Information Revolution

Sengoku daimyo engaged in various forms of information-gathering, eager to find out about the affairs of neighbouring states. They practised diplomacy and their formed military alliances. Secret reports were filed by emissaries. It was crucial for these reports to be accurate, and for them to be sent through secure routes: the very future of the daimyo house depended on it.
Spies were sent into enemy camps, often suborning soldiers and making them double-cross their own side. Information might also be gleaned by bribing merchant who supplied enemy daimyo. Both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi exploited the knowledge of the Sakai merchants in this way. BR> Vast amounts of information were also coming in through international routes, via missionaries, and this was collected mostly by Christian daimyo. Again, it was Sakai, Hakata and Nagasaki where news came in, and Christianity flourished. Gunnery, printing and Western medicine was also studied, and many aspects of European culture and technology were adopted widely across all parts of Japan, brining about friction with prevailing cultural norms.