[Analysis] Taiga Drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" Episode 26!

Good morning.
Today is the morning of the first Tuesday of July.

Yesterday, after taking care of some errands in the morning,
I obtained some certificates at a certain government office.
From the afternoon, I had meetings at three government offices and three client offices,
and after that, I had to prepare application documents and had two meetings with visitors.

So, it is Tuesday, but due to circumstances, I am one day late with
Episode 26 of the Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!"

Nobunaga broke his promise to Chosokabe Motochika,
and through Miyoshi, he obtained Awa and Sanuki without any effort.
Motochika was enraged, and Mitsuhide, the mediator, fell into a difficult position.
Nobunaga suspected Nobuzumi of colluding with the Chosokabe and ordered him to seclude himself.
Hearing the outcome of events, Koichiro and Hideyoshi, along with the entire Hashiba family,
devised a plan and invited Nobunaga and Oichi to Nagahama Castle.

The story for this episode is here
→Taiga Drama "Toyotomi Brothers" Official Website

In this episode of the Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!,"
the person whose presence is increasing
as the Honno-ji Incident approaches is Oda Nobuzumi.

There are various theories about the mastermind or
conspiracy theories regarding the Honno-ji Incident, but I had
never even considered the theory that Oda Nobuzumi was involved.

Oda Nobunaga’s nephew, yet also
Akechi Mitsuhide’s son-in-law, a person placed in a complex position:
Oda Nobuzumi

Nobuzumi’s father was Nobunaga’s younger brother,Oda Nobukatsu.
His father lost the struggle for the family headship against Nobunaga and lost his life, but
the young Nobuzumi was protected by his uncle Nobunaga
and raised as a warrior of the clan.

Eventually, he became the lord of Omi Omi-hachiman Castle and
gained a certain level of trust from Nobunaga.
Furthermore, by taking Mitsuhide’s daughter as his wife,
he was also an important figure connecting the Oda and Akechi families.

However, that "good marriage" ironicallyNobuzumi’s fate
would be greatly distorted.

In 1582, when Mitsuhide killed Nobunaga in the Honno-ji Incident,
even though Nobuzumi was not involved in the rebellion,
he was looked upon with suspicion simply because he was "Mitsuhide’s son-in-law."

And due to the judgment of Oda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, and others who were at Osaka Castle,
he was killed without being given almost any opportunity to prove his innocence.

It was not because there was evidence of his involvement in the rebellion,
but rather because he was in a "position to be suspected."

In modern times, this seems unreasonable,
but in the Sengoku period, family and marital relationships themselves
were proof of "trust" and at the same time, objects of "suspicion,"
and it was an era where whose blood you inherited and who you were connected to
determined your fate more than individual will.

In this episode, there is a scene where Nobuzumi is suspected by Nobunaga,
and in fact, scenes were depicted that made it seem like Nobunaga’s suspicion
was correct.

From the beginning, the contrast between the Oda brothers and the Hideyoshi-Koichiro brothers
was one of the highlights of the first half,
but this contrast was also foreshadowing for Honno-ji,
and I am looking forward to seeing how the Hashiba brothers will be depicted
after learning that Nobunaga’s suspicion was correct.

One thing we can learn from Nobuzumi’s life is
the reality that "there are environments you cannot do anything about yourself."
However, on the other hand, in historical fact, while carrying the burden of his father’s sins,
he won Nobunaga’s trust through his efforts
and faithfully fulfilled the roles he was given.

That way of life was by no means in vain,
and it can be said that history tells us he was a person recognized by those around him.

There are events in life that cannot be changed by your own efforts alone,
but there is still meaning in continuing to faithfully fulfill your role at each moment――.

Oda Nobusumi's short life conveys such a universal
lesson to us,
or so I think.

Now, next time is the biggest highlight of the first half,
Episode 27: "The Honno-ji Incident."

With that said,
let's do our best today as well!