Oda Nobuhide

was a Japanese daimyō and magistrate of the Sengoku period known as "Tiger of Owari" and also the father of Oda Nobunaga the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobuhide was a deputy shugo (Shugodai) of lower Owari Province and head of the Oda clan which controlled most of Owari. Biography Oda Nobuhide was born in 1510 in Owari Province, the eldest son of Oda Nobusada, the head of the Oda clan and a shugodai (deputy shugo) of the lower Owari area. Nobuhide became head of the Oda clan when Nobusada died in 1538, and became involved in open warfare as he was confronted to the north by Saitō Dōsan, the daimyō of Mino Province, and to the east by Imagawa Yoshimoto, the daimyō of Mikawa, Suruga, and Tōtōmi provinces. In 1540, Nobuhide attacked and took Anjō castle, which was held by the Matsudaira clan. He was assisted by Mizuno Tadamasa, his son, Oda Nobuhiro, was installed as the lord of the castle. In 1542 he defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at First Battle of Azukizaka. Nobuhide managed to hold his own against his opponents, but was never able to fully unite Owari due to constant internal struggles within Oda clan, which prevented him from achieving a complete victory.