Akechi Mitsuhide (明智 光秀; March 10, 1528 – July 2, 1582), first called Jūbei from his clan and later Koretō Hyūga no Kami (惟任日向守) from his title, was a Japanese samurai general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of the trusted generals under daimyō Oda Nobunaga during his war of political unification in Japan.
Mitsuhide rebelled against Nobunaga for unknown reasons in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, forcing the unprotected Nobunaga to commit seppuku in Kyoto.
Mitsuhide attempted to establish himself as shōgun, but was pursued by Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi and defeated at the Battle of Yamazaki. The 13-day reign of Mitsuhide is listed as the inspiration for the yojijukugo set phrase mikkatenka (三日天下; short-lived reign).
He is still popular in present culture. A ceremonial activity in his honor was held on April 15, 2018, in Kyoto, coinciding with the local shrine's 100th anniversary.
Akechi Mitsuhide was believed to be born on 10 March 1528 in Tara Castle, Mino Province (present-day Kani, Gifu Prefecture). In the Akechi Family Tree recorded in "Zoku Gunsho Ruiju" and the "Mino no Kuni Shokki", it is said that the Akechi clan which Mitsuhide hailed from were descended as branch of Toki clan of the Seiwa Genji clan, where the Toki clan served as shugo in Mino Province for over 200 years from the Kenmu Restoration, and has produced several dozen branches from then on. However, there are no primary historical sources that supported this claim. Moreover, when Ashikaga Yoshiaki was staying in Echizen Province, Mitsuhide served as a foot soldier (made up of those who were not direct vassals of the Shogun) recruited during the time of Ashikaga Yoshiteru. This cast doubts among historian he was not from the main line of the Akechi clan of the Toki clan, who were listed in the hokoshu, a higher rank than the foot soldiers. His father is listed as Akechi Mitsutsuna in various genealogies from the Edo period. Furthermore, historian Kobayashi Masanobu stated that the name of Mitsusuna, father of Mitsuhide, cannot be found in historical documents of Akechi clan from Toki branch. Thus Tadachika Kuwata suspected that he came from a lower branch of the Akechi clan, not the main branch.
Mitsuhide is rumored to be a childhood friend or cousin of Nōhime. It is believed that he was raised to be a general among 10,000 by Saitō Dōsan and the Toki clan during their governorship of the Mino Province. When Dōsan's son, Saitō Yoshitatsu, rebelled against his father in 1556, Mitsuhide sided with Dōsan.
Service under Ashikaga Shogunate
Mitsuhide began serving the "wandering shōgun" Ashikaga Yoshiaki as one of his guardians under Hosokawa Fujitaka. Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki asked Asakura Yoshikage to be his official protector, an offer which Yoshikage declined. Later, Yoshiaki appealed to Mitsuhide, who suggested Oda Nobunaga instead.
In 1567, after Nobunaga conquered Mino and Ise Province, Mitsuhide, Nobunaga and also Yoshiaki marched through Omi province to Kyoto.
In November 1568, Nobunaga, Yoshiaki and Mitsuhide arrived in Kyoto, the capital of Japan. Later, Nobunaga made Yoshiaki the next shogun and turned Honkoku-ji Temple into a temporary Shogun palace.
On January 21, 1569, the Miyoshi clan triumvirate (Miyoshi Saninshu) attacked Ashikaga Yoshiaki at Honkoku-ji temple. In this battle, Mitsuhide and Hosokawa Fujitaka defended the shōgun and repulsed the Miyoshi clan. In April, Mitsuhide worked together with Kinoshita Hideyoshi (later changing his surname to Hashiba), Niwa Nagahide, and Nakagawa Shigemasa, as he was tasked as magistrate to manage the government affairs of Kyoto and the surrounding areas under the control of Oda Nobunaga.
On June 1, 1570, at the Siege Kanegasaki in Echizen Province, Mitsuhide led the rearguard of the Oda forces when Nobunaga gave the order to retreat. Later in September, during the conflict between the Oda clan and the forces of Saika Ikki, Mitsuhide was assigned to guard Usayama Castle with 300-400 garrison soldiers under his command.
In 1571, after the successful attack at the Ikkō-ikki Enryaku-ji temple, Mitsuhide received the area of Sakamoto and built Sakamoto Castle. During this battle, about 18 soldiers from Akechi's army were killed. Mitsuhide donated rice offerings to the Saigyo-ji Temple to mourn the fallen. A letter of donation from Mitsuhide remains at the temple, and one of the 18 people mentioned in it was not a samurai but a chūgen In addition, two letters of condolence from Mitsuhide to his vassals who were injured in the battle remain. In July, after Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki was defeated in the battle of Makishima Castle, he became exiled, and the Muromachi Shogunate was virtually abolished. Thereby, Many of the former Shogunate vassals, including Ise Sadaoki and other members of the Ise clan, and Suwa Morinao, entered service as vassals of Mitsuhide.
In 1572, Mitsuhide continued serving Shogun Yoshiaki by contributing to the campaign in Kawachi Province under Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
In 1573, the relationship between Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Nobunaga worsened as Ashikaga raised a coalition against Nobunaga with Takeda Shingen on February. Mitsuhide sided with Nobunaga and participated in the battles of Ishiyama Castle and Imakatata Castle as a direct vassal of Nobunaga. Mitsuhide brought his vassals such as Akechi Yahei, Akechi Jurozaemon, Akechi Jyuemon, Tsumaki Kazue, Miyake Tobei, Fujita Dengo, Matsuda Tarozaemon, and Hida Tatewaki to these battles, killing 58 samurai and over 300 non-samurai infantries of Ashikaga. After the end of the battle, Nobunaga intended to repair his relationship with Ashikaga and opened peace negotiation with him, although it immediately collapsed just before they were concluded due to interference from Matsunaga Hisahide.
In 1574, after the Ashikaga Shogunate ended, Mitsuhide served as a dual magistrate, assessing taxes on temple holdings in Kyōto and its environs.
In 1575, he participated in the Siege of Takaya Castle (高屋城の戦い) against Miyoshi Yasunaga-Ikko Ikki coalition, and then in the Battle of Nagashino against the Takeda clan. After that, Nobunaga sent Akechi Mitsuhide to take control of Tanba Province. Mitsuhide attempted diplomacy and won over a number of the smaller local lords to his side. However, the Akai clan were adamant in their opposition, and Mitsuhide was forced to lay siege to Kuroi Castle for two months in the winter of 1575. According to the "Yoshikawa clan's record", even though many of local lords in Tanba has joined the anti-Nobunaga force, the majority of them keep their loyalty to Nobunaga and supporting Mitsuhide. in this campaign. Later, he was awarded the Court titles of "Junior Fifth Rank (Lower)" and "Governor of Hyūga", and the honorary title of "Koretō Hyūga-no-kami". In June, Nobunaga ordered him to pacify Tanba Province and Tango Province. During this campaign in Tanba Province, Mitsuhide cooperated with local lords such as Obata Nagaaki from Funai County. In addition, Kawakatsu Tsuguhisa from Imamiya, Kuwata County, had also switched sides to the Oda side after being persuaded by Obata. On July, Mitsuhide began attacking pro-Yoshiaki local lords of Tanba such as Utsuno Yorishige with the help of Obata and Kawakatsu. However, at the same time he was also ordered by Nobunaga to send reinforcements to Echizen and Tango, and left the area. On August, Utsuno Yorishige attacked the Oda clan's Umaji Castle and Amarube Castle. The reason behind this order was said to be a checkmate against Akai Naomasa of Hikami County, who was pursuing attacks on Izushi Castle and Takeda Castle in Tajima, which were the territory of the Yamana clan, while showing an ambiguous attitude toward Nobunaga's attack on Tanba. Later, Mitsuhide returned to Sakamoto Castle, and on October began a new attack on Tanba. Utsu Yorishige fled without fighting, and Mitsuhide then besieged Kuroi Castle, where Akai Naomasa had returned after giving up on the attack on Takeda Castle. Later, Mitsuhide built fortifications on at least three separate places in his effort to besiege and capture Kuroi Castle.