Editing Akechi Mitsuhide

{{Era|Individuals}}{{WP-REAL}}
{{Character Infobox
|name=Akechi Mitsuhide
|image=ACSH Akechi Mitsuhide close up.png
|birth=10 March 1528<br>Tara Castle, {{Wiki|Mino Province|Mino}}, [[Japan]]
|death=2 July 1582 {{c|aged 54}}<br>{{Wiki|Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi-ku}}, [[Kyoto]], Japan
|species=[[Human]]
|database=[[Database: Akechi Mitsuhide|Akechi Mitsuhide]]
|affiliates=*[[Akechi clan]]
*[[Oda clan]] {{c|formerly}}
*[[Shinbakufu]]
}}
'''Akechi Mitsuhide''' (明智 光秀; 10 March 1528 – 2 July 1582) was a general under the ''[[daimyō]]'' [[Oda Nobunaga]] during the [[Sengoku period]] of [[Japan]].<ref name="WP">{{WP|Akechi Mitsuhide}}</ref> He is best remembered for his rebellion against Nobunaga, leading an [[Honnō-ji incident|attack]] against his lord at the [[Honnō-ji]] [[temple]] in June 1582, which resulted in the ''daimyō''{{'}}s death.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' – [[Oda Nobunaga (memory)|Oda Nobunaga]]</ref>

Secretly, Mitsuhide's rebellion came as a result of his affiliation with the [[Shinbakufu]], a group that sought to overthrow Nobunaga and restore the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]. Mitsuhide served the group under the alias '''The Two-Faced''',<ref name="Temple Horseman">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Temple of the Horseman]]</ref> and was influenced to betray Nobunaga by the [[Portuguese Rite of the Templar Order|Portuguese Templars]],<ref name="Shadows Without Light">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Rift 3 - Shadows Without Light]]</ref> who financed the Shinbakufu's operations and took his children [[Hosokawa Tama|Tama]] and [[Akechi Mitsuyoshi|Mitsuyoshi]] to ensure his loyalty.<ref name="A Promise">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[A Promise]]</ref>

Following Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide and his co-conspirators were hunted down by the [[Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins|Kakushiba ''ikki'']], culminating in Mitsuhide's defeat at the [[Battle of Yamazaki]] after failing to raise enough support to his cause, and his death at the hands of [[Fujibayashi Naoe]] and [[Yasuke]].<ref name="Topple the Traitor">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Topple the Traitor]]</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
Akechi Mitsuhide was born on 10 March 1528 at Tara Castle in {{Wiki|Mino Province}} to {{Wiki|Akechi Mitsutsuna}} and [[Omaki|Omaki no Kata]]. He was betrothed to {{Wiki|Tsumaki Hiroko}} in 1545,<ref name="WP"/> and fathered at least three children with her: a daughter named [[Hosokawa Tama|Tama]], a son named [[Akechi Mitsuyoshi|Mitsuyoshi]],<ref name="A Promise"/> and a second daughter.<ref name="WP"/>

Originally serving {{Wiki|Asakura Yoshikage}}, Mitsuhide later entered the service of [[Oda Nobunaga]] as a retainer and gradually rose in the ranks to become one of his lord's most powerful and influential generals. He fought in multiple campaigns in [[Tanba|Tamba]] and other regions, and was rewarded for his loyal service by being granted the fief of [[Sakamoto Castle]] near [[Lake Biwa]].<ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Akechi Mitsuhide]]</ref>

In 1579, Nobunaga attacked {{Wiki|Hatano Hideharu}} at {{Wiki|Yakami Castle}} for breaking his surrender to the [[Oda clan]]. According to an unproven yet popular anecdote,<ref name="DatabaseTamba">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Tamba]]</ref> Mitsuhide sent his [[Omaki|mother]] to Yakami as part of a hostage exchange.<ref>''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' – Oda Nobunaga</ref> However, when Hideharu brazenly requested an audience with his rival, Nobunaga killed him, an act which made the Hatano clan execute Mitsuhide's mother in retaliation. Holding Nobunaga responsible for his mother's death,<ref name="DatabaseTamba"/><ref name="Friend of My Enemy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Friend of My Enemy]]</ref> Mitsuhide began to resent his lord, something the [[Templars]] [[Nuno Caro]] and [[Duarte de Melo]] soon took notice of and planned to use to their advantage, as Nobunaga's ambitions to unify Japan posed a threat to their plans.<ref name="Shadows Without Light"/>

===Joining the Shinbakufu===
By 1581, Mitsuhide had joined the [[Shinbakufu]], a secret organization founded by the former ''[[shōgun]]'' [[Ashikaga Yoshiaki]] that aimed to eliminate Nobunaga and restore the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]. The Shinbakufu allied themselves with the Templars, who promised them their support in exchange for the three [[Imperial Regalia of Japan]], which were safeguarded by the [[Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins|Kakushiba ''ikki'']].<ref name="The Man Behind the Mask">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Man Behind the Mask]]</ref> The group had managed to retrieve two of the regalia years earlier, when they decimated the Kakushiba ''ikki'', and focused on tracking down the third and final one.<ref name="The Meaning of the Blade">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Meaning of the Blade]]</ref>

[[File:ACSH The Lord's Favor 6.png|thumb|250px|left|Mitsuhide meeting the Jesuits and Diogo]]
Aware of the risks of betraying Nobunaga, Mitsuhide continued to serve his lord while secretly plotting behind his back, awaiting the right moment to strike.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/> On 8 March 1581, when [[Europe]]an [[Jesuits]] arrived in [[Kyoto]] seeking an audience with his lord, Mitsuhide personally greeted [[Alessandro Valignano]] and [[Luís Fróis]] and informed them that Nobunaga wished to see them, before adding that Nobunaga had requested that their [[Africa]]n servant, [[Yasuke|Diogo]], join them. Valignano protested the request, insisting that Diogo did not speak Japanese, but Mitsuhide made it clear that Nobunaga was not to be turned down.<ref name="The Lord's Favor">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Lord's Favor]]</ref>

During the audience, Mitsuhide sat at Nobunaga's side as Valignano requested free movement for his [[Christianity|Christian]] priests throughout Japan. Nobunaga took particular interest in Diogo, noting how the man observed every threat in the room. Mitsuhide then ordered all of Nobunaga's retainers and the Jesuits out of the room so the ''[[daimyō]]'' could speak with Diogo in private. Mitsuhide continued to sit silently as Nobunaga spoke to Diogo and then re-invited the Jesuits back in to grant their request, on the condition that Diogo be transferred into his service.<ref name="The Lord's Favor" />

===Siege of Iga===
{{Quote|Your life's work is undone tonight.|Mitsuhide preparing to finish off the mortally wounded Nagato, 1581.|Assassin's Creed: Shadows|The Onryo Samurai}}
Six months later, on 30 September 1581, Nobunaga's forces, accompanied by Diogo—by now a [[samurai]] known as Yasuke—laid [[Tenshō Iga War|siege]] to [[Iga]] after its inhabitants refused to submit to Nobunaga's will.<ref name="Spirit of a Warrior">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Spirit of a Warrior]]</ref> Taking advantage of the invasion, a masked Mitsuhide accompanied the rest of the Shinbakufu as they infiltrated the province to search for the last Imperial Regalia. [[Ido Yoshihiro]] successfully retrieved the regalia's box from [[Mihata Kofun]],<ref name="Fight of the Kakushiba Ikki">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Fight of the Kakushiba Ikki]]</ref> but was assassinated by the ''[[Ninja|kunoichi]]'' [[Fujibayashi Naoe]] inside [[Katano Castle]] while awaiting his compatriots' arrival.<ref name="The Onryo Samurai">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Onryo Samurai]]</ref>

After [[Yaita Wakasa]] and [[Wada Koretake]] ambushed Naoe outside the castle and recovered the box, Mitsuhide and the remaining Shinbakufu members arrived and were confronted by Naoe's father, [[Fujibayashi Nagato|Nagato]]. Although he initially put up a strong fight, Nagato was eventually overwhelmed by the Shinbakufu, and Mitsuhide delivered the final blow as he stabbed Nagato through the abdomen with his [[sword]].<ref name="The Onryo Samurai"/>

With the [[Assassins|Assassin]] at his mercy, Mitsuhide taunted him that the Kakushiba ''ikki''{{'}}s life work was undone, and raised his sword to finish him off. However, Koretake intervened and asked that their enemies be left to die in pain, a request that Yoshiaki granted. Having achieved their primary objective, the Shinbakufu departed with the box, leaving Nagato and Naoe to succumb to their wounds.<ref name="The Onryo Samurai"/>

===Betraying Nobunaga===
{{Dialogue|Naoe|What do you get from this?|Mitsuhide|I am among those who might succeed him. I might even become Shogun. But this is not about any one of us. If we do nothing, Lord Nobunaga's madness will destroy everything. Our country will fall. Will you help me kill him?|Mitsuhide requesting Naoe's help to eliminate Nobunaga, 1582.|Assassin's Creed: Shadows|Friend of My Enemy}}
In June 1582, Mitsuhide began making the final preparations for his betrayal of Nobunaga, planning to attack the ''daimyō'' while he was at the [[Honnō-ji]] temple in Kyoto, unprotected due to having sent all of his generals away.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/> Before the attack, Mitsuhide, as a precaution and a gesture of good faith, sent his children Tama and Mitsuyoshi to [[Tada]] in Tamba under Nuno Caro's discretion, promising to retrieve them once he knew it was safe to do so. However, in sending his children to the Templars, the general unknowingly doomed them, as Tama was forced to join the Order and Mitsuyoshi was taken hostage by Caro to ensure his sister's loyalty.<ref name="The Silver Queen">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Silver Queen]]</ref>

After learning that Naoe had survived the events in Iga and began hunting down the Shinbakufu as revenge for killing her father, Mitsuhide saw an opportunity to use the ''kunoichi''{{'}}s vendetta to his advantage. Following Naoe's assassinations of Yaita Wakasa and Wada Koretake, Mitsuhide had one of his messengers carry a letter addressed to her in an area frequented by Naoe's spies, knowing that the spies would intercept the note and it would reach its intended recipient.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/>

In the letter, Mitsuhide asked Naoe to come see him at the place where she had killed her first Shinbakufu target, Yoshihiro. Awaiting Naoe's arrival at Katano Castle, Mitsuhide calmly prepared himself [[tea]] and greeted the ''kunoichi'' once she entered his chamber. After revealing his knowledge of the Shinbakufu and claiming that he had also been hunting the group, the general showed Naoe the mask of the Shinbakufu's leader and told her that the leader was none other than Nobunaga. He then asked for Naoe's help in eliminating the ''daimyō'' before his "madness" destroyed all of Japan.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/>

When a skeptical Naoe asked what he would gain from Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide claimed that he also sought revenge on the ''daimyō'' for his mother's death and that he could succeed Nobunaga, perhaps even becoming ''shōgun''. He then reminded Naoe that Nobunaga would not be unguarded forever and that they had a small window to succeed. After the ''kunoichi'' agreed to assist him, Mitsuhide introduced her to his son-in-law [[Ise Sadaoki]], whom he told Naoe to meet in Kyoto for more instructions before she left.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" widths="180">
ACSH The Lord's Favor 21.png|Mitsuhide with Alessandro Valignano, Luís Fróis, and Diogo outside Honnō-ji
ACSH The Lord's Favor 23.png|Mitsuhide standing at Nobunaga's side during his meeting with the Jesuits
</gallery>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' {{1stm}}
*''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
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{{ACSH}}
[[es:Akechi Mitsuhide]]
[[fr:Akechi Mitsuhide]]
[[it:Akechi Mitsuhide]]
[[ru:Акэти Мицухидэ]]
[[zh:明智光秀]]
[[Category:1528 births]]
[[Category:1582 deaths]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Japanese]]
[[Category:Samurai]]
[[Category:Retainers]]
[[Category:Daimyō]]
[[Category:Shinbakufu]]
[[Category:Templar puppets]]
[[Category:Akechi clan]]