Amari Nobunaga

was a young samurai, and a member of the Takeda clan.

History
Amari Nobunaga is first introduced when his pet monkey Hiyoshimaru steals Kagome Higurashi's clothes while she is swimming in a lake, though Nobunaga had really sent his pet monkey out to find food. Nobunaga shows his clumsiness when he walks straight off of a shallow cliff, smashing into the ground below.

After Nobunaga introduces himself to Kagome and Inuyasha, they agree to help him in his mission to rescue a princess named Tsuyu.

They enter the castle where Tsuyu is being held, and it is plainly obvious from the beginning that Nobunaga is in love with Tsuyu. When they find the princess in the castle, Nobunaga is overjoyed to find out that Tsuyu still remembers him, since they had known each other since they were children.

It is soon revealed that Tsuyu's lord husband has been possessed by a toad demon and this demon has been capturing many other princesses to devour their souls. Inuyasha moves to kill the toad demon but Nobunaga stops him because Tsuyu's husband is still alive inside of it. When Nobunaga's back is turned, the toad attacks him yet again, taking advantage of Nobunaga's honor and kindness.

Soon enough, they are able to defeat the toad demon when Kagome draws it out of the lord's body using a combination of hairspray and fire. After the lord has been saved, Nobunaga moves to embrace Tsuyu, and she seems to do the same, only to embrace her husband instead, much to Nobunaga's chagrin.

Afterwards, Nobunaga bids Kagome and Inuyasha farewell, stating that he is the world's biggest idiot and fool, before walking on the same shall cliff as before, confirming this statement.

Personality
Nobunaga had a great deal of honor and selflessness. He hated killing and bloodshed of any kind, which was an uncommon belief in the Feudal Era; Nobunaga begged Inuyasha not to kill the toad demon because it still had the soul of Princess Tsuyu's husband alive within it, his primary romantic rival, which surprised Inuyasha. Nobunaga seemed to be something of a hopeless romantic, as he was in love with Tsuyu who did not feel the same way; Nobunaga was surprised that she even remembered who he was. Nobunaga was also extremely clumsy and absent-minded, as he unknowingly walked off of the same shallow cliff twice.

Physical description
Nobunaga wears a purple shitagi and a blue hakama over it. A standard obi is tied over the costume, which holds his katana. He also wears a pair of wooden zōri on his feet.

Relationships
Hiyoshimaru was Nobunaga's pet monkey, and traveling companion. They seemed to have a very close relationship based on trust and friendship as Nobunaga would have Hiyoshimaru carry out different tasks for him, such as gathering food when the two were hungry.
 * Hiyoshimaru

Nobunaga was in love with Princess Tsuyu, though she did not seem to reciprocate these feelings. Tsuyu and Nobunaga have apparently known each other since they were kids as well.
 * Tsuyu

Trivia

 * On the DVD subtitle for episode 8: "The Toad Who Would Be Prince", Nobunaga is spelled "Omari Nobunaga".
 * Nobunaga has many similarities with Akitoki Hōjō, both in character design and personality. They both wear the same kind of kimono, have the same hair style (though it's not the same color) and are both rather naïve, but idealistic and honorable. They can each become swept up in their emotions at inappropriate times, especially when it comes to the unrequited love they have for a woman. Both are also considered to be bumbling dolts who cause other characters to wonder how it is they can survive in such turbulent times and they both are related to real clans of feudal japan The Hōjō and the Takeda.
 * Besides Nobunaga and Princess Tsuyu being members of the Takeda clan, it's never explained or hinted if they are related to Kuranosuke Takeda or to the Takeda castle.

Nobunaga Amari Nobunaga 甘利信长