There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free.

Listen with Wundry Plus in the Wundry app.

As a member of Noiser Plus at Noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts,

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at into History.com. It's early morning on June 21st, 1882, inside the Honogee Temple in Kyoto, the capital of Japan. Heavy rain falls on the city as Oda Nobunaga, a powerful

feudal lord, sits cross-legged on the matted floor of his room. Alongside the 47-year-old Nobunaga are a handful of his closest

aides. The men eat breakfast, laughing and joking as they remember their recent

exploits on the battlefield. It's a time of upheaval in Japan

with traditional power structures turned on their head. Once the most powerful man in

the country was the Shogun, a type of military dictator.

But in recent years, the Shogun has become little more than a puppet.

His influence has been usurped by the rise of feudal lords known as DiMyo,

and none of these is more powerful than Oda Nobunaga.

He already controls over half the country and his armies are on the march against his remaining

rivals.

Now Nobunaga has come to Kyoto for a period of rest before he returns

to the front line, but his relaxing stay is soon interrupted. The men in the temple are instantly alert as the sound of battle

shatters the quiet morning. Breakfast is forgotten as Nobunaga leaps up,

instructing his men to find their weapons. They're only wearing loose robes, but there's no time to dawn their armor.

Taking a bow and arrow, Nobunaga hurries through the dark corridors of the temple toward the sound of the fighting.

He and his aid soon emerged

onto a terrace overlooking the gardens. A swarm of heavily armed soldiers has pushed

through the temple gates and is overwhelming the few guards on duty.

...