Akechi Mitsuhide: Difference between revisions
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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> | 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, when Nobunaga attacked {{Wiki|Hatano Hideharu}} at {{Wiki|Yakami Castle}} for breaking his surrender to the [[Oda clan]], Mitsuhide sent his [[Omaki|mother]] to Yakami as part of a hostage exchange.<ref>''[[Echoes of History]]'' – Shadows – Episode 5: 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="Tamba DB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Tamba]]</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"/> | In 1579, when Nobunaga attacked {{Wiki|Hatano Hideharu}} at {{Wiki|Yakami Castle}} for breaking his surrender to the [[Oda clan]], Mitsuhide sent his [[Omaki|mother]] to Yakami as part of a hostage exchange.<ref>''[[Echoes of History]]'' – Shadows – Episode 5: 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="Tamba DB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Database: Tamba]]</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 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> | |||
During the audience, Mitsuhide sat at Nobunaga's side as Valignano made his request for | [[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">''[[Assassin's Creed: Shadows]]'' – [[Friend of My Enemy]]</ref> On 8 March 1581, when [[Christianity|Christian]] [[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 made his request for free movement for his priests through Japanese lands. Nobunaga took particular interest in Diogo, noting the black man observing 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. Having been told by Mitsuhide that Diogo understood the Japanese language better than the Christians, Nobunaga spoke with him. Mitsuhide continued to sit silently as Nobunaga 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 his and 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 Ashikaga Yoshiaki granted to him. 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 Fujibayashi 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, Ido Yoshihiro. Awaiting Naoe's arrival at Katano Castle, Mitsuhide calmly prepared himself some [[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 told her 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]], and told her to meet the latter in Kyoto for additional instructions before Naoe took her leave.<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== | ==Appearances== | ||
Revision as of 13:44, 29 June 2025
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.[1] He is best remembered for his rebellion against Nobunaga, leading an attack against his lord at the Honnō-ji temple in June 1582, which resulted in the daimyō's death.[2]
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,[3] and was influenced to betray Nobunaga by the Templars,[4] who financed the Shinbakufu's operations and took two of Mitsuhide's children, Hosokawa Tama and Akechi Mitsuyoshi, to ensure his loyalty.[5]
Following Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide and his co-conspirators were hunted down by the 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.[6]
Biography
Early life
Akechi Mitsuhide was born on 10 March 1528 at Tara Castle in Mino Province to Akechi Mitsutsuna and Omaki no Kata. He was betrothed to Tsumaki Hiroko in 1545,[1] and fathered at least three children with her: a daughter named Tama, a son named Mitsuyoshi,[5] and a second daughter.[1]
Originally serving 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 Tamba and other regions, and was rewarded for his loyal service by being granted the fief of Sakamoto Castle near Lake Biwa.[7]
In 1579, when Nobunaga attacked Hatano Hideharu at Yakami Castle for breaking his surrender to the Oda clan, Mitsuhide sent his mother to Yakami as part of a hostage exchange.[8] 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,[9] 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.[4]
Joining the Shinbakufu
By 1581, Mitsuhide had joined the Shinbakufu, a secret organization founded by 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 Kakushiba ikki.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12] On 8 March 1581, when Christian 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 African servant, 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.[13]
During the audience, Mitsuhide sat at Nobunaga's side as Valignano made his request for free movement for his priests through Japanese lands. Nobunaga took particular interest in Diogo, noting the black man observing 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. Having been told by Mitsuhide that Diogo understood the Japanese language better than the Christians, Nobunaga spoke with him. Mitsuhide continued to sit silently as Nobunaga re-invited the Jesuits back in to grant their request, on the condition that Diogo be transferred into his service.[13]
Siege of Iga
Six months later, on 30 September 1581, Nobunaga's forces, accompanied by Diogo—by now a samurai known as Yasuke—laid siege to Iga after its inhabitants refused to submit to Nobunaga's will.[14] 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,[15] but was assassinated by the kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe inside Katano Castle while awaiting his compatriots' arrival.[16]
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, 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.[16]
With the Assassin at his mercy, Mitsuhide taunted him that his and 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 Ashikaga Yoshiaki granted to him. Having achieved their primary objective, the Shinbakufu departed with the box, leaving Nagato and Naoe to succumb to their wounds.[16]
Betraying Nobunaga
- 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.[src]-[m]
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.[12] 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.[17]
After learning that Fujibayashi 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.[12]
In the letter, Mitsuhide asked Naoe to come see him at the place where she had killed her first Shinbakufu target, Ido Yoshihiro. Awaiting Naoe's arrival at Katano Castle, Mitsuhide calmly prepared himself some 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.[12]
When a skeptical Naoe asked what he would gain from Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide told her 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, and told her to meet the latter in Kyoto for additional instructions before Naoe took her leave.[12]
Gallery
-
Mitsuhide with Alessandro Valignano, Luís Fróis, and Diogo outside Honnō-ji -
Mitsuhide standing at Nobunaga's side during his meeting with the Jesuits
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Memories (first mentioned)
- Echoes of History – Shadows (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
Akechi Mitsuhide on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories – Oda Nobunaga
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Temple of the Horseman
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Rift 3 - Shadows Without Light
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – A Promise
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Topple the Traitor
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Akechi Mitsuhide
- ↑ Echoes of History – Shadows – Episode 5: Oda Nobunaga
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Tamba
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Man Behind the Mask
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Meaning of the Blade
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Friend of My Enemy
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Lord's Favor
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Spirit of a Warrior
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Fight of the Kakushiba Ikki
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Onryo Samurai
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Silver Queen
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es:Akechi Mitsuhide fr:Akechi Mitsuhide it:Akechi Mitsuhide ru:Акэти Мицухидэ zh:明智光秀