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Culturally Nobunaga was also active. An avid student of the tea ceremony and poetry (if not an exceptional poet) he collected tea items from near and far, and held tea and poetry gatherings with such learned and cultured men as [[Hosokawa Fujitaka]], [[Imai Sokyu]], and [[Sen no Rikyu]]. In the same vein he encouraged the giving of tea items and other objects as a reward for exceptional service, as opposed to the traditional grant of land, and the reward of a tea item from Nobunaga's hand was felt to be an exceptional honor.

Culturally Nobunaga was also active. An avid student of the tea ceremony and poetry (if not an exceptional poet) he collected tea items from near and far, and held tea and poetry gatherings with such learned and cultured men as [[Hosokawa Fujitaka]], [[Imai Sokyu]], and [[Sen no Rikyu]]. In the same vein he encouraged the giving of tea items and other objects as a reward for exceptional service, as opposed to the traditional grant of land, and the reward of a tea item from Nobunaga's hand was felt to be an exceptional honor.

Westerners fascinated Nobunaga and he showed a high degree of tolerance for their activities, to the extent that he is sometimes referred to mistakenly as a Christian. The chances that Nobunaga had any intention of converting are probably nonexistent.  However, Nobunaga was indeed very hospitable towards his European callers.  They provided him with some of the novelties and artifacts he habitually collected and almost certainly added to his sense of power-the Jesuits tended to see Nobunaga as the real ruler of Japan, a distinction he could not have but enjoyed.  Additionally, they acted as a foil to his Buddhist enemies, if only to increase their frustration. Much has always been made in western works of Nobunaga's relationship with the Jesuits.  it is possible, however, that he saw them as merely useful and somewhat amusing diversions.  Yet it seems unlikely that Nobunaga would have trivialized the connection they afforded him with the outside world, especially as an alternative to China.  Far more important to Nobunaga were his own retainers, and yet he does not come across as a particularly trustworthy leader. Few if any samurai entered his inner circle of top retainers after 1568. Even those top men he did employ were moved about from place to place, and often treated with at least some modicum of coldness. In 1580, after the fall of the [[Ishiyama Honganji]], Nobunaga summarily dismissed and allowed the death in exile one of his oldest retainers, [[Sakuma Nobumori]], for alleged incompetence of command. He is recorded as teasing Hideyoshi with the nickname 'Saru', or Monkey, and deriding Akechi Mitsuhide for his poetic ability (actually considered rather good) and his hairline. There are other, more outrageous recordings, but, as always in Sengoku tales, it is sometimes difficult to discern where truth ends and hyperbole begins. For all that, it is likely that Nobunaga would not have been nearly as successful as he was had he been afraid to delegate. Shibata Katsuie, for instance, was dispatched to subdue the Hokuriku and with a few notable exceptions, Nobunaga left him to it for the better part of a decade. When Nobunaga decided to launch a campaign into the Chugoku region, he sent Hideyoshi and Akechi to lead the armies, never once commanding troops there himself.  

Westerners fascinated Nobunaga and he showed a high degree of tolerance for their activities, to the extent that he is sometimes referred to mistakenly as a Christian. The chances that Nobunaga had any intention of converting are probably nonexistent.  However, Nobunaga was indeed very hospitable towards his European callers.  They provided him with some of the novelties and artifacts he habitually collected and almost certainly added to his sense of power-the Jesuits tended to see Nobunaga as the real ruler of Japan, a distinction he could not have but enjoyed.  Additionally, they acted as a foil to his Buddhist enemies, if only to increase their frustration. Much has always been made in western works of Nobunaga's relationship with the Jesuits.  it is possible, however, that he saw them as merely useful and somewhat amusing diversions.  Yet it seems unlikely that Nobunaga would have trivialized the connection they afforded him with the outside world, especially as an alternative to China.  Far more important to Nobunaga were his own retainers, and yet he does not come across as a particularly trustworthy leader. Few if any samurai entered his inner circle of top retainers after 1568. Even those top men he did employ were moved about from place to place, and often treated with at least some modicum of coldness. In 1580, after the fall of the [[Ishiyama Honganji]], Nobunaga summarily dismissed and allowed the death in exile one of his oldest retainers, [[Sakuma Nobumori]], for alleged incompetence of command. He is recorded as teasing Hideyoshi with the nickname 'Saru', or Monkey, and deriding [[Akechi Mitsuhide]] for his poetic ability (actually considered rather good) and his hairline. There are other, more outrageous recordings, but, as always in Sengoku tales, it is sometimes difficult to discern where truth ends and hyperbole begins. For all that, it is likely that Nobunaga would not have been nearly as successful as he was had he been afraid to delegate. Shibata Katsuie, for instance, was dispatched to subdue the Hokuriku and with a few notable exceptions, Nobunaga left him to it for the better part of a decade. When Nobunaga decided to launch a campaign into the Chugoku region, he sent Hideyoshi and Akechi to lead the armies, never once commanding troops there himself.  

In [[1578]] [[Azuchi castle]] was completed in Omi province and stood as the most impressive castle ever built in Japan. Lavishly decorated and immensely expensive, Azuchi was meant not so much for defense but as a way of clearly illustrating his power to the nation. He went to great lengths to draw merchants and citizens to Azuchi's accompanying town, and probably saw it becoming the long-term capital of the Oda hegemony - in whatever form it took.  

In [[1578]] [[Azuchi castle]] was completed in Omi province and stood as the most impressive castle ever built in Japan. Lavishly decorated and immensely expensive, Azuchi was meant not so much for defense but as a way of clearly illustrating his power to the nation. He went to great lengths to draw merchants and citizens to Azuchi's accompanying town, and probably saw it becoming the long-term capital of the Oda hegemony - in whatever form it took.