Oda Nobutoshi (織田信敏)
Nobutoshi ODA (November 19, 1853 - June 6, 1901) was the third lord and governor of Dewa-Tendo Domain in the Edo period. He was the fourth son of Nobumichi ODA, the second lord of the domain. He was lawfully married to (and later divorced) Masuko, a daughter of Takahiro MATSUMAE. His children include Eiko, his second daughter (Nobutsune ODA's wife). His adopted sons include Suemaru ODA (Nobumichi ODA's sixth son) and Nobutsune ODA (Tomotane SOMA's eldest son). His childhood name was Fukunosuke. He was Hyobu taifu with the rank of Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade). Later he was promoted to Jusanmi (Junior Third Rank). He had the title of Viscount.
On November 19, 1853, Nobutoshi ODA was born in Edo. On August 16, 1863 he became the legitimate son of his father, Nobumichi. Having won the Battle of Toba and Fushimi, the Meiji new government gave orders to subjugate Yoshinobu TOKUGAWA on January 31, 1868. At the same time, Meiji Government ordered the domains to lead troops to Kyoto. On March 19, Nobumichi ODA who was then lord of the domain and who had put off going to Kyoto to see how the situation would develop made his eldest son and heir Nobutoshi ODA go to Kyoto on account of his ill health. On March 25, Nobutoshi was ordered to guide the Ou Chinbushi (temporary governmental official in Ou) by the new government. However, he asked the government's permission to send Moritaka YOSHIDA, a retainer as his surrogate and his request was granted. On March 29, Nobutoshi was granted imperial audience by Emperor Meiji. On April 11, he became lord of the domain as his father Nobumichi retired. On April 28 he was appointed Hyobu no taifu with Jugoinoge.
Daihachi YOSHIDA who acted as his replacement guide for the Ou Chinbushi was actively engaged in peace initiatives. Yet he was unable to improve the conflicting situation in which the Chinbushi Governor-General of Ou's troops provoked the Shonai clan into further revolt. On May 25, the Shonai clan fell upon and burned down the entire town of Tendo Castle. Nobumichi and his family who had been in the domain fled to the territory of Sendai Domain beyond the Ou mountains. "The History of Tendo City" mentions that they 'spent a night in a charcoal burner's lodge in the mountain' on their way.
After the Shonai clan retreated from Tendo, the Tendo clan sought to make counterattack such as assailing Nagatoro Domain (current Higashine City) under the leadership of Daihachi YOSHIDA. On June 10 Shuzo SERA, staff officer to the Chinbushi Governor-General of Ou was assassinated by a retainer of Sendai Domain. The tide in Ou changed to support the shogunate. On June 12 Nobutoshi went to the Tendo Camp in the middle of confusion. On the same day he was allowed to retire from being the guide for the Ou Chinbushi. On June 15, he was given 5,000 ryo solatium by the new government.
On June 22, the domains in Tohoku region formed the Ouetsu-reppan alliance. Tendo Domain with a little over 20,000 koku was unable to act independently, so it left the new government side to join the alliance. On August 5, it ordered Daihachi YOSHIDA, the retainer who served as the guide for the Ou Chinbushi to commit seppuku. After that Tendo Domain sent its retainers to assault Akita Domain and to other operations.
Giving up on the losing alliance, Tendo Domain surrendered to the new government on November 2, 1868. On November 29, Nobutoshi was ordered to be kept under house arrest in Tokyo. On December 15, he came to Tokyo and was put under house arrest in Korin-ji Temple, his family temple. On January 19, 1869 the new government commanded him to retire with a reduction of 2,000 koku. On January 29 he let his younger brother Suemaru take over the family estate.
On August 25, 1869, he was allowed to be the lord of the family again as Suemaru was very young. He became Governor of Tendo Domain. On August 29, 1871 he was dismissed from office of the Governor due to Haihan-chiken (abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures). During this period, on January 7, 1871, he built a main building of a Shinto shrine on Mt. Maizuru in Tendo City. There he founded 'Takeshiorita-sha Shrine' (later renamed Kenkun-jinja Shrine) where Nobunaga ODA, the progenitor of the Oda clan was enshrined.
On January 23, 1874 he attended at the Imperial Household Ministry. On February 18 of the same year he voluntarily retired. On July 8, 1884, he was given the title of Viscount. It is said that he entered Keio Gijuku to study English after the Meiji Restoration. On June 6, 1901, he died at the age of 48.