Viewing Single Post From: Sengoku Jidai Database

Viewing Single Post From: Sengoku Jidai Database
BlackKite	Apr 11 2006, 05:26 AM
東方星蓮船 ~ Undefined Fantastic Object. Posts: 4,023 Group: Admins Member #38 Joined: August 26, 2005 Gender Male	森蘭丸 Mori Ranmaru 1565 - 1582 Also known as 森長定 Mori Nagasada, Ranmaru was the 3rd son of 森可成 Mori Yoshinari and was born in Mino province. Ranmaru was particularly known for being very handsome, even as a young child. He was also famous for having a very close relationship with his liege Oda Nobunaga. Today some sources say that Ranmaru and Nobunaga might have had sexual relations as well, although there is no actual evidence of this. Despite the fact that Nobunaga did have a wife and at least two recorded concubines, there was a strong bisexual tradition in Japan during the times when Ranmaru lived and it is possible that Ranmaru did have some sort of an illicit relationship with Nobunaga, albeit unlikely. Ranmaru was very young when his father Yoshinari first showed him to Nobunaga. Nobunaga took an instant liking to the boy and made Ranmaru a page under him (a page is a lot like the equivalent of being a European squire). In addition to being expected to serve as a bodyguard for Nobunaga, Ranmaru also needed to attend to him and to do tasks like fetching his horse. And besides staying close to Nobunaga during peacetime and doing various chores, Ranmaru also protected his lord in battle. Ranmaru continued to serve as a page under Nobunaga throughout his entire life, even when he was in his teens and could have become a fully-fledged samurai. This was mostly because Nobunaga greatly liked Ranmaru and thought that he was extremely reliable. After his father Yoshinari died and his mother became a Buddhist monk, Ranmaru’s brothers went to Ranmaru to become pages under Nobunaga themselves. Nobunaga cared for them and even rewarded Ranmaru a small fief at Oumi. Following Takeda Katsuyori's death, Ranmaru was given Iwamura Castle in his native province and the title ‘Lord of Iwamura.’ Ranmaru continued to serve Nobunaga until it seemed as if Nobunaga would finally unite Japan. Before that happened however, in 1582 Nobunaga was betrayed by his own vassal Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga was staying at Honnou-Ji with only a few troops versus several thousand belonging to Mitsuhide when Mitsuhide attacked. While Ranmaru was said to have fought bravely against the Akechi hordes sent against him, he and his younger brothers, Nagataka and Nagauji, were eventually slain in battle. Ranmaru was just seventeen years old when he perished defending Nobunaga. Sengoku Musou (1,2), Sengoku Basara (1,2)


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