Harano had satisfied his curiosity—at least now he knew "The Big Fool of Owari" was just a dumb pun—then spent a while pondering how Oda Nobunaga went from "the Mad Crown Prince" to "Japan's Number One Man of the Warring States," but he'd never really studied that history and couldn't figure it out. He turned his gaze to Ah Man instead and asked, "Is there anything else about Oda Nobunaga? Besides this street gossip… er, back-alley small talk."
Ah Man was chewing on a tea leaf, looking fascinated by such a luxury, and replied offhandedly, "Heh, it's all gossip and jokes with him. The rest is just regular info. You want to hear it?"
"Of course I do."
"Fine, I have no idea why you're so interested in the guy!" Ah Man chewed her tea leaf, thought for a bit, and said, "He was born in the third year of Tenbun. Child name Kippōshi. At two years old, his old man shipped him off to Nagano Castle to play City Lord. At the time, his dad assigned him a squad of household retainers to handle government stuff for him.
I won't list the random riffraff, only the four main family elders.
First was Hirata Hideyoshi. I mentioned him before—he was Nobunaga's teacher. Supposedly a master of the Tea Ceremony, renga poetry, and Sinology. Even the big shots from Kyoto raved about him. He's the Oda Family's top brainiac, always getting sent to Kyoto to offer horses, gold, swords—you name it. Had huge clout in the Oda Danjo Chonosuke branch, super high seniority, and was as close to the Oda Big Fool as anyone could get—practically joined at the hip.
Second was Hayashi Shingoro Lin Xiuzhen, from a powerful Sanhe clan. He was the muscle at Nagano Castle, basically the fight coordinator, head honcho for Nobunaga's entire household retainer crew—gave orders to everyone but Hirata Hideyoshi.
Third was Aoyama Yusanemon Shinsho—don't waste your time on this guy, he's dead in Minoh. Remember when Oda Nobuhide led 8,000 men to take Inaba Castle, and Saito Dosan's forces smashed them to bits? This poor sap didn't make it back—might've been beheaded or maybe just drowned, who knows.
The last one was Naito Hyoeijo Katsusuke—don't worry about him either. The Oda Family got into a scrap at Kozusaka with the Imagawa and Matsudaira clans. This guy went to fight in place of the Big Fool and didn't return—heard they shot him so full of arrows he looked like a hedgehog."
Harano nodded, mentally noting the two family elders who were still alive.
He vaguely remembered that Hirata Hideyoshi supposedly committed seppuku, so maybe he didn't need to think about him much. Lin Xiuzhen, on the other hand, seemed to have lived a long time and stuck around into Nobunaga's later years, though things apparently didn't end well—banished, dying in poverty. Still, for the time being, they could probably get along fine.
Ah Man ignored whatever he was jotting down in his notebook and continued her recollections: "Next up is his coming-of-age. At thirteen, he became an adult; nobody liked him, so no big ceremony—just dropped the childish name Kippōshi and switched to Sanmaru, the traditional heir name of the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family, so now Oda Sanmaru Nobunaga. And then he just kept running wild, acting odd, refused to wear clothes right or do anything proper, picking up dumb hobbies like cockfighting and dog racing, and recently getting into falconry and iron cannons. That's how he became the Big Fool of Owari."
She'd already mentioned Nobunaga's antics, so she skimmed over those and turned to his family: "He's got three full-blood brothers: Shinsei, Hideyoshi, and Xinbao. Then a bunch of half-brothers—Shin'ei, Hideyoshi, Shinji, Shinji, Shinsei, Hideshige, Changyi, Changli… Anyway, a lot of them. And then a load of half-sisters: Ah Tun, Princess Dog, and a bunch more—random, ignored, not really worth remembering."
"Hold up!" Harano was scribbling furiously and looked up in astonishment. "What's up with the Oda Family naming their daughters—why are there names like pig and dog?"
"Not like I gave birth to them. Who knows what Oda Nobuhide was thinking." Ah Man couldn't have cared less—after all, it wasn't like she was called Ah Pig or Princess Dog.
Harano mused—could this be one of those 'trash names keep kids alive' superstitions?
Ancient Japan did have this tradition, right? So-and-so Dog, or So-and-so Maru for boys—these dog, egg, whatever names were 'humble names.' But giving your daughters names like dog and pig? That's a new level of harsh.
Never heard of daughters getting trash names in old Japan. People doted on their girls, hoping they'd marry Daimyos, give birth to sons, and rocket the family to glory.
Or maybe Oda Nobunaga's mom was some jealous wife—the boys' names went to someone else, but for the concubines' daughters, she picked nasty names out of spite?
Princess Pig? Princess Dog?
The more he heard, the weirder it got—the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family really had no sense of shame…
Harano jotted down the pig-dog sisters of Oda Nobunaga, suddenly remembering something. He turned to Ah Man and asked, "Isn't there one missing? Isn't there a Princess Ichi?"
In later eras, Princess Ichi is pretty famous—featured in novels, manga, historical dramas. Supposedly Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Katsuyori Shibata, Ikegami Keisuke, and the rest all crushed on her, and she first married Asai Nagamasa, then Katsuyori Shibata. Her daughter Chacha became the monkey's concubine and helped Tokugawa Ieyasu seize Japan, known as the prettiest woman in Owari—no, in all Japan's Warring States Period.
"Princess Ichi?" Ah Man furrowed her brow, thought for a moment, then said oddly, "Where'd you hear that? Oda Nobuhide never had a daughter called Ichi!"
"No? Oda Ichi—think carefully." Harano was sure she existed. She was nearly as famous as Oda Nobunaga himself in later generations.
Ah Man strained to recall, then—in full expert mode—affirmed, "Nope. Oda Nobuhide never had a daughter named Ichi. Everyone at Mosen Castle knows all his kids, and I've heard it a million times—it's definitely not wrong."
After saying that, she was curious: "Are you sure you didn't mess up? Are you trying to find her? Oda Ichi… If you want, I can run around and dig her up for you."
With a name, tracking someone down was no big deal for her. That's literally her job.
"Forget it—maybe I did remember wrong." Harano didn't push it.
Historically, there ought to be someone like that, but maybe not as Nobunaga's blood sister or any kind of "Number One Beauty." Most likely a product of later historical embellishment.
Honestly, most people probably find it hard to believe, but Japan basically doesn't have credible history. The Edo Period books, local museum records, and all those artifacts—they're almost all self-contradictory. Even the dates can be off by several years. Totally different from Huaxia, and enough to make your head spin.
Maybe it's because they never had a "Cui Zhu murders his ruler" kind of incident. No real historian morale. All kinds of hired hacks, prettying up their own family trees in the official histories, just making stuff up. Modern readers are just left speechless.
So honestly, rather than believe those "embellished histories," you're better off trusting Ah Man—this "original ninja."
Ah Man herself didn't care, nonchalantly replying, "Suit yourself. If you ever want to know again, just tell me and I'll help you look. I won't even charge you—just buy me dinner."
"No problem. Go on, tell me more about Oda Nobunaga!" Harano had no objections.
"There's really not much else!" Ah Man was getting more and more baffled about his weird Nobunaga obsession and said, "The only thing left is his wife, Nongji, Saito Dosan's daughter. Oda Nobuhide lost his shirt in Minoh, so for the sake of stability up north, he arranged the marriage for Nobunaga. They got married the year before last, but Nobunaga doesn't like her and just leaves her sitting around at home, ignored."
Nongji—that's Kitsuno, right? Oda Nobunaga's legal wife. Lots of later-era fiction about her, too!
Harano asked, fascinated, "Their relationship is that bad? Was it because Saito Dosan had designs on Owari, so Nobunaga was worried she was a spy?"
"Of course Saito Dosan had designs on Owari—marrying off his daughter was basically so he could meddle in the Oda Danjo Chonosuke branch inheritance wars. Everyone knows that. The marriage, I heard, was recommended by his teacher, Hirata Hideyoshi. Partly because they lost the war, but also to keep the Big Fool in line for the inheritance." Ah Man dropped an unexpected bomb, "But honestly, I doubt the Big Fool thought that far. He just didn't like her—probably because of her reputation."
"Reputation?"
Ah Man's tone turned biting. "Of course. What good reputation do you think the Viper's Daughter has? She was engaged six times, married once, suspected of killing her husband, and of helping her dad steal the family fortune. If I married such a poisonous woman, I'd steer clear too. For once, the Big Fool isn't being entirely foolish."
Harano's worldview was blown apart. What kinda mess was this? Literature in later Japan painted Nongji as a model wife—one of the 'Three Great Ladies of the Warring States'—how come here she's some heartless, two-faced, evil shrew?
He couldn't help asking, "How old is she? Six engagements and a remarriage? How'd her first husband die?"
"Let me think…" Ah Man already seemed used to his ignorance—convinced he was some washed-up loser from West Sea Road—totally clueless. "She should be fifteen this year. Started swapping fiancés as a little kid: Akechi Family, Miki Family, Kinsen Family, Nagai Family, Tokugawa Family, Oda Family… Uh, she married into the Oda Family after her first husband died, so all told, six engagements. Married Tokugawa Raichu at eleven, he dropped dead at twelve, and her dad Saito Dosan took the opportunity to become lord of Minoh. At thirteen she got engaged to the Oda Big Fool, and married him the next year. Been stuck in her room ever since. So yeah, fifteen now, that adds up."
Then she waggled her eyebrows, gloating, "I bet when Oda Nobuhide dies, it'll be the Big Fool's turn to keel over mysteriously—then Saito Dosan gets the Oda Danjo Chonosuke domain. Your bet is toast, man. Might as well pay up now!"
Harano still found it hard to believe. "You sure? Murdering her husband?"
"Can't prove it—a case like that? But anyone with half a brain knows who did it." Ah Man arched her brows meaningfully. "She's the Viper's Daughter—poisonous behavior comes naturally, right?"
In Japanese folklore, vipers are ovoviviparous—the babies not only hatch but bite through their mother's belly, killing her horribly. Saito Dosan's nickname is literally "The Viper of Minoh," so Nongji is "the Viper Woman."
Harano was speechless. The "Mad Crown Prince" married to the "Viper Woman"—this was nothing like what he'd pictured about Japan's Warring States. It was way past anything he'd prepared himself for. But the era was becoming clearer in his mind.
This was an age that looks glamorous and romantic in novels and video games, but in reality, it was bizarre, twisted. An age of endless scheming, an age where people and monsters were often the same, an age of decayed morals.
This is Japan's Warring States Period—an age unmeasurable by the standards of common sense, an age so chaotic it makes chaos look tidy.
His odds of survival just got a lot steeper.