Editing Honnō-ji incident

{{Era|Timeline}}{{WP-REAL|Honnō-ji Incident}}
{{Quote|If I die, our country will fall. Mitsuhide cannot rule it.|Oda Nobunaga, during his fight against Fujibayashi Naoe.|Assassin's Creed: Shadows|Temple of the Horseman}}
{{Battle Infobox
|prev=[[Tenshō Iga War]]
|conc=[[Sengoku period]]
|next=[[Battle of Yamazaki]]
|image=ACSH Honnoji Incident 1.png
|date=21 June 1582
|place=[[Honnō-ji]], [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]]
|result=Akechi victory:
*Death of [[Oda Nobunaga]]
*Beginning of [[Akechi Mitsuhide]]'s short-lived reign
|side1=[[Akechi clan]]
|side2=[[Oda clan]]
|commanders1=*[[Akechi Mitsuhide]]
*[[Ise Sadaoki]]
*{{Wiki|Akechi Hidemitsu}}<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|Honnō-ji incident}}</ref>
*{{Wiki|Akechi Mitsutada}}<ref name="Wiki"/>
*{{Wiki|Saitō Toshimitsu}}<ref name="Wiki"/>
|commanders2=*[[Oda Nobunaga]] †
*[[Mori Ranmaru]] †
*{{Wiki|Oda Nagamasu}}<ref name="Wiki"/>
*{{Wiki|Oda Nobutada}} †<ref name="Wiki"/>
*{{Wiki|Oda Katsunaga}} †<ref name="Wiki"/>
*{{Wiki|Murai Sadakatsu}} †<ref name="Wiki"/>
*{{Wiki|Maeda Gen'i}}<ref name="Wiki"/>
|forces1=*13,000 soldiers<ref name="Wiki"/>
*[[Fujibayashi Naoe]]
|forces2=*c. 70 soldiers<ref name="Wiki"/>
*[[Yasuke]]
|casual1=Unknown, presumably minimal
|casual2=Numerous, including Oda Nobunaga, Mori Ranmaru, and Oda Nobutada
}}
The '''Honnō-ji incident''' (本能寺の変) was a surprise attack on [[Oda Nobunaga]] by his vassal [[Akechi Mitsuhide]] on 21 June 1582 at the [[temple]] of [[Honnō-ji]] in [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]].<ref name="History of Japan">Mason, R.H.P. and Caiger, J.G. (1997). "Sixteenth Century Japan". In ''A History of Japan'' (Revised ed.). North Calrendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, pp. 173–189</ref> 

==Background==
The Honnō-ji incident was the culmination of Akechi Mitsuhide's betrayal of his lord Oda Nobunaga, whom he had been conspiring against as a secret member of the [[Shinbakufu]],<ref name="Lightning and Thunder">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Lightning and Thunder]]</ref> an organization dedicated to overthrowing Nobunaga and restoring the [[Ashikaga shogunate]].<ref name="The Man Behind the Mask">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Man Behind the Mask]]</ref>

According to an unproven yet popular anecdote,<ref name="Tamba">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Tamba]]</ref> Mitsuhide's betrayal was influenced by his resentment of Nobunaga, whom he held responsible for his mother [[Omaki]]'s death.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Friend of My Enemy]]</ref> In 1579, Mitsuhide had allegedly sent his mother to {{Wiki|Yakami Castle}} as part of a hostage exchange with {{Wiki|Hatano Hideharu}}, whom Nobunaga had just defeated in a siege. However, when Hideharu attempted to meet with Nobunaga to discuss the terms of his surrender, the latter killed him, prompting the {{Wiki|Hatano clan}} to execute Omaki in retaliation.<ref name="Tamba"/><ref>''[[Echoes of History]] – Shadows'' – Oda Nobunaga</ref>

Mitsuhide's decision to attack his lord was also influenced by the [[Portuguese Rite of the Templar Order|Portuguese Templars]] [[Nuno Caro]] and [[Duarte de Melo]], the Shinbakufu's secret benefactors who—recognizing that Nobunaga's ambitions to unify Japan posed a threat to their [[New World Order|goals]]—manipulated members of his inner circle to turn on him.<ref name="Shadows Without Light">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Rift 3 - Shadows Without Light]]</ref>

==The incident==
{{Dialogue2|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?|Yes.|Akechi Mitsuhide recruiting Fujibayashi Naoe for the attack on Oda Nobunaga.|Assassin's Creed: Shadows|Friend of My Enemy}}
In June 1582, after months of thorough planning, Mitsuhide decided to attack Nobunaga while he was at Kyoto's Honnō-ji temple, where he would be virtually unprotected after having sent all of his generals away.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/> Ahead of the assault, Mitsuhide, using intel provided by [[Endo Tomoyasu]], learned who among Nobunaga's staff was most susceptible to being bought and used this information to facilitate his [[assassination]] of the ''[[daimyō]]''. The [[samurai]] [[Sato Genta]] and the servant [[Itakura Shigezo]] were bribed to sabotage Nobunaga's defenses, while [[Sato Katsubei]] and Nobunaga's general [[Masatoshi Nakahara]] were paid to simply abandon their posts. Finally, the samurai [[Fujichika Nakayama]] was ordered to ensure that the servants would remain hidden and not raise the alarm until Mitsuhide's army reached Honnō-ji.<ref name="The Betrayers">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Betrayers]]</ref>

Shortly before he could put his plan into motion, Mitsuhide discovered that the ''[[Ninja|kunoichi]]'' [[Fujibayashi Naoe]] had begun hunting the Shinbakufu as revenge<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/> for their murder of her father [[Fujibayashi Nagato|Nagato]] and theft of a precious [[Imperial Regalia of Japan|box]] during Nobunaga's [[Tenshō Iga War|invasion]] of [[Iga]] in 1581.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[The Onryo Samurai]]</ref> Taking advantage of Naoe's vendetta against Nobunaga and her obliviousness to his own affiliations, Mitsuhide arranged a meeting with her at [[Katano Castle]], where he convinced her that Nobunaga was the Shinbakufu's leader and requested her help to kill him before his "madness" destroyed Japan.<ref name="Friend of My Enemy"/>

In Kyoto, Naoe assisted Mitsuhide's son-in-law and fellow Shinbakufu member [[Ise Sadaoki]] in procuring documents related to the delivery of rice to Honnō-ji.<ref name="Belly of the Beast">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Belly of the Beast]]</ref> Using these documents, they were able to secure Naoe's infiltration of the temple by having her hide inside the delivery cart. Afterwards, as Naoe discreetly made her way to Nobunaga's chamber, Mitsuhide and his army commenced their assault and began burning the temple.<ref name="Temple of the Horseman">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Temple of the Horseman]]</ref>

Nobunaga sent his samurai [[Yasuke]] to reinforce their troops and hold off the attackers for as long as possible, while his retainer [[Mori Ranmaru]] was ordered to get all the women and non-combatants, including the visiting [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] [[priest]] [[Luís Fróis]], to safety. After Ranmaru reluctantly complied and left, Naoe approached Nobunaga while playing her ''{{Wiki|biwa}}'' and confronted the ''daimyō'', accusing him of stealing the box. Nobunaga denied the accusations but nonetheless fought the ''kunoichi'' until he was eventually bested and disarmed.<ref name="Temple of the Horseman"/>

Before Naoe could kill Nobunaga, Yasuke returned and interrupted the strike, pinning her to a nearby wall. Nobunaga ordered him to kill the intruder, but Yasuke, seeing Naoe's [[Hidden Blade]], claimed he could not do it and released her. Naoe then again accused Nobunaga of stealing the box from Iga and leading the Shinbakufu, but Nobunaga insisted that he only sought what was best for Japan and that Mitsuhide had deceived all of them. After claiming that Mitsuhide would never be able to get the people to follow him and that someone else would have to complete Japan's unification, Nobunaga accepted his defeat and prepared to commit ''[[seppuku]]'' to prevent his head from falling into Mitsuhide's hands.<ref name="Temple of the Horseman"/>

While a confused Naoe took her leave, Yasuke assisted his lord with the procedure and beheaded him. He was then escorted outside by Mitsuhide's men, who had massacred all opposition and burned Honnō-ji to the ground. Seeing Yasuke, Mitsuhide ordered his men to release him, as he was not one of them, and left the samurai in Fróis' care, telling the priest to take Yasuke back to wherever he had come from. After Mitsuhide and his men departed, Yasuke bid farewell to Fróis and left the smoldering ruins, intent on avenging Nobunaga's death even though it had made him a ''[[rōnin]]''.<ref name="Temple of the Horseman"/>

==Aftermath==
{{Quote|I did what had to be done. Clans squabble like children. Wait for a chance to conquer us. I did it to unite us. There was no other way. But it does not matter now. I am trapped. I cannot rule after such a failure. Mitsuhide thinks he will rule, but the others will not follow. The fight for our country must continue. It is up to others now.|Nobunaga, shortly before committing ''seppuku''.|Assassin's Creed: Shadows|Temple of the Horseman}}
With Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide intended to replace his former lord and eventually conquer Japan in the name of the Shinbakufu. However, just as Nobunaga had predicted, Mitsuhide failed to raise enough support for his cause, as none of Nobunaga's generals took his side, and the ''daimyō'' was defeated merely two weeks later by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]'s forces at the [[Battle of Yamazaki]].<ref name="Topple the Traitor">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Topple the Traitor]]</ref> Afterwards, Hideyoshi continued Nobunaga's quest to unify Japan under his rule,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' – [[Last Days of the Taikō]]</ref> though he was secretly opposed by the [[Assassins]], who paved the way for Hideyoshi's successor [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] to complete Japan's unification and establish the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' – [[Mōri Motonari (memory)]]</ref>

During the chaos of the Honnō-ji incident, the [[Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins|Japanese Assassin]] and [[monk]] [[Yamauchi Taka]] had secretly infiltrated the temple and seized the opportunity to retrieve Nobunaga's [[Swords of Eden|Sword of Eden]] on the Assassins' behalf. He later handed it to the [[Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins|Chinese Assassin]] [[Liu Yan (Chinese Brotherhood)|Liu Yan]], who was tasked with transporting the artifact to [[China]]. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the event, a false rumor quickly spread among the Assassins that Taka had slain Nobunaga for possession of the Sword.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' – [[Oda Nobunaga (memory)]]</ref>

Following their brief encounter at Honnō-ji, Naoe and Yasuke would meet again at Katano Castle, which they both traveled to in order to find and exact revenge on Mitsuhide for his deception. After settling their differences, they decided to join forces to find and eliminate Mitsuhide and the other Shinbakufu members. Seemingly unaware of the Japanese Assassins' existence yet inspired by their motives, Naoe, Yasuke, and their allies [[Tomiko]] and [[Junjiro]] formed an adjacent league, the Kakushiba ''ikki'' (隠し場一揆, lit: League of Hidden), vowing to protect the people of Japan from the Shinbakufu and other threats.<ref name="Lightning and Thunder"/>

==Behind the scenes==
The Honnō-ji incident is a historical event that was first depicted in the 2014 mobile game ''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'', in which the Assassin Yamauchi Taka kills Oda Nobunaga during the attack on Honnō-ji to obtain his Sword of Eden. In the 2025 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'', a different interpretation of the incident is depicted that {{Wiki|Retroactive continuity|retcons}} Taka's role in Nobunaga's death, where Fujibayashi Naoe instead defeats Nobunaga, who afterwards commits ''seppuku'' with the help of Yasuke.

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

==References==
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[[Category:Timeline]]
[[Category:Battles]]
[[Category:Assassinations]]
[[Category:Templar conspiracies]]
[[fr:Incident du Honnō-ji]]