Women of Power

Nouhime's life with Oda Nobunaga was said to be difficult. She was married to him in 1549, during a truce between Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide and Saito Dosan. The marriage was a political gesture and many believe there was little love between Nouhime and Nobunaga. Nouhime was never able to conceive a child with Nobunaga and it was believed that she was barren. On top of this, it was alleged that Nouhime was acting as a spy, or even assassin, for her father; it is worthy to note that at that time it was not an uncommon practice for a wife to relay information to her maiden family. Given Nobunaga's reputation at the time as the unruly "Great Fool of Owari", it was also not entirely impossible for Dosan to want Nouhime to assassinate him. As for her alleged role as a spy, there is a popular story where Nobunaga purposely gave Nouhime false information regarding a conspiracy between two of her father's head servants and their plans to betray the Saito. Her father had both the men executed and thus weakened himself by eliminating those loyal to him. Some legends, however, allege that it was in fact not Nouhime but someone else who looked like her that married Oda Nobunaga. In 1556, Dosan, Nouhime's father, was killed in a coup in Mino Province. This detracted much from Nouhime's worth as a wife. Her inability to conceive and her supposed spying were held against her. Through lack of historical record there is not much information of what became of Nouhime or even the date of her death. Nouhime was the official wife of Oda Nobunaga although it is often believed that he held no love for her, his focus being his concubine Kitsuno, who bore him his son Nobutada. After the Incident at Honnoji which claimed Nobunaga's life, it was uncertain where Nouhime went. Some speculated that she died at Honnoji, but the woman alleged to be Nouhime was more often believed to be a maid whose name sounds similar to Nouhime. Nevertheless, after the incident, Nobunaga's wives and female servants were all sent to Azuchi Castle, which was Nobunaga's castle of residence. Among the women was a Lady Azuchi, who was taken in by Oda Nobukatsu. This Lady Azuchi is widely believed to be Nouhime. Overall, it can be said that Nouhime's life as it is known now is more of a mixture of legends, folktales, and tentative half-truths.