Who was this person?
A Sengoku commander who rose in Oda Nobunaga’s service to hold Sakamoto Castle in Ōmi and later Kameyama in Tanba. After subduing Tanba, he killed his lord Nobunaga in the Honnō-ji Incident of 1582. He was soon defeated by Hashiba Hideyoshi at Yamazaki and died while fleeing. His early life and birth year are uncertain.
| Name | Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1528 – 1582 |
| Period | Sengoku period |
| Birthplace | Mino Province (now Gifu), by tradition (accounts differ) |
| Also known as | Koretō Hyūga-no-kami |
| Main achievements |
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Said to have come from the Akechi, a branch of the Toki clan of Mino (Gifu) (birth year and origins debated). Little is certain about his youth.
After Saitō Dōsan was killed by his son Yoshitatsu, the Akechi castle reportedly fell and Mitsuhide left Mino, later living under the Asakura of Echizen. A legend says his wife Hiroko sold her hair to support him.
Serving Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he is thought to have mediated between Yoshiaki and Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga entered Kyoto he served him too and was entrusted with governing the capital. Highly cultured, he was versed in waka, renga and tea.
Rewarded for his part in burning Mount Hiei, he received Sakamoto in Ōmi—the first Oda retainer to become a castle-holding lord—and built a fine castle on Lake Biwa.
Granted the title Koretō Hyūga no Kami, he was ordered to conquer Tanba (Kyoto and Hyōgo) and fought doggedly for years in its mountains.
At Nobunaga's urging, his daughter Tama (later Hosokawa Gracia) married Hosokawa Tadaoki.
Having pacified Tanba, he built Kameyama and Fukuchiyama castles and laid out their towns. He governed for his people too, even diverting a river, and is still revered in Fukuchiyama.
He was entrusted with organizing Nobunaga's great cavalry parade in Kyoto, and drew up military regulations for his own retainers.
Ordered to reinforce Hideyoshi in the west, he turned his troops on Kyoto and attacked Nobunaga at Honnō-ji, saying, it is said, "The enemy is at Honnō-ji." His motive—grudge, ambition or other—remains unknown.
Expected allies such as the Hosokawa and Tsutsui stood aside, and he was defeated at Yamazaki by Hideyoshi, who had rushed back. Fleeing toward Sakamoto, he reportedly lost his life to peasants at Ogurusu. His brief hold on power is called the "three-day rule".
A. A Sengoku commander who rose in Oda Nobunaga’s service to hold Sakamoto Castle in Ōmi and later Kameyama in Tanba. After subduing Tanba, he killed his lord Nobunaga in the Honnō-ji Incident of 1582. He was soon defeated by Hashiba Hideyoshi at Yamazaki and died while fleeing. His early life and birth year are uncertain.
A. Period: Sengoku period. Born in 1528, died in 1582.
A. Akechi Mitsuhide was born in Mino Province (now Gifu), by tradition (accounts differ).
A. No one knows for sure; there are many theories. Resentment of Nobunaga, personal ambition and a policy clash over the Chōsokabe of Shikoku are all suggested, but no source settles the question.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Saitō DōsanOda NobunagaAshikaga YoshiakiHosokawa GraciaHosokawa TadaokiShibata KatsuieHosokawa Yūsai (Fujitaka)Niwa Nagahide
Miyoshi NagayoshiTakigawa KazumasuHachisuka MasakatsuSakai TadatsuguRyuzoji TakanobuUesugi KenshinŌtomo SōrinKikkawa Motoharu
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.