Oda Nobutada was the eldest son and heir of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) and ruled Gifu Castle from 1576 to 1582. Nobutada had become a skilled general after serving his father in many major campaigns, and he went on to lead armies in a number of battles on his own. He was responsible for defeating the powerful rival Takeda clan during the siege of Iwamura Castle in 1575. He also led the sieges of Shigisan Castle (1577) and Takato Castle (1582) against the Takeda. As part of a peace negotiation between the Oda and the Takeda clans in 1567, Nobutada was engaged to be wed to Princess Matsu (1561–1616), a daughter of Takeda Shingen (1521–1573).
The Oda-Takeda peace agreement was broken by Shingen five years later in 1582 when he and his forces invaded neighboring Mikawa, then held by Oda’s ally Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616). During the ensuing warfare, while Nobunaga was staying at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto and Nobutada was with his troops in Nijo Castle, Nobunaga’s trusted general Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–1582) betrayed and attacked him. Having killed Nobunaga, Akechi and his men turned their attention to his son Nobutada at Nijo Castle. Surrounded, Nobutada committed ritual suicide (seppuku)). Like his father, his head was never found.