The Depths of Oda Nobunaga as Captured by Luís Fróis
──The "Rational System Designer" who dismantled medieval order
──The monster called Nobunaga as seen by Fróis
In the 12th year of Eiroku (1569), the Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis had an audience with Oda Nobunaga. The observational records of Nobunaga that Fróis left behind following this encounter highlight a multifaceted human image and a highly unconventional theory of governance not found in contemporary Japanese historical sources. Born as the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a lord who governed two-thirds of Owari Province, Nobunaga is said to have been about thirty-seven years old when he began to rule the realm. His appearance—"of medium height, slender build, with little beard and a very pleasant voice"—exuded a delicacy that, at first glance, did not seem characteristic of a rugged Sengoku daimyo.
However, within that slender build (the human "body" or "physique"), there resided a complex and immense spirit that was "extremely fond of war, diligent in military training, full of a sense of honor, and strict in justice," while at the same time "showing human kindness and compassion in certain matters." In this content, I will logically examine Fróis's descriptions not merely as biographical episodes, but as the ideological system of "Nobunaga as a system designer" who sought to destroy the medieval order and pry open the doors to a modern era based on rationality and meritocracy.
Nobunaga was the second son of the lord (Nobuhide) who ruled two-thirds of Owari Province. He was about thirty-seven years old when he began to govern the realm. He was of medium height, of slender build, had little beard, a very pleasant voice, was extremely fond of war, diligent in military training, full of a sense of honor, and strict in justice. He never failed to punish those who insulted him. In some matters, he showed human kindness and compassion. His sleep was short, and he rose early in the morning. He was not greedy, possessed great decisiveness, was extremely skilled in tactics, very impatient, and prone to outbursts of anger, though he was not like that in ordinary times. He followed the advice of his vassals only slightly or almost not at all, and was held in great awe by everyone. He did not drink alcohol, was moderate in his eating, was very straightforward in his dealings with people, and was arrogant in his own opinions.
He despised all the princes of Japan and spoke to them from over his shoulder as if they were his subordinates. And people obeyed him as they would an absolute monarch. Even when the fortunes of war turned against him, he remained broad-minded and patient. He possessed good reason and clear judgment, and was a despiser of all worship and reverence for gods and Buddhas, as well as all pagan divination and superstitious customs. While he initially showed an attitude of belonging to the Hokke sect, after attaining high position, he arrogantly looked down upon all idols, and in some respects followed the views of the Zen sect, considering that there is no immortality of the soul and no rewards or punishments in the afterlife.
He was extremely clean in his own residence, very conscientious in directing everything concerning himself, disliked delays or long-winded introductions during conversations, and spoke familiarly even with the lowliest of people. What he particularly loved were famous tea ceremony utensils, fine horses, swords, and falconry, and he greatly enjoyed having people of both high and low status wrestle naked. He did not allow anyone to carry weapons before him. He had a slightly melancholy look, was extremely bold and fearless when embarking on difficult undertakings, and in all things, people obeyed his words.
Regarding this description, Tetsuo Owada states,
Here, Nobunaga's physical characteristics, personality, hobbies, and religious views are summarized, and it is no exaggeration to say that there is no description better than this for forming an image of what kind of man Nobunaga was today. The dictatorial situation is also depicted, and this figure portrayed here is likely the true image of Nobunaga.
He evaluates it by saying, "There is no description better than this" and "The figure portrayed here is the true image of Nobunaga."
Deconstruction of the Religious Denial Theory and the Fusion of Confucian and Zen Realism
The most widely known and misunderstood passage in Fróis's description of Nobunaga is the phrase, "He was a despiser of all worship and reverence for gods and Buddhas, as well as all pagan divination and superstitious customs." This description has served as a powerful basis in postwar historical research and popular culture for positioning Nobunaga as a "radical atheist" who held no faith whatsoever.
However, in recent historical research, the view that evaluating Nobunaga as a complete non-believer is incorrect has become mainstream. There is no evidence in Japanese primary sources or domestic literature to indicate that Nobunaga was an atheist, and only Fróis's description has allowed that image to take on a life of its own. In fact, there is a record of Nobunaga requesting prayers from Buddhist monks for the recovery of his dying father, Nobuhide, when he was young, so he was not completely cut off from traditional religious sensibilities.
What should truly be scrutinized in Fróis's description is the part about being a "despiser of divination and superstitious customs." It was common for Sengoku-period warlords to entrust the success or failure of a campaign to divination and prayer, often allowing irrational decision-making to dictate the lives of soldiers and the fate of the nation. What Nobunaga intensely loathed was the intervention of religious authority or unscientific superstition in the rational strategic decision-making process.
Fróis's observation that "he initially showed an attitude of belonging to the Hokke sect" or "in some respects followed the views of the Zen sect, considering that there is no immortality of the soul and no rewards or punishments in the afterlife" indicates that while Nobunaga approached the intellectual and ethical aspects of religion, he thoroughly excluded "irrational fictions" such as worldly salvation or rewards and punishments in the afterlife. At the same time, the Confucian spirit of "revering heaven and loving people" and "benevolent rule" that Nobunaga was said to be devoted to was based on a worldly realism that emphasized moral order and a fair social contract in this life, rather than reliance on supernatural gods and Buddhas. The burning of Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei was not a denial of faith, but a cold-blooded political sanction against a secular military rival that possessed armed force; the fact that he attempted to negotiate for neutrality beforehand shows that his actions were based on political rationality rather than religious hatred.
Breaking Away from the Deliberative Council Daimyo and Centralized System Thought
Fróis wrote of Nobunaga, "He followed the advice of his vassals only slightly or almost not at all, and was held in great awe by everyone." At first glance, this description brings to mind the image of a fanatical dictator who does not listen to the opinions of those around him.
However, behind this behavior was a struggle against the decision-making system that covered medieval Japan at the time. Many Sengoku daimyo were coalitions of local landowners and regional lords, and they did not go beyond the realm of "deliberative council daimyo" who made decisions through consensus. Under a deliberative system that prioritizes the individual interests of local lords, rapid national unification (Tenka Fubu) and the construction of a drastic new order are extremely difficult. Nobunaga deliberately rejected the medieval, compromising opinions of his vassals—the so-called "loyal advice"—in order to establish an absolute top-down chain of command with himself at the apex.
On the other hand, Nobunaga did not attempt to monopolize all practical affairs. He implemented a "regional army system" in which he boldly delegated specific military and administrative authority to powerful vassals such as Shibata Katsuie, Hashiba Hideyoshi, and Akechi Mitsuhide, thereby achieving a high level of organizational governance. This governance mechanism, in which he retained ultimate strategic decision-making power while utilizing decentralized bureaucratic organizational strength during the execution phase, was nothing less than a blueprint for a highly modern, centralized state system. However, because this system relied heavily on the charisma and overwhelming authority of Nobunaga as an "unparalleled system designer," it lacked an institutional process for transferring power to a successor, and thus contained structural weaknesses that led to the rapid collapse of his power following the Honno-ji Incident.
Swift Military Action and Calculated Political Rage
Regarding Nobunaga's military ability and temperament, Fróis observed that he was "extremely experienced in tactics, very impatient, and prone to outbursts of rage, though not so much in ordinary times."
This expression "very impatient" does not refer to a merely short-tempered personality, but rather to the strategic deployment speed that was the hallmark of the Oda army, akin to a "gale." His tactical strength lay in his mobility—gathering information rapidly and launching lightning-fast invasions before the enemy could prepare a defensive posture. Perhaps this sense of speed in operational deployment appeared as extreme impatience to the eyes of Fróis, a Westerner.
Furthermore, the observation that he was "prone to outbursts of rage, though not so much in ordinary times" suggests that Nobunaga highly controlled his emotions as a tool of governance. His anger was not an unpredictable emotional explosion, but a "calculated political performance" intended to instill his absolute authority in his vassals and opposing forces. By remaining calm and composed in ordinary times while displaying overwhelming rage in specific situations, he maintained intense tension and absolute obedience among his vassals.
His arrogant and haughty attitude—being "extremely harsh in his treatment of people and arrogant in his own views," and "despising all the princes of Japan and speaking to them haughtily from over his shoulder as if they were subordinates"—was also a cold-blooded management logic designed to visualize the decisive gap between lord and vassal in a medieval society where the betrayal of gekokujo (the lower overcoming the higher) had become commonplace.
Meritocracy Transcending Social Status and Proactive Expansionism
Nobunaga, who was said to "love war extremely, be devoted to military training, be full of a sense of honor, and be strict in justice," was not a bureaucratic type of daimyo buried in domestic administration, but a proactive, expansionist type who carved out frontiers himself. His martial aspect was closely linked to his meritocratic recruitment of talent.
Fróis recorded that "(Nobunaga) greatly enjoyed having people of both high and low status wrestle in the nude." This was not merely the pursuit of entertainment. It was a highly symbolic ritual of meritocracy, where he had them compete purely on ability (physical strength and skill) in the ultimate equal condition of "nudity," having stripped away the "symbols of status" such as armor and luxurious attire. At a sumo tournament held in Azuchi during the Tensho era, Nobunaga performed the astonishing feat of promoting unknown winners (such as Namae Mataichiro and Aochi Yoemon) to the rank of vassal on the spot and appointing them as sumo commissioners. Nobunaga dismantled the medieval values that held lineage and family status as absolute from within through a merit-based evaluation system that transcended social status.
Self-Discipline and Communication Skills as a Modern Leader
The daily life of Nobunaga described by Fróis shows a surprising consistency with the profile of a modern charismatic executive.
“He did not drink alcohol and was moderate in his eating” : In contrast to the gruesome image of him drinking sake from the skull of Azai Nagamasa, the actual Nobunaga did not drink alcohol and maintained a strict diet, avoiding overeating and overdrinking. Under the health management of the famous physician Manase Dosan, he possessed high self-control, such as enjoying the konpeito (sugar candy) presented to him by Fróis.
“Extremely clean in his personal appearance” : He was extremely fastidious about his surrounding environment and his own appearance, and gave conscientious instructions down to the smallest detail.
“Conclusion-first and flat information gathering” : During conversations, he extremely disliked useless preambles or prolonged greetings and sought rapid decision-making. On the other hand, to eliminate bureaucratic bias, he valued a flat information-gathering network that directly absorbed information from the bottom, as evidenced by the fact that he "spoke familiarly even with the lowliest of people."
“Prohibition of carrying weapons” : The rule that "no one was allowed to appear before him carrying a weapon" was, in addition to the practical aspect of preventing his own assassination, an expression of advanced security consciousness that sought to eliminate "intimidation by violence" from face-to-face negotiation settings and build a space for rational and contractual dialogue.
The "Politics of Symbols" Using Meibutsu-gari (Hunting for Famous Items) and Hobbies as a Medium
Fróis pointed out that what Nobunaga "especially loved were famous tea ceremony utensils, fine horses, swords, and falconry." These hobbies were not merely to satisfy his personal collector's desires, but functioned as a sophisticated political and economic strategy.
In medieval feudal society, rewards for vassals were basically "land (chigyo)," but there is a physical limit to the area of land. To break through this structural limitation, Nobunaga devised the "Ochayu Oseido" (Tea Ceremony Governance) and the creation of virtual value through "Meibutsu-gari" (hunting for famous items) to utilize the tea ceremony for political purposes. Nobunaga bestowed overwhelming brand value on the famous tea utensils he collected, equivalent to "one province, one castle," and granted them to vassals who had achieved merit as rewards. This was one of the greatest economic innovations in medieval Japan, achieving a value conversion from the finite "material resources" of land to the "symbolic resources" of tea utensils, whose value could be increased infinitely.
The same applies to his collection of "fine horses" and "falconry." Falconry was not merely hunting; it was meticulously designed as a "political event" to demonstrate the ruler's overwhelming authority both internally and externally, serving as a means for road network maintenance, territorial inspections, large-scale military exercises, and above all, a display of power.
"A slightly melancholy appearance" and the charisma of a lonely reformer
Fróis's summary of his depiction of Nobunaga concludes with these words: "He had a slightly melancholy appearance, was extremely bold and fearless when embarking on difficult undertakings, and in all things, people obeyed his words."
This observation of a "slightly melancholy appearance" is extremely suggestive. It is speculated that this was not merely a gloomy expression, but rather the outward manifestation of the unique mental tension and "absolute loneliness" borne by a leader who, all alone, was destroying the old society governed by medieval conventions and attempting to build an entirely new unified national system from scratch.
Furthermore, the passage "extremely bold and fearless when embarking on difficult undertakings" proves that Nobunaga was a person who, in times of crisis, ignored precedents and medieval conventions to carry out super-dimensional innovations (revolutionary tactics and economic reforms) that astonished everyone. This bold decisiveness, supported by a cold, clear intellect, was the source of the absolute charisma that made people "obey his words in all things."
Summary: The Collapse of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the "Modern Absolute Subject"
Luís Fróis's account goes beyond a mere observation record by a foreigner; it is a documentary of a "revolutionary" who broke through the old shell of the Middle Ages and envisioned a new nation through modern rationalism and systems thinking. It is unclear whether Fróis consciously intended to depict his essence as a "modern system designer," but every word he left behind with cold detachment vividly portrays an extremely intellectual and rational "modern figure," even when viewed by us in the present day, over four hundred years later.
Religion/Ethics - Awe of gods, Buddhas, and omens; allowing superstition to intervene in political decisions. - Eliminating divination and superstition; treating religion as a secular political subject. Intellectual and logical understanding of doctrine. - "A scorner of divination and superstitious customs," "followed the views of the Zen sect, considering that there are no rewards or punishments in the afterlife."
Decision Making - Bound by a "consensus system" with local lords, requiring time for consensus building. - Rapid top-down decision-making that excludes the advice of compromising vassals, and functional delegation of authority. - "Did not follow the advice of his vassals and was feared by all," "was very impatient."
Leadership Techniques - Rule by simple violence and fear driven by emotion. - "Political performance" where even anger is controlled and staged as a governance technique. - "He would fly into a rage, but was not like that in ordinary times," "his treatment of people was extremely sharp."
Personnel Recruitment - Maintaining existing hierarchies such as family status, lineage, and pedigree. - Thorough meritocracy and results-based evaluation through "naked" competition that strips away status and attire. - "Made both high-ranking and low-ranking people wrestle in the nude," "spoke even with lowly people."
Economy/Rewards - Maintaining master-servant relations through the distribution of "land (fiefs)," a finite resource. - Symbolization of the economy by assigning and circulating absolute virtual value to cultural assets (tea utensils). - "Loved famous tea utensils," "creation of rewards through the hunting of famous items."
Organizational Management - Boasting of drinking and luxury (extravagance beyond one's status or means), and tolerating confrontations through personal violence. - Prohibition of alcohol and moderation in eating, conclusion-first dialogue, and non-violence in discussion settings (prohibition of carrying swords). - "Did not drink alcohol and moderated his eating," "disliked preambles," "did not allow weapons to be brought before him."
The figure of Nobunaga captured by Fróis's observant eye is not merely a "tyrant" or "master of war" from history. It was the portrait of a pioneer of the modern age—extremely lonely and bold—who coldly scrapped the irrational legacy left by the Middle Ages one by one, attempting to create a new "Japanese system" that integrated everything: economy, military, human resources, and information.
This content was created based on Gemini through repeated dialogue with the poster.
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