Portrait of Chōsokabe Nobuchika

Chōsokabe forcesChōsokabe

Chōsokabe Nobuchika

長宗我部信親

1565–1586 (aged 22)

Domain / base
Tosa (Okō Castle)
Banner / crest
Seven wood-sorrel leaves
Battles in 3D
2 battles

Later imagined depiction · Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Eldest son and heir of Chōsokabe Motochika. In Tenshō 6 he received the character "Nobu" from Oda Nobunaga, with whom his father had opened relations, took the name Nobuchika, and was given a fine sword and horse as well. Said to have stood six shaku one sun (about 184 cm), fair-skinned and gentle, a man of few words and good manners, he excelled in both learning and arms and carried all his father's hopes. In Tenshō 13 he submitted to Hideyoshi's invasion of Shikoku together with his father, and the next year followed him to Bungo in the Kyushu campaign. When the Toyotomi vanguard crossed the Hetsugi River on the sole judgement of the inspector Sengoku Hidehisa, it was enveloped by Shimazu Iehisa's feigned-retreat ambush and broke. Nobuchika stood his ground on the Nakatsuru riverbank and fought on with a great naginata until he was cut down, aged 22; the 700 men with him are said to have died to a man. The loss of his beloved heir broke Motochika's spirit, and the turmoil over the succession became a distant cause of the Chōsokabe decline.

Life and battlesGold dots mark battles you can watch in 3D

  1. 1565Eiroku 8

    Birth

    Born in Tosa, the eldest son of Chōsokabe Motochika.

  2. 1578Tenshō 6

    The Character "Nobu"

    Received the character "Nobu" from Oda Nobunaga, together with a sword by Samonji and a fine horse.

  3. 1585Tenshō 13

    Invasion of Shikoku

    Fought Hideyoshi's great army beside his father, and after the surrender became heir to the lordship of Tosa.

    Invasion of Shikoku 4,000 troops Watch in 3D › Motochika's heir. He hurried from Hakuchi to relieve Ichinomiya but was checked by the great army and fell back.
  4. 1586Tenshō 14

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