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Honnō-ji incident

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"If I die, our country will fall. Mitsuhide cannot rule it."
―Oda Nobunaga, during his fight against Fujibayashi Naoe.[src]-[m]

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.[2]

Background[edit | edit source]

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,[3] an organization dedicated to overthrowing Nobunaga and restoring the Ashikaga shogunate.[4]

According to an unproven yet popular anecdote,[5] Mitsuhide's betrayal was influenced by his resentment of Nobunaga, whom he held responsible for his mother Omaki's death.[6] In 1579, Mitsuhide had allegedly sent his mother to Yakami Castle as part of a hostage exchange with 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 Hatano clan to execute Omaki in retaliation.[5][7]

Mitsuhide's decision to attack his lord was also influenced by the 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 goals—manipulated members of his inner circle to turn on him.[8]

The incident[edit | edit source]

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?"
Naoe: "Yes."
—Akechi Mitsuhide recruiting Fujibayashi Naoe for the attack on Oda Nobunaga.[src]-[m]

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.[6] 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.[9]

Shortly before he could put his plan into motion, Mitsuhide discovered that the kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe had begun hunting the Shinbakufu as revenge[6] for their murder of her father Nagato and theft of a precious box during Nobunaga's invasion of Iga in 1581.[10] 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.[6]

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.[11] 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.[12]

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 Jesuit priest Luís Fróis, to safety. After Ranmaru reluctantly complied and left, Naoe approached Nobunaga while playing her 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.[12]

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.[12]

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.[12]

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

"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.[src]-[m]

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.[13] Afterwards, Hideyoshi continued Nobunaga's quest to unify Japan under his rule,[14] 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.[15]

During the chaos of the Honnō-ji incident, the Japanese Assassin and monk Yamauchi Taka had secretly infiltrated the temple and seized the opportunity to retrieve Nobunaga's Sword of Eden on the Assassins' behalf. He later handed it to the Chinese Assassin 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.[16]

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.[3]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

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 retcons Taka's role in Nobunaga's death, where Fujibayashi Naoe instead defeats Nobunaga, who afterwards commits seppuku with the help of Yasuke.

Appearances[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Honnō-ji incident on Wikipedia
  2. ↑ 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
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Lightning and Thunder
  4. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Man Behind the Mask
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Tamba
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Friend of My Enemy
  7. ↑ Echoes of History – Shadows – Oda Nobunaga
  8. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Rift 3 - Shadows Without Light
  9. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Betrayers
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Onryo Samurai
  11. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Belly of the Beast
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Temple of the Horseman
  13. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Topple the Traitor
  14. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories – Last Days of the Taikō
  15. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories – Mōri Motonari (memory)
  16. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories – Oda Nobunaga (memory)

Characters
Assassins
Templars
Others
Factions
Locations
Events
Terms and concepts

Characters
Assassins
Templars
Nuno Caro • Hosokawa Tama • Kimura Kei • Duarte de Melo • Alessandro Valignano • Ermigo • Gaspar • Kimura Yukari • Imagawa Tomeji • Nowaki • Yasuhira | Suma
Shinbakufu
Sanzuko Ippa
Kimura Yukari (Imagawa Tomeji (Amano Buza • Fukushima Mosaku • Hachisuka Norimasa • Hasegawa Magobei • Honda Mosuke • Ikoma Matagoro • Kagae Koheiji • Kaiwara Heitaro • Kuki Shinpachi • Ogasawara Masakichi • Shimazu Masujiro • Suganuma Heihachi • Tozawa Yataro • Watanabe Kinji) • Nowaki (Ando Masamune • Chiba Hachibei • Goto Ginpachi • Ishida Shota • Inoue Yonekichi • Nitta Koheiji • Suganuma Tenma) • Yasuhira (Kobayakawa Heitaro • Ryuzoji Den • So Sachihiko • Yamane Ichi • Yamanouchi Tobei))
Minor targets
The Betrayers (Fujichika Nakayama • Endo Tomoyasu • Itakura Shigezo • Masatoshi Nakahara • Sato Genta • Sato Katsubei • Usami Yoshiko) • The Butterfly Collectors (Gamemaker • Kacho • Mucho • Richo • Shucho) • The Corrupt Daikan (Endo Riku • Gamo Morinari • Ise Asuka • Isshiki Mansaku • Izumi Bunzo • Okudaira Toshizo) • Genzaburo's Soldiers (Akane • Genzaburo • Shishimaru • Shin-no-suke • Yasokichi) • The Godai Shinobi (Kaji • Akira • Azai Jukei • Kazumi • Rokkaku Yoshimitsu) • The Hunters of Kyonyo (Inumaru • Kamakichi • Shishi-o • Toro • Tsuchi-Gumo) • The Iron Hand Guild (Ginroku • Kanta • Kin-no-suke • Tamao • The Iron Hand) • The Kabukimono (Big Sueki • Chief Cuckoo • Corrupt Blade • Ember • Ghost General • Grave Dancer • Laughing Man • Peacock) • Kurai Eikyou (The Akiyama Agent • The Blacksmith Agent • The Katsuragi Agent • The Tsutsui Agent • The Messenger) • Nobutsuna's Students (Asari Nobutane • Hozoin In'ei • Marume Nagayoshi • Nagano Saemon • Sanada Masatoyo • Yagyū Munetoshi • Yuki no Kata) • The Pirate Alliance (Kage • Little Kappa • Lopo Cruz • Oni-yuri • Sen) • The Seta River Killers (Gaspar • Ermigo • Trader • Exterminator • Builder • Contractor • Collector • Stalker • Tormentor) • The Silver Smugglers (Enju • Fernam Moreno • Takeru • Mai • Nycollaao de Castel Branco • Shinji • Yoshisada) • The Twisted Tree (Takahashi Goro • Takahashi Ichi-Hime • Takahashi Inoshichi • Takahashi Jiro • Takahashi Saburo • Takahashi Shiro • Takahashi Taro) • The Winter Raiders (Akumu • Hayate • Sobei • Jinbei • Yasha) • The Yamabushi Imposters (The Clifftop Yamabushi • The Forest Yamabushi • The Mountain Yamabushi • The Pathway Yamabushi • The Pond Yamabushi • The River Yamabushi • The Shadow Yamabushi • The Valley Yamabushi • The Village Yamabushi) • The Yokai (Ao Andon • Daitengu • Kappa (Kappa Taku • Kappa Rei) • Makuwauri no Bakemono • Oshiroi Babā • Suika no Bakemono • Taka Nyudo • Yuki-onna)
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Others
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Factions
Assassins (Kakushiba ikki) • Templars (Abstergo Industries (Sentinels) | Japanese Rite (Sanzoku Ippa) • Portuguese Rite • Roman Rite) • Shinbakufu • Japanese clans (Akechi • Fukui • Niwa • Oda • Rokkaku • Sengoku • Takahashi • Takeda • Tokugawa • Toyotomi • Tsutsui • Ukita) • Japanese confederations (Iga ikki • Ikkō-ikki • Koga ikki) • Japanese subcultures (Ashigaru • Kabukimono • Rōnin • Samurai • Shinobi • Sōhei • Yamabushi) • Minor factions (The Butterfly Collectors • Godai Shinobi • Iron Hand Guild • Kurai Eikyou • Pirate Alliance • Seta River Killers • Winter Raiders) • Portuguese Empire • Jesuits
Locations
Japan (Awaji (Sumoto • Yura) • Harima (Aga • Himeji • Miki • Takasago) • Iga (Hijiyama • Ichinomiya (Aekuni Shrine Town) • Mibuno Vale) • Kii (Mount Kōya • Negoro-ji • Saika • Shingū) • Ōmi (Azuchi (Azuchi Castle) • Hachiman • Lake Biwa (Chikubushima) • Nagahama • Ōmizo • Ōtsu • Sakamoto • Shiotsu) • Izumi Settsu (Amagasaki • Katano • Osaka • Sakai • Takatsuki • Tomiko's Homestead) • Tamba (Fukuchiyama • Kameyama • Miyazu • Tada • Takeda • Yakami) • Wakasa (Obama • Tsuruga) • Yamashiro (Kyoto (Honnō-ji) • Shōryūji • Ujitawara • Yamazaki) • Yamato (Asuka • Katsuragi • Kōriyama • Nara Heartland (Tōdai-ji) • Takatori • Uda Matsuyama • Yoshino))
Events
Sengoku period (Tenshō Iga War • Assault on Amagasaki Castle • Honnō-ji incident • Assault on Miki Castle • Battle of Yamazaki • Assault on Iwaya Castle)
Terms and concepts
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Weapons and tools
Blunt weapons (Kanabō) • Bow • Firearms (Teppō) • Grappling hook • Hidden Blade • Kusarigama • Polearms (Naginata • Yari) • Shinobi Tools (Kunai • Bells • Makibishi • Nightingale floor • Shuriken • Smoke bombs • Tezutsu) • Short blades (Tantō) • Staff (Bō) • Swords (Katana)
DLC

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21st century

fr:Incident du Honnō-ji

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