Oda (Nobunaga's sister)Oda
Oichi
お市の方
“The Most Beautiful Woman of the Sengoku Age”
1547–1583 (aged 37)
- Domain / base
- Odani, Ōmi → Kitanoshō, Echizen
- Battles in 3D
- 1 battle
Portrait · Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Even without it the parting would come, on this short summer night; but the cuckoo calls it nearer.
Death poem attributed to Oichi
Oda Nobunaga's sister, remembered as "the most beautiful woman of the Sengoku age." Married to Azai Nagamasa of northern Ōmi, she bore the three sisters Chacha, Hatsu and Gō, but her husband fell out with Nobunaga and died at Odani Castle. She returned with her daughters to her brother and, after Honnō-ji and the Kiyosu conference, was remarried to the Oda elder Shibata Katsuie. The following year, Tenshō 11, she shut herself in Kitanoshō Castle in Echizen with Katsuie after his defeat at Shizugatake and took her own life in the burning castle. Her eldest daughter Chacha, rescued from the castle, later became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's consort, Lady Yodo.
Life and battlesGold dots mark battles you can watch in 3D
- 1567Eiroku 10
Marriage to the Azai
Married Azai Nagamasa of northern Ōmi as part of her brother Nobunaga's alliance policy.
- 1573Tenshō 1
The Fall of Odani
Her husband Nagamasa was destroyed by Nobunaga, and she was rescued with her three daughters.
- 1582Tenshō 10
Kiyosu Conference and Remarriage
After Honnō-ji she was remarried to Shibata Katsuie following the Kiyosu conference.
- 1583Tenshō 11
Death at Kitanoshō
Took her own life at Kitanoshō Castle with Katsuie after his defeat at Shizugatake.
- 1583
Battle of Shizugatake
An all-night forced march from Mino, the pursuit by the Seven Spears, and Maeda Toshiie's withdrawal. The decisive battle north of Lake Biwa that chose Nobunaga's successor.
Shizugatake, Ōmi Province Watch in 3D ›
Related sites
FAQ
Who was Oichi?
Oda Nobunaga's sister, remembered as the most beautiful woman of the Sengoku age. She married Azai Nagamasa and bore the three Azai sisters; after Nagamasa's fall she was remarried to Shibata Katsuie and took her own life with him at Kitanoshō Castle after his defeat at Shizugatake.
Why did Oichi live through two castle falls?
Because her first husband Azai Nagamasa's Odani Castle was destroyed by her brother Nobunaga, and her second husband Shibata Katsuie's Kitanoshō Castle fell to Hideyoshi after Shizugatake. The second time she sent her daughters to safety and died in the castle with Katsuie.
What became of Oichi's daughters?
The three sisters Chacha, Hatsu and Gō were rescued from Kitanoshō. The eldest, Chacha, became Hideyoshi's consort Lady Yodo, and the youngest, Gō, the wife of Tokugawa Hidetada; each was thus tied to a ruler of Japan.
