Legendary warrior and ruler, who also distinguished himself in politics, economics, religion and cultural pursuits. Nobunaga Oda was the eldest son of Nobuhide Oda, a noble samurai during the "Age of Warring States," when there was much conflict between rival warlords throughout Japan. At the age of 26, Nobunaga led an attack party of 3000 cavalry on the forces of opposing General Yoshimoto Imagawa and his army of 40,000. Surprising the larger forces, who were planning an attack on Kyoto, Oda won a resounding victory, killing Imagawa in the process and ending his dream of conquering all of Japan. In 1561, Oda formed an alliance with Ieyasu Tokugawa, with whom he collaborated in order to unite Japan. He had the foresight to manufacture great quantities of guns, which had only recently been introduced from Europe. He formed a rifle brigade to neutralize his opponents' heavy armor. A tactical genius, Nobunaga brought about a complete change in local methods of warfare. He was eventually appointed Minister of the Right, one of the two highest ministerial ranks. Just as he was about to complete his plan of unifying Japan through conquest, he was attacked unexpectedly by Mitsuhide Akechi, one of his subordinates, whose forces ambushed him and his son Nobutada while they were staying at the Honnoji Temple during a visit to Kyoto. Rather than surrender to his traitor general, Nobunaga, as well as his son, took their own lives as the temple burned. It is reported that priests quietly gathered their ashes and enshrined them in the Amidaji Temple. In addition to his military exploits, Nobunaga permitted the practice of Christianity and tried to develop local economies by improving badly kept roads and abolishing barriers between provinces. The graves of Nobunaga and Nobutade and those of more than 120 supporters are located within the temple grounds. "Nobunaga Ki," a memorial service in his honor is held for him annually on June 2 at the rebuilt Honnoji Temple. The Kenkun Jinja(Shrine) was founded in 1869 by the Meiji Emperor to extol his exploits. The Funaoka Matsuri(Festival) is held there each October 19, to commemorate the day Nobunaga entered Kyoto, aiming to end a century of strife It is thought that some of Nobunaga's ashes have been divided and enshrined at each of the sites.