Shinchō Kōki

[6] An English translation was published in 2011 by Brill in cooperation with the Netherlands Association for Japanese Studies under the title The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga.

[10] During the Edo period, Toyama Nobuharu(遠山信春) attempted to restore the Hoan-Shinchō-Ki to its correct content as much as possible, since it had been heavily embellished and was of very low quality.

Before the Honnō-ji Incident, he held the position of deputy of Namazumi in the Ōmi Province, and after Nobunaga's death he became secretary to Niwa Nagahide.

[2][4] Ōta Gyūichi was of a very penmanship nature and wrote down daily events in diaries and notes, which led to the compilation of the chronicle.

[1] One episode that illustrates Nobunaga's kind-hearted side is the Yamanaka no Saru (Japanese: 山中の猿, lit. '

As for the siege of Mount Hiei, the book describes the horrific scenes in a straightforward manner: Enryaku-jikonpon-chūdō and scriptures were burnt to the ground, and monks and non-monks, children, wise men and priests were decapitated.

Knowing Nobunaga's character, these women were too frightened to return to the castle and asked the elder to apologise to him.

However, partly because it was written by a contemporary of Nobunaga, Shinchō Kōki is treated as a primary source.

Also, in manuscripts, the transcribers sometimes made mistakes, intentionally rewritten or added things that were not written down.

Nevertheless, it is evaluated among researchers that its credibility stands out from other war chronicles, and it is rated in line with primary historical sources.

[1][2] Oze Hoan, a Confucian scholar of the Edo period, wrote a war chronicle called Hoan Shinchō Ki (甫庵信長記) based on Shinchō Kōki (信長公記), adding other anecdotes passed down in the public.

However, it was accepted by the masses because it was novelistic, written in an amusing manner, with Hoan's subjectivity and Confucian philosophy.

For reasons unknown, its publication as a printed book was prohibited by the Edo Shogunate and it only spread in manuscript form.

And even after the Meiji era, many people, including historians, have talked about Nobunaga until recently based on the knowledge of Hoan Shinchō Ki, which is different from historical facts.