igo, Etchu, and Noto; Mori Motonari
after a severe contest had obtained control of almost all the sixteen
provinces which composed the Chugoku or central country; the island of
Kyushu had been the scene of frequent civil wars and was now divided
between the houses of Shimazu of Satsuma, Otomo of Bungo, and Ryozoji of
Hizen; and finally the island of Shikoku was under the control of
Chosokabe Motochika.(151) Besides these principal rulers, there were many
smaller holders who occupied fiefs subordinate to the great lords, and
paid for their protection and their suzerainty in tribute and military
service. In the letters of the Jesuit missionaries of this period the
great lords are denominated _kings_, but neither according to the theory
of the Japanese government, nor the actual condition of these rulers can
the name be considered appropriate. The term daimyo(152) came into its
full and modern use only when Ieyasu reorganized and consolidated the
feudal system of the empire. But even at the period of Nobunaga the name
was employed to indicate the owners of land. We prefer to continue down to
the time of the Tokugawa shoguns the use of the terms _prince_ and
_principality_ for the semi-independent rulers and their territories.

The holdings which Ota Nobunaga inherited from his father consisted only
of four small properties in the province of Owari. Acting according to the
fashion of the times he gradually extended his authority, until by A.D.
1559 we find him supreme in Owari with his chief castle at Kiyosu near to
the city of Nagoya. His leading retainers and generals were Shibata
Genroku and Sakuma Yemon, to whom must be added Hideyoshi,(153) who
gradually and rapidly rose from obscurity to be the main reliance of his
prince. Nobunaga was a skilful general, and whenever an interval occurred
in his expeditions against his hostile neighbors he employed the time in
carefully drilling his troops, and preparing them for their next
movements. He found in Hideyoshi an incomparable strategist, whose plans,
artifices, and intrigues were original and effective, and were worth more
to his master than thousands of troops.

It was not difficult in those days to find excuses to invade neighboring
domains, and hence we find Nobunaga, as soon as he had made himself master
of Owari, on one pretext or another making himself also master of the
provinces of Mino, Omi, and Ise. Before this was accomplished, however, we
see plain indications