Warrior of Honor — Turning Against Nobunaga to Uphold His Bond with Asakura
In 1570, when Oda Nobunaga broke their alliance and attacked the Asakura of Echizen, Nagamasa honored his prior bond with the Asakura and struck at Nobunaga from behind. This was a decision fraught with grave risk, yet Nagamasa is said to have declared that to abandon one's honor would be to disgrace the warrior's name—and was celebrated by later ages as a model of honorable loyalty. Nobunaga narrowly escaped from Kanegasaki but thereafter pressed his offensive on Nagamasa without mercy, capturing Odani Castle three years later.
The Fall of Odani Castle — Farewell to Oichi and the Three Sisters
In August 1573, Odani Castle was brought to the brink of collapse under Nobunaga's fierce assault. Nagamasa continued to resist to the end, but betrayal from within left him isolated. Just before the castle fell, he sent Oichi and their three daughters—Chacha, Hatsu, and Gō—to safety outside the walls, then took his own life. He was 29. The three sisters went on to become deeply entwined with the Toyotomi and Tokugawa eras, and Nagamasa's bloodline was carried into the great currents of Japanese history.