Nobuo was the second son of Oda Nobunaga. He was adopted into the Kitabatake family following the submission of that family to the Oda in 1569 and assumed leadership in 1576. He ordered the 1st (unsuccessful) Invasion of Iga in 1579 and led around 10,000 men in the 2nd Invasion after being rebuked by his father for his lack of sense. Nobunaga had intended to send him against Shikoku (as a surviving letter indicates) but was killed before this could occur (1582). Following the Kiyosu Conference, Nobuo received much of Owari as well as Ise. His claim to his father's position was supported in 1584 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and as a result the Komaki Campaign was conducted, for the most part in Owari. Nobuo felt compelled to make a separate peace with Hideyoshi by the end of the year and as a result was allowed to retain some of his lands in Owari and went on to lead troops under Hideyoshi's standard during the 1590 Odawara Campaign. He recieved the title Chûnagon in 1585.
- Initial text from Samurai-Archives.com FWSeal & CEWest, 2005