, also known as was a Japanese woman from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. She was the daughter of Saitō Dōsan, a Sengoku Daimyō of the Mino Province, and the lawful wife of Oda Nobunaga, a Sengoku Daimyō of the Owari Province.
Profile
There are very few reliable historical documents about Nōhime, and little is known about her real identity. Shinchō Kōki, which is considered to be of historical value, contains only a brief description of her marriage, after which her name does not appear at all.
The exact dates of her birth and death are unknown, and Minonokuni Shokyūki states that she was born in 1535.
While the first half of her life can be traced to some extent, the second half of her life is not known, nor is the date of her death, her family temple or her commandments, and various theories are mixed up.
The name 'Nōhime' became popular as a result of its appearance in the Edo period's books Ehon Taikōki and Bushō Kanjōki. This was only a later name meaning "Noble Lady of ". She is sometimes referred to as .
Marriage to Nobunaga
thumb|left|[[Oda Nobunaga]]
It is not actually known when she married Nobunaga, nor is it known whether the couple were on good terms or not. As far as reliable documents show, it seems that she had no children with Nobunaga.
Anecdotes
There are several well-known anecdotes about Nōhime in the Edo period's Ehon Taikōki and Bushō Kanjōki. The first story is when Nōhime was to marry into the Oda clan. Dōsan handed her a kaiken and told her: 'If Nobunaga is as big a fool as rumoured, stab him to death with that dagger'. Then Nōhime replied: 'I understand. But maybe then this blade will be pointed at you'. The next story is about a year after they were married. Nobunaga began to repeatedly slip out of their bedchamber every night and return a short time later, and when Nōhime questioned him, suspecting an affair, he replied, "I have set up a plot against the retainers of the Saitō clan to cause them to rebel, and I'm waiting for the smoke signal to announce that they have defeated Dōsan". Nōhime was surprised and informed her father about it, and Dōsan killed the retainers whose names were on the letter. But this was Nobunaga's ruse to get Dōsan to kill his retainers. However, all of these are merely Edo period fictions born from the image of the 'daughter of Dōsan the pit viper'.
There is no record of Nōhime in Azuchi Castle, and the role of Nobunaga's legal wife was played by his concubine Onabe no Kata. After the Honnō-ji Incident, it was also Onabe no Kata who fulfilled the duty of legal wife to pray for the repose of Nobunaga's soul.
In fiction
- In the Samurai Warriors franchise, she is portrayed as a sultry and deadly woman who fights using assassin weapons and bombs. Her relationship with Nobunaga is portrayed as a toxic love, with her always trying to kill her husband and Nobunaga considering it a fun game. However, their relationship tends to change based on the game.
- In the Sengoku Basara game and anime series, she is depicted as a beautiful and elegant woman who is loyal to her husband, with matchlock pistols, jackhammers and guns as weapons.
- In the game Nioh, she appears as a yuki-onna. She was resurrected by the main antagonist and was killed in one-on-one battle with the main protagonist after he is dispatched to Honnō-ji temple to solve mystery behind the snow that appeared out of nowhere in middle of June. In the fight, she uses ice magic and naginata made out of ice. She reappears in the prequel Nioh 2 as the half-sister of the main protagonist Hide, and ends up dying in the Honnō-ji incident alongside her husband Nobunaga.