Akechi Mitsuhide

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Akechi Mitsuhide (明智 光秀, Akechi Mitsuhide^?, 1528? – July 2, 1582 Japanese calendar 6th month 13th day), nicknamed Jūbei, was a samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan.

Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he later betrayed Nobunaga and caused him to commit seppuku.

Born in Mino province (now Gifu prefecture) as a descendant of the shugo Toki clan, Mitsuhide began serving Nobunaga after Nobunaga's conquest of Mino province in 1566 and received Sakamoto (in Omi, 100,000 koku) in 1571. Although Nobunaga rarely put too much trust in his retainers, he particularly trusted Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Hashiba and Mitsuhide Akechi. After Mitsuhide received Sakamoto he moved to pacify the Tamba region by defeating several clans such as the Isshiki of Tango.

In 1579, he captured Yakami Castle from Hatano Hideharu by promising Hideharu peace terms. This accomplished Mitsuhide's goal, although Nobunaga betrayed the peace agreement and had Hideharu executed. Naturally this did not make the Hatano family happy and a short while later several of Hideharu's retainers murdered Akechi Mitsuhide's mother. The situation was fueled through several public insults Nobunaga had directed at Mitsuhide, that even drew the attention of some Western observers. Mitsuhide blamed Nobunaga for his mother's death and the attack at Honnōji on June 21, 1582 (Japanese: 6th month 2nd day) exacted his revenge.

He has been credited with killing Oda Nobunaga; while Mitsuhide did not execute Nobunaga personally, he did force him to commit seppuku for his betrayal and subsequent murder of Mitsuhide's mother^{[citation needed]}. When they found out about the assassination, both Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu rushed to be the first to avenge Nobunaga and take his place. Hideyoshi got to Mitsuhide first, and Mitsuhide's allies such as Hosokawa Fujitaka, who was related to Mitsuhide through a marriage, betrayed him. Mitsuhide survived for 13 days, until he was defeated by Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki. Mitsuhide is rumored to have been killed by a peasant warrior with a bamboo spear by the name of Nakamura (some say such an ignominious death was but karmic reward for killing his lord^{[citation needed]}). However, there were also rumors that he was not killed, but rather started a new life as a priest called Tenkai.

The Akechi family was able to trace their heritage to the Toki and from there to the Minamoto. It is noted that Minamoto Yorimoto brought the destruction of the Taira clan the same way Mitsuhide brought an end to Nobunaga.

[edit] Akechi Mitsuhide in fiction

Akechi Mitsuhide is featured in various fictional works, mostly as a hero, since Oda Nobunaga himself is often portrayed as a villain.

• He is featured in Capcom's Onimusha as Samanosuke's uncle/relative, as well as Onimusha Tactics as a playable character.
• Mitsuhide is also one of the playable characters in Koei's Samurai Warriors. He wields a katana and is portrayed to have a very close relationship with Ranmaru Mori. In the second installment, the relationship is not present. He is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in the Japanese version, and Michael Gough in the English version.
• He is also featured as a playable character in Sengoku Basara, where in he is portrayed as a sadistic psychopath who wields dual scythes, and enjoys killing his opponents. For some reason, he is able to attack his allies without damaging them. He is voiced by Sho Hayami in the said game. In the US installment, Devil Kings, his name is changed into Reaper, and becomes unplayable.
• In Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Taiko ki, Mitsuhide is emotionally abused by Nobunaga, who calls him by the nickname "kumquat head".
• In the James Clavell novel Shōgun, Mitsuhide is renamed as "Akechi Jinsai", although he is not a major character.
• In Kessen III, he is portrayed as a main villain through the game, this is because Oda Nobunaga is portrayed as the hero and unifier of Japan.
• In Hikaru no Go a character named Yuki Mitani plays Mitsuhide in a school play.

[edit] Family

• Akechi Mitsuyoshi ( 明智光慶 ) - Eldest son
• Akechi Hidemitsu ( 明智秀満 )　- Adopted son
• Hosokawa Gracia ( 明智玉子 ) - Daughter

The article incorporates text from OpenHistory.