Additional Background on the Oda clan
In the Muromachi Era ( 1392 - 1573 ), the vassals in many fiefs began to amass the power to overthrow their masters. These aggressive men became the powerful daimyos in the period of Civil War known as the Sengoku Jidai. The head of the powerful Oda clan was a high official serving Lord Shiba became so involved in affairs in the capital at Kyoto that he delegated the administration of the Owari fief to the Oda clan sometime in the Oei Era ( 1394 - 1428 ). When the Oda clan settled-in to rule the province, the family split into two branches headed by brothers, the younger of which ( Toshisada ) became the head of the dominant family. Toshisada had four sons of whom the second became a priest, taking the name of Daiun ( and later became the first abbot of Bansho-ji ). The fourth son became the new head of the dominant branch of the family and the father of Nobuhide; the founder of Bansho-ji. Nobuhide was a courageous, handsome, stocky man with a tolerant outlook on life.

The question arises as to whether Oda Nobuhide had the same ambition to try to unify Japan as did many other powerful warlords. When Nobuhide succeeded his father Nobusada as lord of the Owari fief with headquarters in Katsubata Castle, the area was sparsely settled with just few villages in the community. To the east, the Imagawa clan ruled Totomi fief with hegemony over Mikawa fief ( in eastern Aichi Prefecture ). At the time, the head of the Imagawa clan, Lord Yoshimoto, had serious intentions of unifying Japan with Owari as the initial objective. To the north, Saito Dosan ( The Viper) was busy pacifying Mino fief ( Gifu Prefecture ). The talented and courageous Lord Nobuhide began the pacification of Owari by establishing himself as the head of the Oda clan, whose two branches had engaged in endless bickering. Then in 1525 he appropriated Nagoya Castle ( the site of the future Nagoya Castle) which was once owned by the Imagawa clan. Nobunaga was born there in 1534, the first son and heir of Nobuhide. Nagoya Castle was given over to Nobunaga (1542) and Nobuhide built a new castle at Furuwatari ( now called Higashi Betsuin) on the road to Atsuta. Lord Nobuhide gradually acquired a reputation as a man of strength and purpose and the discord in the Oda clan subsided.

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His Relations with Lord Dosan of Mino
After he had pacified Mino, Lord Saito Dosan put Lord Nobuhide to a serious test of arms. They had fought border skirmishes from time to time, but in 1547, Dosan meant business. Nobuhide counter-attacked with such zeal that he drove the Dosan forces back almost to their mountain redoubt at Inabayama Castle ( now Gifu Castle on Kinkazan mountain). However, both warlords had left their rear areas unprotected so that Dosan was threatened by the Asakura clan and Nobuhide was open to attack from the east by the Imagawa clan. They finally decided that safety lie in peaceful coexistence, so in 1548 they made a pact and cemented it with a political marriage between Nobunaga ( age 15 ) and No-hime ( Dosan's 14-year-old daughter ). The young couple lived in Nagoya Castle until 1555. Nobuhide, after settling the terms of peace with Dosan, turned to strengthen his defenses against incursions by the Imagawa clan from the east by constructing a fortress at Suemori on the east side of Nagoya. Nobuhid moved to Suemori Castle and lived there until he died of sickness on March 3, 1552, at age 42.
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Construction of Bansho-ji (Temple) in 1540
Nobuhide built Bansho-ji in 1540 while residing in Furuwatari Castle. As previously mentioned, he was a devout Buddhist and had long dreamed of building temple some day. He and his spiritual mentor, Daiun, surveyed the area for a suitable site, and while they were taking the measurements of a likely plot, a tortoise appeared and ambled across their field of view. Nobuhide related the scene to one he had seen in a vivid dream and made his decision. He built the temple there and, at the age of 31, founded Bansho-ji, establishing a family burial plot in the adjoining cemetery and dedicating it to the Eleven-Faced Kannon (Goddess of Mercy).
The pricincts of Bansho-ji at the late Edo era (from Owari Meisho Zue)
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