Oyakata said:
In general, I always take the point of view that it's pretty dicey to analyze what is a historical person's intention. Unless we have primary sources, it's basically conjecture and interpretation.... But the problem is when it becomes the basis for further conclusions - or worse, arguments & disagreements.
This is one of the reasons Alexander the Great is so enigmatic.
I don't think any of us can really say - or disagree with someone else who says - what Nobunaga's intentions for Asia were.
Well, he spearheaded military reform, for one thing. Especially along more Western lines. The use of muskets, massed volleys, and other firearms techniques were not only adopted from the Europeans, but in some areas greatly improved upon (like waxed paper covers allowing their matchlock muskets to fire in the rain).
Oda Nobunaga's armies in the field wouldn't just outnumber, but probably also outfight and outmanuever the combined armies of the English Civil War, around the same time period.
If this doesn't encourage some that he intended to modernize Japan, I'm not sure what will. However, nobody can really say what he intended for Asia or any of his other neighbors. I, personally, think he wanted to modernize Japan and jump into the global milieu with the Europeans. I figure he thought there was no reason Japan couldn't be doing all the travel, trade, and exploration they were.
Then again, this isn't my area of expertise, so much of the information I have about the Sengoku Jidai is mostly broad generalizations with only a few finer details.
You basically see this evil bad guy portfolio in a fwe computer games and anime shows/movies, as GodEmperorLeto refers to. In general - and certainly in serious history - Nobunaga is not portrayed in that kind of light.
You can see how he is popularly viewed even through a popular poem (which I'll probably botch):
Oda Nobunaga says, "If the bird doesn't sing, I'll kill it."
Toyotomi Hideyoshi says, "If the bird doesn't sing, I'll make it."
Tokugawa Ieyasu says, "If the bird doesn't sing, I'll wait until it sings."
Anyway, most of what I know about him is through Western historians, and there are almost no English translations of the Japanese accounts of the Sengoku Jidai. It's easier to find translated copies of Linear B tablets from 1200 BC than them.
caster51 said:
however I think the origin of japanese culture was made at edo era because of national isolation
Interesting that you mention that. I'd argue that the concepts of bushido and wa became much more ingrained into the Japanese mindset because of the Tokugawa shogunate.