linguistic:translation
Policies

After conquering Owari and Mino, Nobunaga used the seal of Tenka Fubu (天下布武) to promote his vision with a view to unifying the country. "Tenkafubu" means "spreading military power throughout the world", and it is the idea of ruling the country peacefully, in other words, ending the Warring States period and restoring peace and order. He then put into action a plan for the economic development of the areas he controlled.

Starting with the matchlock gun, Nobunaga paved the way for unifying the country through a chain of innovations, from the development of military technology and new weapons, to the international supply chain for importing raw materials for ammunition, to the development of domestic distribution networks, to the way the territory was governed. Those innovations were supported by the financial resources obtained through his economic plans.

Oda Nobunaga is known for his implementation of a series of innovative policies, such as Rakuichi Rakuza (楽市楽座) and the abolition of the barrier system. Nobunaga knew that his grandfather and father had gained wealth from the water transportation of Ise Bay by taking control of Tsushima and Atsuta ports. He himself also promoted the commercialization of his territory by increasing the circulation of goods and money through the above policies. The funds to procure and operate the soldiers, guns, and other weapons that supported the unification of the country were also obtained through this.

Rakuichi Rakuza is an economic policy that aims to revitalize commerce by making it possible for anyone to do business anywhere. Rakuichi was to allow people to do business anywhere in the castle town, whereas previously they could only do business in designated areas. Rakuza does not recognize the privileges of a monopoly trade association called Za, and guarantees free business. At that time, samurai families controlled the farmlands and farmers, while temples, shrines, and court nobles controlled the commerce and distribution industry by controlling the Ichi (market) and Za (union). Nobunaga's promotion of raku-ichi raku-za was intended to deprive temples, shrines and court nobles of their privileges and allow the warrior class to dominate the territory in all areas.

Nobunaga abolished the barrier posts within his domain and allowed the free passage of goods. He also ordered the construction and improvement of roads and bridges of the Kinai region. He built bridges across inlets and rivers, chiseled out rocks to make steep roads more gradual, widened roads to three and a half meters, and planted pine trees and willows on both sides of them. Nobunaga developed not only land transportation, but also maritime transportation, including the waterways of Lake Biwa and the sea routes of Ise Bay and the Seto Inland Sea. These measures enabled not only the free passage of people but also the free transportation of goods, thus facilitating distribution. The development of logistics has brought benefits not only economically but also militarily, allowing soldiers and munitions to be delivered to the battlefield quickly and reliably. In general, Nobunaga thought in terms of "unifying factors", in the words of George Sansom.

The Sengoku Daimyō of the time did not change their strongholds, and had to return to their home after each battle, making it difficult for the Takeda, Uesugi, and other clans far from Kyoto to go to Kyoto. However, Nobunaga continued to move his stronghold as his territory expanded in order to control Kyoto, which was essential for unifying the country. He moved from one base to another, from Shobata, Kiyosu, Komakiyama, Gifu, and Azuchi, and his castle in Osaka, the diplomatic and economic center of East Asia, was under construction shortly before his death. He always based in the nodes of regional distribution and ensured the maintenance of public peace in the area, thereby promoting the development of the local economy and the concentration of capital in the cities.

Backed by his enormous economic power, Nobunaga overwhelmed his opponents by building stone-wall castles such as Komakiyama Castle and Azuchi Castle, which consumed more labor and financial resources than conventional castles, and by constructing economic cities (castle towns) connected to them. In other words, Nobunaga politically appealed his power throughout the country through civil engineering projects such as the construction of castles. Toyotomi Hideyoshi followed suit and built Ishigakiyama Castle and Osaka Castle.

Nobunaga implemented financial reforms that introduced a new monetary system. In 1569, the "Oda Nobunaga Eiroku 12 Law" was enacted, which is regarded by some as the beginning of early modern monetary policy in Japan. It was an epoch-making attempt to "increase the volume of money in circulation" and "prevent the inflow of bad money" at the same time. A fixed exchange rate system was introduced, and coins, which had been mixed in disorderly fashion, were clearly defined as standard coins and deteriorated coins. The Oda Clan's guarantee has given value to coins that were considered degraded coins in other regions, revived many coins that had been excluded from trade, and stabilised commercial transactions. At the same time, by differentiating the value of coins according to their exchange rate, the government prevented an excessive influx of deteriorated coins. Nobunaga also used gold and silver as currency to trade in high-value commodities. Nobunaga himself played a role in expanding the circulation of gold and silver by using gold and silver for purchases in Meibutsu-gari (名物狩り, lit. ' specialty hunting ').

One of the attainments of Nobunaga's government, which aimed to unify the country, was Oda Kenchi (織田検地, lit. ' Oda land survey '), which began in earnest in 1580, starting with the Kinai region. It is an administrative measure that requires the daimyō under his command to submit their harvest in the form of kokudaka figures. This was succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Taikō Kenchi (太閤検地, lit. ' Taikō land survey ').

When asked by the Emperor and the Muromachi Shogun to assume the post of Vice Shogun, and offered the post of kanrei, which was effectively the highest rank in samurai society, Nobunaga declined and instead requested permission to rule directly over three of Japan's largest distribution centres, Sakai (Izumi province), Kusatsu and Ōtsu (Ōmi Province). Sakai, an autonomous city, was enjoying its golden days as an international trading port, overflowing with goods, the latest science and technology, and information from East Asia and the West, despite the territorial expansion wars of the Sengoku Daimyōs.What Nobunaga sought from the merchants of Sakai was their enormous wealth, as well as their expertise in the Nanban trade and their own trade routes to obtain raw materials for guns and gunpowder. Nobunaga took Imai Sōkyū, an upstart merchant from Sakai, under his control. Imai established Japan's first comprehensive military industry and supported Nobunaga's unification of Japan by mass-producing guns and securing an exclusive trading route for the import of potassium nitrate, a raw material for gunpowder that was not produced in Japan. Tsuda Sōgyū, a key figure in Sakai's self-governing organization, also severed ties with Hongan-ji and submitted to Nobunaga. Nobunaga demanded a large amount of war funds from Sakai. Sakai merchants initially refused, but were persuaded by Sōkyū and Sōgyū to accept it. Thus, Nobunaga obtained Sakai without fighting. Imai Sōkyū, Tsuda Sōgyū, and Sen Sōeki (later Sen no Rikyu) were appointed as Nobunaga's tea masters and secured their positions as political merchants.

Nobunaga made personnel decisions based on ability and results, not titles. Until then, the family culture of warlords had been one of respecting family lineage and passing down positions from generation to generation, but Nobunaga made a major shift to a personnel system based on merit. It is known that Hashiba Hideyoshi came from a poor peasant background in Owari, while Akechi Mitsuhide came from a samurai background in Mino, but had spent a long time as a poor ronin. These two men caught up with and eventually overtook Nobunaga's old vassals, including Shibata Katsuie, Niwa Nagahide, Sakuma Nobumori, and others. Among the Oda vassals, Mitsuhide was the first to become the lord of one province and one castle, and the second was Hideyoshi. This was unthinkable for other Sengoku Daimyō.