Nobunaga and the "Dairokuten Maō faith"
This was described in a tourism website, so it might not be necessarily true. That being said, the article claimed that the reason why Nobunaga called himself the "Dairokuten Maō" was because he might be someone who is a participant of the Dairokuten Maō worship/faith.
To explain this a little: I once mentioned that the Dairokuten Maō is actually worshipped in some areas. There are various possible reasons, but one possible reason is that in non-Buddhist faiths, this "demon king" is viewed as a guardian.
One reason is that, as a demon, the Maō tempts people away from Buddhist enlightenment by worldly possessions. Gold and riches and lustful pleasure. Therefore, if someone doesn't believe in Buddhism, it would make sense for them to think that this is actually a good thing and perceive the Maō as some kind of god of prosperity instead.
Slightly related to the above, there were also some medieval texts linking the Dairokuten Maō to Amaterasu and/or other deities. I'm not sure if this is in any way relevant to the worship of the Maō, but it might be relevant to Nobunaga's actions.
This is a narrative that supposedly came from the Taiheiki (possibly a more modernised translation):
「イザナギ・イザナミの第一の御子神が、「この国の主と成て」伊勢に鎮座したとき、第六天魔王が現れた。魔王は、この日本の国に仏法が広まると力を失うという理由から、天照大神の働きを妨害しようとした。
そこで天照大神は、魔王に「私は仏・法・僧の三宝には近づかない」と誓った。魔王は怒りを鎮め、その血で契約書を書き、天照大神に手渡した。「世界が滅び去るまで天照大神の末裔をこの国の主とする。もし、天皇の命に従わず、国を乱し、人民を苦しめるものがあれば、魔王の眷属が必ず罰を与え、死をもって報いさせよう」
When Izanagi and Izanami's first deity offspring "became the ruler of this land" and settled down in Ise, the Dairokuten Maō appeared. Since he would lose his power if Buddhism spread throughout the land of Japan, the Maō attempted to interfere with Amaterasu Ōmikami's actions.
Therefore Amaterasu Ōmikami swore to the Maō, "I will not come near the Three Treasures of Buddhism; the Buddha, Dharma, and the monks". The Maō's anger was appeased, and he wrote a contract in his blood which he gave to Amaterasu Ōmikami. "Until the world perishes, the descendants of Amaterasu Ōmikami shall be the rulers of this land. Supposing that anyone disobeys the Emperor's order, disturbs the country, or causes suffering to the people, the Maō's kin and house will surely punish them and repay it with death.
Some articles I've seen claim that there are also similar narratives where the ones who made the deal with the Maō were Izanagi and Izanami instead. As they were the creator-gods, this version escalates the Maō's importance even further. Though, I haven't seen any quotes of the actual text of this version yet.
The Taiheiki is a classic that I would expect the samurai lords of Nobunaga's time are familiar with. The idea that Nobunaga called himself the Dairokuten Maō based on the above Taiheiki text would lend some credence to the theories saying that Nobunaga might have been aiming to abolish the shogunate to restore power to the emperor.
As seen above, the Maō proclaims to be the emperor's protector, and also someone who safeguards peace in the nation. Even if Nobunaga doesn't particularly worship the Maō, he might have been inspired to view himself as that "Maō's kin and house" who puts to death those who disturbs the nation.
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