Incident at Honnōji
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Siege of Honnōji | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Sengoku period | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Oda forces under Akechi Mitsuhide's command | inhabitants of Honnōji, courtiers, merchants, artists, and servants of Oda Nobunaga | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Akechi Mitsuhide | Oda Nobunaga† | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | No trained warriors except Nobunaga himself and Mori Ranmaru | ||||||
| Campaigns of Oda Nobunaga |
|---|
| Okehazama - Azukizaka - Chōkōji - Kanagasaki - Anegawa - Ishiyama Hongan-ji - Mount Hiei - Nagashima - Mikata ga Hara - Hikida - Odani - Ichijō ga dani - Itami - Nagashino - Mitsuji - Kizugawaguchi - Shigisan - Tedorigawa - Hijiyama - Temmokuzan - Uzu - Honnōji |
The Incident at Honnōji (本能寺の変 Honnōji-no-hen?) refers to the forced suicide in June 21, 1582 of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honnoji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority. Akechi Mitsuhide's authority over Nobunaga's territories was only temporary, cut short by Hashiba Hideyoshi, who defeated Akechi and took over Nobunaga's legacy.
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[edit] Context
Oda Nobunaga was at the height of his power, having destroyed the Takeda family earlier that year. He had central Japan firmly under his control, and his only rivals were the Mōri clan, the Uesugi clan, and the Late Hōjō clan, each weakened by internal affairs. After the death of Mōri Motonari, his grandson, Mōri Terumoto only strived to maintain the status quo, aided by his two uncles, as per Motonari's will. Hōjō Ujiyasu, a renowned strategist and domestic manager, had also died, leaving his less prominent son Ujimasa in place. Finally, the death of Uesugi Kenshin, said to be Sengoku period's most formidable general, left the Uesugi clan, devastated also by an internal conflict between his two adopted sons, weaker than before.
It was at this point that Oda Nobunaga began sending his generals aggressively into all directions to continue his military expansion. He ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi to attack the Mori clan; Niwa Nagahide to prepare for an invasion of Shikoku; Takigawa Kazumasu to watch the Hōjō clan from Kozuke province and Shinano province; and Shibata Katsuie to invade Echigo province, the home domain of the Uesugi clan.
At the same time, Nobunaga also invited his ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu to tour the Kansai region in celebration of the demise of the Takeda clan. Around this time, Nobunaga received a request for reinforcements from Hashiba Hideyoshi, whose forces were stuck at the Siege of Takamatsu. Nobunaga then parted way with Ieyasu, who went on to tour the rest of Kansai while Nobunaga himself made preparations to aid Hashiba in the frontline. He ordered Akechi Mitsuhide also to go to Hashiba's aid, and travelled to Honnōji, his usual resting place when he stopped by in Kyoto. The only people he had around him were court officials, merchants, upper-class artists, and dozens of servants.
[edit] Akechi's Treachery
Upon receiving the order, Akechi Mitsuhide returned to Sakamoto Castle and moved to his base in Tamba province. Around this time, he had a session of Renga with several prominent poets, where he made clear his intentions to rebel.
Mitsuhide saw an opportunity to act, when not only was Nobunaga resting in Honnoji and unprepared for an attack, but all the other major daimyo and Oda generals were occupied in other parts of the country.
Mitsuhide led his army toward Kyoto, claiming that Nobunaga wanted to show a procession. It was not the first time that Nobunaga had demonstrated his modernized and well-equipped troops in Kyoto, so this excuse was not doubted. Finally, when getting near to Honnoji, Mitsuhide announced, "The enemy awaits at Honnoji!"
Before dawn, the Akechi army had Honnoji surrounded in a coup. Nobunaga and his servants and bodyguards resisted, but they realized it was futile against the overwhelming numbers of Akechi troops. Setting fire to Honnoji, Nobunaga committed suicide. His remains were not found, a fact often speculated about by writers and historians.
After capturing Honnoji, Mitsuhide attacked Nijo Castle, also in Kyoto, where Oda Nobutada, eldest son and heir of Nobunaga, had moved after he had sent the kōtaishi away. Nobutada committed suicide there.
After trying to persuade Oda vassals in the vicinity to recognize him as the new master of former Oda territories, Akechi entered Azuchi Castle and began sending messages to the imperial court to boost his position and force the court to recognize him as well.
[edit] Reasons for the coup
Akechi Mitsuhide's reasons for the coup are a mystery that has been a source of controversy and speculation. Although there have been several theories, the most common ones maintain that Mitsuhide bore a personal grudge, acted out of fear, had the ambition to take over Japan, was simply acting to protect the imperial court whose authority was not respected by Nobunaga, or was trying to remove the iconoclastic revolutionary. Many think it was a combination of at least some of the above assumed reasons.
When Nobunaga invited Tokugawa Ieyasu over to Azuchi Castle, Akechi was the official in charge of catering to the needs of Ieyasu's group. Subsequently, he was removed from this post for some reason. One story spoke of Nobunaga yelling at him in front of the guests for serving rotten fish.
Another story said that when Nobunaga gave Akechi the order to assist Hashiba Hideyoshi, it was somehow hinted that Akechi would lose his current territories and would have to fight for land which was not even under Oda control yet. As Nobunaga had sent two senior retainers under him, Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hidesada, into exile for poor performance, Akechi might have thought that he could suffer a similar fate. Akechi was already in his early fifties, and some believe he might have felt insecure about such a grim future.
Furthermore, when invading Tamba province, Akechi Mitsuhide supposedly sent his mother as a hostage into the hostile Yagami Castle to convince the Hatano clan to surrender. Nobunaga, however, had the Hatano brothers executed, an act that caused former Hatano retainers to kill Akechi's mother. Akechi Mitsuhide felt humiliated and depressed by this and eventually decided to kill his master. This story, however, only began to circulate during the Edo period, and is of dubious historical origin.
Whatever the reason, before Akechi began his march toward Kyoto, he held a Renga session with several prominent poets. One line he said was as the following:
Toki wa ima, ame ga shitashiru satsukikana. (時は今 雨がした滴る皐月かな)
Literally, it meant "The time is now, the fifth month when the rain falls." However, it could also be taken to mean the following without changing a single sound:
土岐は今 天が下治る 皐月かな
Toki, which means time, sounds identical to Toki, which was Akechi's ancestral family name. The whole phrase could be construed as "Toki shall now rule the realm under the sky".
[edit] After the incident
Quickly making peace with the Mori clan, Hashiba Hideyoshi returned from the Chūgoku region within ten days. He quickly absorbed former Oda vassals along the way, and met up with Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobutaka in Sakai. Marching toward Kyoto, he defeated Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki. Akechi was then killed while fleeing back to his castle.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, at first touring Sakai, fled through several provinces and crossed the mountains of Iga, finally reaching the shore in Ise. He returned to his home Mikawa province by sea, and it took him so long that by the time he consolidated his position, Hashiba Hideyoshi had already had most of Nobunaga's territories under firm control.
Takigawa Kazumasu suddenly faced the assault of the Hōjō clan and lost most of his land there, a defeat that cost him his previous prestige in the Oda clan.
Shibata Katsuie and other Oda vassals in the north were bogged down by an Uesugi counterattack in Echizen province, and remained unable to act for quite a while.
The fact that no one else had the chance, resources, or ability to act decisively ensured Hashiba Hideyoshi's supremacy and spiritual inheritance of Oda Nobunaga's legacy.
[edit] Popular culture
Incident at Honnoji is one of the key stages in the Playstation 2 video game Samurai Warriors. For most characters involved, it serves as the branch point which allows defeat of their army to still advance the storyline (instead of ending the game). As Samurai Warriors is far more mission-based than its predecessor, Dynasty Warriors, the objectives which are presented vary depending on the character.
- Mori Ranmaru starts near Nobunaga's position, and is charged with ensuring no enemy soldiers breach the front gate. He can also destroy the Akechi task force attempting to set fire to the temple and cause his lord to charge Mitsuhide instead of attempting to flee the city.
- Akechi Mitsuhide must protect the task force and try to defeat Ranmaru at the gate, who is always given stats in excess of the player regardless of how strong they are. His missions also slaying both Nohime and Oichi, despite their innocence of what he sees as Nobunaga's crimes as they fight to protect him. Lastly, he can seal Nobunaga's escape routes to force Lord Oda to turn and fight.
- Lady Noh begins the stage as an ally of Nobunaga. However, if Mitsuhide's fire attack is successful, she switches sides and attacks him, proferring that she "can't stand the thought of his life being taken by another." This is a dramatic convention of her supposed role as a spy against the Oda family, taken to extremes for the purpose of the game.
- Oichi starts out near Nobunaga along with Ranmaru, but is directed to follow and protect her brother from ambushes instead. She also faces a duel with Noh when the two finally meet.
In Samurai Warriors 2, it now has a strangely upbeat accompanying music, the temple itself now forms only a smaller area at the center south of the map (which has been expanded to include Nijo Castle where Oda Nobutada is), and the stage seems to act as the dividing point between the game's eras (the second half of Nobunaga's career and the newly emphasized post-Nobunaga era); anyone whose Story starts before it will have a movie in some way noting his death. However, while Mitsuhide's version is relatively straightforward (leading his army about and forcing a final confrontation within Honnoji), it seems that the gameplay of Nobunaga's version is designed to force the player to hold Honnoji itself -- Nobunaga himself declaring just that intent and refusing to flee -- and then when Ranmaru exits (abandoning his lord's side for no apparent reason) to follow him to the east for the final confrontation with the just-arrived Mitsuhide. Also, in Mitsuhide and Magoichi's stories (through their movies) it is shown that Magoichi actually fired a fatal shot during Mitsuhide and Nobunaga's dueling in a courtyard. (In Nobunaga's ending movie, the duel takes place here despite the aforementioned contradicting gameplay.)
The theme is also used in several of the alternate-reality storylines made possible when the player succeeds in an earlier mission that would otherwise result in the death of the character they are controlling.
- Imagawa Yoshimoto's role is switched with that of Nobunaga, and he must escape Mitsuhide's attack as well as impress his demoralized officers, who see their lord's love for kemari to preclude him from actual combat.
- Saika Magoichi attempts to prevent his lord, Honganji Kennyo from surrendering to the combined attack of both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide at Kyoto, though the stage used is exactly the same as Honnoji.
- Ishikawa Goemon's execution is staged at Honnoji, but he escapes his fate at the beginning of the stage and fights back against Hideyoshi.
