Akechi Mitsuhide
Akechi Mitsuhide ( Japanese 明智 光秀 ; * March 10, 1528 in Mino ; † July 2, 1582 Ogoruse ) lived in the Sengoku period (1467–1568) and served as a general under the Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga .
Life
Youth and wartime
Akechi was born the son of the lord of Akechi Castle in 1528. The family served the daimyo Saito Dosan. When he was in dispute with his son Yoshitatsu, the Akechi Castle of Yoshitatsu was raided and burned down in 1556. Many Akechi family members fell victim to this attack.
Looking for a new man, Akechi stood out for his talent in shooting. At that time, the first rifles appeared in Japan , brought into the country by the Portuguese . As a result, Prince Asakura Yoshikage became aware of him and made Akechi his subject.
When the 13th Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate , Ashikaga Yoshiteru , died in 1565 and his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshiaki was expelled from Kyoto , Akechi joined this and won his trust. Ashikaga Yoshiaki relied on the young warlord Oda Nobunaga in order to achieve the shogunate through his military strength, which he also succeeded in 1568. Akechi became subject to Oda through this connection. Because of his position with both princes, he became a mediator between the two. In 1571, he received permission from Oda to build his own castle on Lake Shiga. In the same year, Oda destroyed the Enryaku-ji monastery. Due to Oda's brutality towards his opponents, the first confrontation with Akechi took place.
The Shogun was no longer ready to tolerate Oda's interventions and openly opposed him. As a general, Akechi knew that the Shogun's troops had little chance of winning against Oda's troops, so he resignedly transferred to Oda's camp. In 1573 Oda defeated the Shogun and drove him out of Kyoto, ending the Ashikaga Shogunate after 237 years.
Oda's brutality kept growing the distance between Oda and Akechi. In the fight against the Ikkō sect (better known today as Jōdo-Shinshū ), Nagashima Castle was completely burned down and over 20,000 victims on the part of the Ikkō sect were to be mourned. At the Battle of Nagashino 3,000 rifles are said to have been used, these were decisive in the battle and go back to Akechi's plan. As a thank you he received the land of Tanba west of Kyoto and immediately conquered it.
Abuse
Oda is said to have led to abuse and disparaging behavior against Akechi. The following stories have come down to us:
- During a banquet, Oda had tucked Akechi's head under his arm while drunk and hit it like a drum with a fan
- After the battle against the Takeda, Akechi had noted that the effort had been worth it. Oda asked indignantly what Akechi had done there and bumped his head against a railing.
- When Oda decided to go to war against Prince Chosokabe Motochika, contrary to his own promise, Akechi lost face as he was the guarantor of security for Chosokabe, who at that time was negotiating with him as a mediator on behalf of Odas.
- Saito Toshizo was the samurai of Inaba Ittetsu, who broke up with him and became a ronin . Akechi accepted him as a subject. When Inaba intervened at Oda to have Saito returned, Akechi gave the order. When Akechi refused, Oda grabbed his hair and pulled him to the floor. Finally, Oda banged the Akechi's head several times against a pillar in the hallway. Because Akechi Oda still refused to obey, Oda made to draw his sword, but was appeased by the people around him.
- In mid-May 1582 Akechi received orders to advance against the Mōri clan and to support Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In a written order to do so, Oda expropriated Akechi and gave him areas of the Mōri clan that had not even been conquered at all.
Assassination attempt on Oda, rule and death
Akechi revolted against Oda on June 21, 1582. It can be assumed that he was either supported or certainly encouraged by the Tenno, the former Shogun and other princes. After the successful revolt, he forced Oda to commit a solemn, ritual suicide ( Seppuku ) in the incident on Honnō-ji and murdered his son and heir Oda Nobutada .
Akechi tried in the following days to swear the daimyo on himself. He did not succeed in this project because the majority of the princes took the side of his opponents.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi then immediately concluded a truce with the Mōri and came to avenge the death of his master. Toyotomi had mobilized 40,000 men against Akechi, Akechi could only provide 16,000 men with the remaining auxiliaries and his own troops. Akechi decided in the hopeless situation to a frontal attack in the battle of Yamazaki near Uchidehama. After three hours of battle, his bled army was surrounded on three sides and defeated.
On his escape, Akechi was killed in the next village by rebellious farmers or bandits. Akechi Mitsuhide's reign was 13 days.
Live on as a monk
According to one theory, Akechi did not die, but lived on as the monk Tenkai ( 天 海 ; 1536? –1643). There is some evidence of this theory as the monk did not appear until after Akechi's official demise. Tenkai was closely associated with the later Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu . There is also evidence that the monk accompanied Tokugawa Ieyasu as an advisor during the siege of Osaka , which was rather unusual for a spiritual monk.
Trivia
Akechi Mitsuhide mastered the chadō , the Japanese tea ceremony, and was very diligent in the renga kai, the Japanese poetry. These qualities were rarely found in generals during the civil war.
progeny
- Consort: Tsumaki Hiroko
- Hosokawa Gracia (* 1563; † 25 August 1600)
- Unknown
- Akechi Mitsuyoshi (* 1569 - † July 4, 1582)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Akechi, Mitsuhide |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 明智 光秀 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1528 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 2, 1582 |