Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Japanese feudal lord, who started the unification of the country, then torn by local wars. Working from a modest family base in the province of Owari, he gradually gained control of the whole region and occupied (1568) the capital city of Kyōto. Five years later he drove out the last Ashikaga shogun. He went on to destroy the temporal power of the Buddhist sects and monasteries and, as a counterbalance to their influence, encouraged Christian missionaries. By 1580 he had extended his authority over all of central Japan. Before he could realize his goal of winning control of the whole country, however, he was assassinated by one of his vassals.