Oda Tōhiro

織田寛広

Oda Clan

Bushō

Owari Province

Lifespan: 14xx to 15xx

Other Names:  Chiyo-yashamaru (childhood)

Rank:  bushō

Titles:  Assistant Director of the Bureau of Military Storehouses; Governor of Ise

Bakufu:  Muromachi (deputy military governor of the four upper districts of Owari)

Clan:  Iwakura-Oda (Ise-no-kami branch)

Lord:  Shiba Yoshitō

Father:  Oda Hirochika

Adoptive Father:  Oda Toshihiro

Siblings:  Tōhiro, Tsuda Takenaga, Hirotada, Hirotaka (adopted)

Oda Tōhiro served as a bushō during the late Muromachi and Sengoku periods.  As the head of the Ise-no-kami branch of the Oda family based in Iwakura Castle, Tōhiro was the deputy military governor of the four upper districts of Owari.  He held the titles of Assistant Director of the Bureau of Military Storehouses and the Governor of Ise.  Tōhiro was the lord of Iwakura Castle in Owari.

Tōhiro was born as the son of Oda Hirochika, the lord of Kinoshita Castle (later known as Inuyama Castle).  Later, Tōhiro was adopted by his uncle, Oda Toshihiro, the head of the Ise-no-kami branch of the Oda, the deputy military governors of Owari based in Iwakura Castle.

In the third month of 1481, he succeeded his adoptive father as head of the family and lord of Iwakura Castle.  With the exception of the Nakashima District, he established authority over the four upper districts of Owari in addition to a majority of the Kaisai and Yamada districts.  Thereafter, he received one of the characters from the name of his lord, Shiba Yoshitō, and adopted the name of Tōhiro.  In the seventh month of 1481, Tōhiro, together with his father, Oda Hirochika, sent a tribute to Shiba Yoshitō as their lord.  In the eighth month, Tōhiro, Hirochika, and Oda Toshisada (the head of the Yamato-no-kami branch of the Oda and deputy military governor of the four lower districts of Owari based in Kiyosu Castle), traveled to Kyōto to inform Ashikaga Yoshimasa (the eighth shōgun) of peace in Owari and to present him with an offering.  In 1487, he went to Kyōto and participated along with Toshisada under Shiba Yoshitō in an expedition led by Ashikaga Yoshihisa (the ninth shōgun) intended to subjugate Rokkaku Takayori of Ōmi Province, the first of two marches to Ōmi known as the Chōkyō-Entoku Expedition.

In 1494, a struggle arose within the Toki family of Mino to determine the successor to Toki Shigeyori, the head of the Toki clan and military governor of Mino.  This led to the Battle of Funada, Tōhiro aligned with Saitō Myōjun, the deputy military governor of Mino, in support of Toki Masafusa.  Oda Toshisada and Oda Tōsada (father and son) joined Ishimaru Toshimitsu in support of Toki Motoyori, but Tōhiro allied with the Saitō owing to a marital alliance with the Saitō clan from the era of his adoptive father.  In the sixth month of 1495, he joined as a reinforcement to the Saitō in battle against Toshisada and the others but lost.

In 1495, Tōhiro, together with his younger brother, Oda Tōchika (Tsuda Takenaga) attacked Ishimaru Toshimitsu.  On 4/10 of 1496, the two branches of the Oda clan suffered significant losses in battle against one another, so, through the mediation of Saitō Myōjun, Tōhiro temporarily reconciled with Oda Tōmura who had inherited the Yamato-no-kami branch from Oda Tōsada.  However, the two branches fought again.  On 5/10 of the same year, Tōhiro sent reinforcements to the Saitō again, and joined a siege of Kidaiji Castle (which was aligned with Toshimitsu) from behind.  After the battle, Toshimitsu and his son, Toshimoto, committed seppuku in exchange for a promise from Saitō Myōjun to spare the lives of Shigeyori and Bishadō (the son of Saitō Toshifuji).  This resulted in a devastating loss for the Yamato-no-kami branch of the Oda, but, on 12/7 of the same year, Myōjun was killed in Ōmi.  The loss of support from the Saitō led to a weakening of the Ise-no-kami branch of the Oda, and, from 1504, Tōhiro’s name disappears from historical records.  Around 1537, Tōhiro was succeeded by Oda Hirotaka, the son of his cousin, Oda Toshihiro.  Thereafter, Oda Nobuyasu rose to prominence as the deputy military governor of the Yamato-no-kami branch of the Oda.