu (Oda Nobuna no Yabō Zenkokuban) (天と地と姫と5 流星光底 川中島の伝説 (織田信奈の野望 全国版))	October 20, 2017	978-4-04-072334-1

Spin-off short stories are compiled in a book series of three volumes titled Azuchi Nikki (安土日記). They were published in 2015 and 2018. The author and the illustrator are the same as the original story.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Azuchi Nikki 1: Honnōji Chakai Sōdōroku (織田信奈の野望 安土日記1 本能寺茶会騒動録)	Septmber 19, 2015	978-4-04-070705-1
2	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Azuchi Nikki 2: Kobayakawa Takakage no Hatsukoi (織田信奈の野望 安土日記2 小早川隆景の初恋)	January 20, 2018	978-4-04-070897-3
3	Oda Nobuna no Yabō Azuchi Nikki 3: Kuishinbō Shōgun Imagawa Yoshimoto Manyūki (織田信奈の野望 安土日記3 食いしん坊将軍 今川義元漫遊記)	June 20, 2018	978-4-04-072765-3

After the original story completed in 2019, another special story was set in a modern Japanese high school, with the same author and illustrator as the original.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
	Oda Nobuna no Gakuen (織田信奈の学園)	January 20, 2021	978-4-04-073885-7

The Editorial Department of Fantasia Bunko published an official character book in 2017, with illustrations by Miyama-zero and Ryosuke Fukai.

No.	Title	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
	Oda Nobuna no Yabō: Hime Bushō-roku (織田信奈の野望 姫武将録)	May 20, 2017	978-4-04-072309-9

Manga

A manga adaptation written by Mikage Kasuga and illustrated by Futago Minazuki was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine from July 2011 to June 2014 and the serial chapters were collected into 6 volumes. The first volume was released in February 2012 and the last volume was released in August 2014.

Anime

See also: List of The Ambition of Oda Nobuna episodes

An anime television series adaptation animated by Madhouse and Studio Gokumi based on volumes 1 to 4 of the novels aired from July 9 to September 24, 2012 on TV Tokyo. The anime is directed by Yūji Kumazawa, scripted by Masami Suzuki, and composed by Yasuharu Takanashi.

The opening theme song is "Link" by Aimi and the closing theme song is "Hikari" (ヒカリ, "Light") by Makino Mizuta.

External links

• Official light novel website Archived 2012-10-09 at the Wayback Machine at SoftBank Creative (in Japanese)
• Official light novel website Archived 2020-09-23 at the Wayback Machine at Fujimi Shobo (in Japanese)
• Official Anime Website (in Japanese)
• Official Anime Twitter Website (in Japanese)
• The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia