Mori Yoshinari

Mori Yoshinari (1523-1570) was a senior retainer of Oda Nobunaga and father of Mori Nagayoshi, nicknamed "Demon Musashi." He was a fierce warrior praised by Nobunaga as "the foremost in martial valor of this age," and served as vanguard in many battles while commanding Nobunaga's personal guard. His third son, Mori Ranmaru, is known as Nobunaga's page.

Yoshinari began serving Nobunaga around 1552 and participated in major campaigns including the Battle of Okehazama (1560) and the Battle of Ino. He accumulated military achievements through a series of campaigns from Nobunaga's unification of Owari through the conquest of Mino, and was appointed lord of Usayama Castle (Omi Province, present-day Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture).

In 1570, when Asakura Yoshikage of Echizen and Asai Nagamasa of Omi joined forces against Nobunaga, Yoshinari found himself defending Usayama Castle. In September of that year, he engaged the combined Asakura-Asai forces at Sakamoto (present-day Otsu City) in the Battle of Usayama Castle, and died heroically in battle, outnumbered and overwhelmed. His death is said to have greatly grieved Nobunaga.

Regarding his connection to swords, as a senior retainer of the Oda clan, Yoshinari is thought to have possessed the finest blades of his era. At the center of the Oda clan's sword culture, which included famous blades collected by Nobunaga, Yoshinari was both a practical swordsman and an appreciator of fine blades. Just as his son Ranmaru was beloved as "Nobunaga's treasure," the Mori family played an important role in the Oda clan's sword culture.