Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga played a major role in the unification of Japan after the Warring States period (Sengoku jidai). He was actually the first of the three great "unifiers" of Japan. The other two were Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu who followed in Nobunaga's footsteps. At the time of his advent to power, Japan was in a state of disarray. The Sengoku period began in 1467 with the Ashikaga family in power. With the rise in disputes …

…out both offensive and defensive tactics with the guns. He also introduced the use of iron-cladding on warships. As a result on Nobunaga's incorporation of Western influence in Japan, he was the first Japanese leader to appear in Western histories. Nobunaga never completely succeeded in carrying out his ambition to bring all of Japan under a single sword (tenka fubu), but he was a great influence in Japanese history and how Japan is shaped today.