The inspiration behind Koei's classic turn-based strategy game Nobunaga's Ambition lives on, as Nobunaga Oda's 17th descendant takes to the ice in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Nobunaga Oda was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the rule of the Shogun in the late sixteenth century. 23-year-old Nobunari Oda, Nobunaga's 17th descendant, is a Japanese figure skater living in Hackensack, New Jersey, who missed the 2007-08 season due to a DUI. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? At least when the apple's branch isn't several hundred years removed from the trunk.
It's interesting to note that the NBC presented the trivial tie-in during the skater's introduction last night. "He is the 17th descendant of Nobunaga Oda (1534-1582), the famous Japanese warlord during the age of the civil war and inspiration for the Super Nintendo video game series, Nobunaga's Ambition."
Far from a Super Nintendo series, the Nobunaga franchise has appeared on at least fourteen different platforms, but who's counting? Oh yeah, we are.
Nobunari Oda Profile [NBC Olympics - Thanks Mark!]