Iuchi Sadako seemed to believe that Nobu was a shape-shifted tanuki, something that seemed at least partly borne out when he stated that he was indeed a member of the Tanuki Clan, living in a small village deep within the Shinomen Forest.
A bedraggled, homeless-looking, middle-aged man came to the compound and fell on his knees in front of Ichiro declaring him to be his lord, Ichiro-sama the son of the daimyo. He claims to have been searching for him for the past 30 years.
Although he barely remembers it, Nobu eventually recalls his own name, though he still frequently appears to be looking at things that aren't there.