Q 01/05

Which animal's name did Oda Nobunaga give as a nickname to his slightly built general Toyotomi Hideyoshi?

A) Fox

B) Badger

C) Monkey

D) Boar

Answer · why

C) Monkey

Monkey, or Saru, was Nobunaga's unflattering name for the low-born retainer who would finish his master's work and rule all Japan.

Q 02/05

In a saying about Japan's three unifiers, which bird does the patient Tokugawa Ieyasu wait to hear sing?

A) Cuckoo

B) Bush warbler

C) Skylark

D) Sparrow

Answer · why

A) Cuckoo

Cuckoo is the bird in all three versions: Oda Nobunaga kills it for staying silent, Toyotomi Hideyoshi makes it sing, and Ieyasu simply waits.

Q 03/05

Which man of African origin reached Japan with an Italian Jesuit in 1579 and went on to serve Oda Nobunaga?

A) Anjiro

B) Sasuke

C) Goemon

D) Yasuke

Answer · why

D) Yasuke

Yasuke was given a sword, a house and a stipend, and he fought beside his lord's heir on the day Nobunaga died in 1582.

Q 04/05

Which general turned on Oda Nobunaga at Honno-ji temple in 1582, only to fall at Yamazaki days later?

A) Shibata Katsuie

B) Akechi Mitsuhide

C) Araki Murashige

D) Matsunaga Hisahide

Answer · why

B) Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide held power for less than two weeks, and why he betrayed his lord remains one of Japanese history's great mysteries.

Q 05/05

Which battle of 1600 turned when Kobayakawa Hideaki switched sides, opening Tokugawa Ieyasu's path to rule Japan?

A) Sekigahara

B) Shizugatake

C) Anegawa

D) Tedorigawa

Answer · why

A) Sekigahara

Sekigahara was decided in a single day, and within three years its winner was shogun, founding a line that ruled Japan for two and a half centuries.