An Analysis of the Psychological Needs of Oda Nobunaga in The Legend and Butterfly Using Henry Murray’s Theory

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the psychological needs of Nobunaga in the film The Legend andButterfly, directed by Keishi Otomo, using Henry Murray’s personology theory. The research focuses onidentifying the dominant needs reflected in Nobunaga’s actions, dialogues, and character development. Themethod used in this study is descriptive qualitative. The data were collected by repeatedly watching the film,identifying relevant scenes, and classifying Nobunaga’s behavior based on Murray’s twenty categories ofneeds. The findings reveal six dominant needs: achievement, affiliation, defendance, dominance, nurturance,and rejection. The analysis shows that Nobunaga evolves from an impulsive and arrogant young ruler into amore controlled and determined leader. His behavior is influenced not only by internal drives but also byexternal social pressures such as political conflict and emotional relationships. The interaction between internalneeds and external social pressures forms the foundation of Nobunaga’s personality and decision-makingprocess. This study confirms that Murray’s theory effectively explains the psychological complexity ofNobunaga’s character in the film.