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This thread is intended to discuss a scenario in which Oda Nobunaga manages to unify Japan. IOTL he had most of Honshu under his control by the time he died, so all he needs is the north plus Kyushu.

Now, as I am by no means an expert on the history of Sengoku period Japan (I try to read about it, but most of the times I end up feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amounts of daimyos and clans I have to consider) I don't know for sure what would be required in order for that to happen. Clearly, Nobunaga not dying would be a start, but I'm unsure if we would need something else to happen after that, or even an earlier PoD, to ensure that he finishes his conquest of the country. As far as I know, he seemed to be in the right track, though.

Anyway, you're obviously free to discuss the specifics of how Nobunaga would attain his objectives, but I would like this thread to focus more on discussing how Japan would develop like under the rule of the Oda clan. Althought I called this an "Oda Shogunate" in the title, I am perfectly aware that Nobunaga might not have taken the title of Shogun. IOTL Tokugawa did it, but Hideyoshi didn't. I always thought that this was because Hideyoshi had no clan of his own, and as such felt he could have a firmer grip on power if he just monopolized imperial court positions for himself and his family. Now, unlike him, Nobunaga had a clan, and as such he could probably start a shogunate, but on the other hand he was already styling himself as "Minister of the Right" by the time that he died, so maybe he was aiming for a Fujiwara-styled regime instead of a Shogunate. But the Fujiwaras were shoguns in all but name, and so would be the Odas.

So, regardless of the specifics (which, once again, you are still free to discuss), the main question remains: how would Japan develop like under the rule of Nobunaga and his successors (presumably starting with Oda Nobutada)?

I've seen some people here in the forum claiming that, as Hideyoshi and Tokugawa were both allies of Nobunaga while he was alive, we can just assume that things would be exactly the same under Oda rule as they were under Toyotomi rule followed by the Tokugawa shogunate. I don't think this view makes any sense at all. Nobunaga differed from Hideyoshi and Tokugawa in many ways. So maybe a good way of kickstarting this debate is by listing some of the distinctive aspects of his rule:
  1. Militairy modernization. Nobunaga had relatively little regard for samurai traditions, and instituted sweeping chances on the Japanese way of waging war. Even before Nobunaga himself became head of the clan, the Odas were already known for relying on ashigarus (infantry soldiers who were not members of the aristocracy) more than on samurai. Nobunaga srtenghened the ashigarus by instituting conscription and turning them into specialized army units. He also pioneered the use of fireweapons bought from the Portuguese, improved ship and artillery technology and introduced new militairy tactics based on mass movements of infantry. Under him, he certaily wouldn't have had Hideyoshi's law forbidind non-samurai from owning weapons.
  2. Free trade. Nobunaga dismantled trade monopolies and forced previoously closed unions and guilds to open up. He also sought to foster trade with Europeans countries (mostly Portugal and Spain at the time) and was very interested in european technology and culture. I think that an Oda Japan almost sure means a much more open and outward looking Japan.
  3. Support for Christianity. Althought Nobunaga was not a christian, and I tend to agree with those who claim that he would never convert, he was supportive of christianity for political reasons, mostly because he saw the introduction of a new religion as a way to counter the influence of Buddhist priest, many of whom opposed his rule. So, while an Oda shogunate soesn't equal a chirstian Japan, it is certainly good news for the japanse christians.
Anyway, as I said I'm not an expert. This period of Japanese history is very complex, and I may very well be wrong, but these are my thoughts on the matter. What are yours?
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