Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide

An Edo period painting of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Born (1528-03-10)March 10, 1528
Died July 17, 1582(1582-07-17) (aged 54)
Other names Jubei
In this Japanese name, the family name is Akechi.

Akechi Mitsuhide (明智 光秀, March 10, 1528 – July 17, 1582),[1] first called Jūbei from his clan and later Koretō Hyūga no Kami (惟任日向守) from his title, was a general who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. His full name was thus Akechi Jūbei Minamoto-no-Mitsuhide (明智 十兵衛 源の光秀).

Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he became famous for his rebellion against Nobunaga in 1582, which led to Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji.

Early life and rise

He was born in Tara castle, [Mino Province]-now Gifu Prefecture[2] Mitsuhide is a descendant of Toki-Akechi family of the shugo Toki clan. Mitsuhide is rumored to be a childhood friend or cousin of Nohime. It is believed that he was praised to be a general among 10 thousand by Saitō Dōsan and the Toki clan during their governorship of the Mino province. When Dōsan's son, Saitō Yoshitatsu, rebelled against his father in 1556, Mitsuhide sided with Dōsan.

Mitsuhide began serving the "wandering shogun" Yoshiaki Ashikaga as one of his guardians under Hosokawa Yusai. Shogun Ashikaga ordered Asakura Yoshikage to be his official protector, an offer which Yoshikage declined. Yoshiaki appealed to Mitsuhide, who suggested Oda Nobunaga instead.[3]

In 1564, Nobunaga sent his sister Oichi no kata to be the bride of Azai Nagamasa which aided him in his 1566 conquest for Mino province, and opened the path to Kyoto. The shogun Yoshiaki and Mitsuhide arrived at Kyoto, the capital of Japan, converting Hongokuji temple to a temporary palace in November 1568. Nobunaga returned from Kyoto on January 4, 1569. The Miyoshi clan and Saito Tatsuoki defeated daimyo of the Mino province, attacked Yoshiaki Ashikaga at Hongokuji where Mitsuhide successfully defended the Shogun. Nobunaga asked Mitsuhide to join his troops and Mitsuhide decided to serve both the Shogun and Nobunaga.

Mitsuhide received Sakamoto (in Omi, 100,000 koku) in 1571 after the successful attack at the Enryakuji Temple. Although Nobunaga rarely put too much trust in his retainers, he particularly trusted Shibata Katsuie, Hashiba Hideyoshi, and Akechi Mitsuhide, who was the first subordinate to receive a castle from Nobunaga. After Mitsuhide received Sakamoto, he moved to pacify the Tamba region by defeating several clans such as Hatano and the Isshiki of Tango. Mitsuhide also received Kamiyama castle and the Tanba region (550,000 koku).

Incident at Honnoji

In 1579, Nobunaga captured Yakami Castle from Hatano Hideharu by promising Hideharu peace terms, but Nobunaga betrayed the peace agreement and had Hideharu executed. This reputedly displeased the Hatano family, and a short while later several of Hideharu's retainers murdered Akechi Mitsuhide's mother (or aunt). The situation was fueled through several public insults Nobunaga directed at Mitsuhide.

In 1582, Mitsuhide was ordered to march west and assist Hashiba Hideyoshi who was currently fighting the Môri clan. Ignoring his orders, Mitsuhide assembled an army of 13,000 soldiers and moved against Nobunaga's position at Honnoji. On June 21, Mitsuhide was quoted as saying, "The enemy is at Honnō-ji!". His army surrounded the temple and eventually set it on fire. Oda Nobunaga was killed either during the fighting, or by his own hand. Nobunaga's son, Oda Hidetada, fled the scene, but was surrounded at Nijo and killed.[4] Despite not killing Nobunaga personally, Mitsuhide claimed responsibility for his death.

The Battle of Yamazaki

Mitsuhide's betrayal of the Oda shocked the capital, and he moved quickly to secure his position. Mitsuhide, claiming lineage from the Toki and thus the Minamoto clan, declared himself Shogun, and looted Azuchi castle so as to reward his men and maintain their loyalty.

Mitsuhide attempted to make gestures of friendship to a panicked Imperial Court; he also made many attempts to win over the other clans, but to no avail. Hosokawa Fujitaka, to whom he was related through marriage, quickly cut ties with him; Tsutsui Junkei, who previously had a rocky relationship with the Oda, sided against him.

Mitsuhide had been counting on Toyotomi Hideyoshi to be detained fighting with the Mori, and unable to respond to his coup d'etat. However, having learned of the assassination of his lord, Hideyoshi quickly signed a peace treaty with the Mori, and alongside Tokugawa Ieyasu rushed to be the first to avenge Nobunaga and take his place.

Hideyoshi force-marched his army to Settsu in four days, and caught Mitsuhide off guard. Mitsuhide had been unable to garner support for his cause, and his army had dwindled down to 10,000 men. Hideyoshi, however, had won over former Oda retainers, including Niwa Nagahide and Takayama Ukon, and had a strength of 20,000 men. The two forces met at the Battle of Yamazaki.

Mitsuhide took up a position south of Shoryuji Castle, securing his right flank by the Yodo river, and his left at the foot of the 270-metre Tennozan. Hideyoshi immediately seized the advantage by securing the heights of Tennozan; his vanguard then maneuvered to face the Akechi forces along the Emmoyji river. Mitsuhide's forces made a failed attempt to force Hideyoshi from Tennozan. Hideyoshi's general, Ikeda Nobuteru moved to reinforce Hideyoshi's right flank, which soon crossed Emmoyoji and turned the Akechi flank. Simultaneously, Hideyoshi's forces marched against the Akechi front; this started a rout, only two hours after the battle had begun.[5]

Aftermath

Mitsuhide's reign as shogun lasted only 13 days. Upon fleeing Yamazaki, Mitsuhide died en route to Sakamoto.

He is rumoured to have been killed by a peasant warrior by the name of Nakamura with a bamboo spear; however, there were also rumors that he was not killed, but rather started a new life as a priest called Tenkai.

The short reign of Mitsuhide is listed as the inspiration for the yojijukugo set phrase mikkatenka (三日天下, short-lived[6] reign).[7][8]

Reasons for betrayal

No one knows the specific reason that Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga, but there are several theories:

Shrine to Akechi Mitsuhide, Kyoto

Family

Ancestors

The Akechi family was able to trace their heritage to the Toki clan and from there to the Minamoto clan. It is noted that Minamoto Yoritomo brought the destruction of the Taira clan the same way Mitsuhide brought an end to Nobunaga, who traces his ancestry to the Taira clan. The sword of Mitsuhide is of the Tensho style; the Tensho Koshirae was first designed to be a replica of Akechi Mitsuhide's own sword.

In popular culture

See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture.

References

  1. ↑ Kitamra kaden
  2. ↑ Miyagi keizu and Kitamra kaden
  3. ↑ http://www.samurai-archives.com/mitsuhide.html
  4. ↑ http://www.samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html
  5. ↑ http://www.samurai-archives.com/hideyoshi.html
  6. ↑ According to the Sanseido reference, 三日 should be understood not literally as three days, but as "ごく短い期間", e.g. an exceptionally short period of time
  7. ↑ "三日天下" [Mikkatenka]. 広辞苑第六版 (Koujien, 6th edition) (in Japanese). 株式会社岩波書店(Iwanami Shoten, Inc.). 2008.
  8. ↑ 三日天下 [Mikkatenka]. 新明解四字熟語時点(Shinmeika Yojijukugo Jiten) (in Japanese). 三省堂(Sanseidō). Retrieved 5 Sep 2013.

Further reading

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