[2][4] At that time, it was common for women's real names (imina) not to be made public, and it was normal for them to be addressed as 'Place of birth or Parental residence' + 'Dono (殿) or Hime (姫) or Kata (方)'.

[3][7] The name 'Nōhime' became popular as a result of its appearance in the Edo period's books Ehon Taikōki and Bushō Kanjōki.

The theory that tends to be adopted in historical fictions is that the marriage took place in the spring of 1549, when Nobunaga was 16 and Nōhime was 15 (both according to East Asian age reckoning).

Nobunaga began to repeatedly slip out of their bedchamber every night and return a short time later, and when Nōhime questioned him, suspecting an affair, he replied, "I have set up a plot against the retainers of the Saitō clan to cause them to rebel, and I'm waiting for the smoke signal to announce that they have defeated Dōsan".

The following is from Minonokuni Shokyūki,[a] so it cannot all be taken on faith, but it is said that Dōsan attempted to conclude a peace on the condition that Oda Nobuhide and Asakura Takakage would each marry his daughter.

Dōsan, sensing this move, took the initiative and attacked, resulting in Yorinori fleeing to the Echizen Province and Yorizumi's death.

[1][6] Meanwhile, Dōsan fought Nobuhide several times between 1547 and 1548 but was unable to reach a settlement, and a political marriage of several years earlier was rehashed in order to make peace.

Nobuhide had been on the losing end of a series of battles with Dōsan and was also beginning an all-out confrontation with Imagawa Yoshimoto, which had him on the ropes.

According to Minonokuni Shokyūki,[a] Nobuhide, who was prone to illness, needed Nobunaga's backing amidst the ongoing strife between the Oda clans, and urged Dōsan to fulfil his pledge.

[3] According to Shincho Kōki, Hirate Masahide, who was Nobunaga's Moriyaku (Guardian), brokered a truce and the two were to marry.

[9] The theory is that she died soon after her marriage for some reason, such as illness, because there is no information about her in historical documents describing official events of the Oda clan, which she should have attended as a legal wife.

[3][9] There is a theory that Nōhime was divorced in 1557 when Nobunaga's concubine Kitsuno became pregnant with Nobutada, the heir of him, and was sent back to her mother's family home, Akechi Castle.

However, this is considered unlikely, as it is unlikely that a legal wife would be sent back to her parental home because she was unable to have children in an era when having side wives was permitted.

Historical creations have often depicted scenes of Nōhime wielding a naginata sword alongside Nobunaga against enemy soldiers, but there is no evidence of this.

Yamashina introduces this as a story he heard directly from one of the leading samurai during his stay at Gifu Castle, so it is highly credible.

In 2016, excavations at the site of Nobunaga's residence actually revealed fragments of gold leaf tiles and garden remains.

[2][11] There is no record of Nōhime in Azuchi Castle, and the role of Nobunaga's legal wife was played by his concubine Onabe no Kata.

After the Honnō-ji Incident, it was also Onabe no Kata who fulfilled the duty of legal wife to pray for the repose of Nobunaga's soul.

[2] However, there are descriptions of women with appellations for legal wives such as Kita no kata (北の方) and Midai (御台) who were among those fled to Hino Castle of the Gamō clan, where Nobunaga's daughter Fuyuhime married, at the time of the Honnō-ji Incident.