Early life 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 Furthermore, historian Kobayashi Masanobu stated that the name of Mitsusuna, father of Mitsuhide, cannot be found in historical documents of Akechi clan from Toki branch.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 lower branch of 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 1568 November, 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. In 1569, on January 21, 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. On 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. In 1570, on the first day of June, 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.
Service under Oda Nobunaga 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. 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. In January 1576,
Akai Naomasa suddenly attacked Mitsuhide, where they engaged in the battle of Kuroi Castle, forcing Mitsuhide to retreat his forces. In April, Naomasa and his relative, Akai Tadai, submitted once again to Nobunaga, as they feared the reprisal from the Oda clan, albeit it was argued that it was Mitsuhide's role to negotiate and convince them to do so. Later in the same month, during the
Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, Mitsuhide,
Hosokawa Fujitaka,
Harada Naomasa, and
Araki Murashige led the Oda forces against the
Ikkō-ikki in the battle of Tenno-ji. On May 5, Mitsuhide involved in a battle where one of his general, Hanawa Naomasa, was killed in battle. Mitsuhide were cornered by the Ikkō rebel forces at Tenno-ji Fort, until he relieved by Nobunaga's aid. On May 23, Mitsuhide fell ill due to overwork and had to recuperate for a while. Meanwhile, in Tanba Province, the Hatano clan under
Hatano Hideharu, the lord of
Yakami Castle, declared independence and rebelled against Nobunaga. Hideharu sudden insurrection caught Mitsuhide in surprise and defeated his forces. During this battle, Hyōdayū Horibe, who acted as Mitsuhide's
Kagemusha (replacement), was killed. In 1577, Mitsuhide, along with
Hosokawa Fujitaka and
Tsutsui Junkei, fought under
Oda Nobutada in the
Siege of Shigisan against
Matsunaga Hisahide, who had rebelled against Nobunaga. Later, Mitsuhide took part in the
Battle of Tedorigawa against
Uesugi Kenshin. was located In 1579, the conflict of the Oda clan against Hatano Hideharu in
Tanba province reached its final stage. However in January, Hatano's forces counterattacked and Obata Nagaakira, one of the few Tanba locals who had consistently supported the Oda clan, was killed. Mitsuhide gave Nagaakira's surviving child the surname Akechi, and although he allowed the Obata clan to appoint a temporary representative, he ordered that Nagaakira's son must become the head of the family after he reached adulthood. Later, Mitsuhide stormed and captured Kuroi Castle, causing Akai Naoyoshi, who was 9 years old at the time, fled the castle. After Tanba was pacified, Mitsuhide distribute a fief of 10,000
koku to
Saitō Toshimitsu and appoint him as the lord of Kuroi Castle, and governance of Hikami district. In 1580, Nobunaga dismissed his most important commander,
Sakuma Nobumori. Mitsuhide replaced Nobumori in command and came to lead the largest force in the Kinki area (Kansai). This move was often said to be linked to the
Honnō-ji Incident. In 1581, Nobunaga assigned Mitsuhide to manage the
Kyōto ouma-zoroi ("Kyōto Mounted Horse Parade"), a large-scale military parade held to the east of the Imperial Palace in Kyōto.
Honnō-ji Incident In 1582, Mitsuhide was ordered by Nobunaga to march west to assist
Hashiba Hideyoshi who was at that time fighting the
Mōri clan. Ignoring his orders, Mitsuhide assembled an army of 13,000 soldiers and moved against Nobunaga's position at
Honnō-ji. On June 21, Mitsuhide was quoted as saying, "The enemy is at Honnō-ji!" His army surrounded the temple and eventually set it on fire. Oda Nobunaga was killed either during the fighting, or by his own hand. Nobunaga's son, Oda Nobutada, fled the scene, but was surrounded at , a fortified imperial villa near today's
Nijō Castle, and killed. Despite not killing Nobunaga personally, Mitsuhide claimed responsibility for his death. Neither Nobunaga's nor Nobutada's bodies were ever found. Mitsuhide's betrayal of Nobunaga shocked the capital, and he was forced to move quickly to secure his position. Mitsuhide looted
Azuchi castle to reward his men and maintain their loyalty. Mitsuhide attempted to make gestures of friendship to a panicked Imperial Court; he also made many attempts to win over the other clans, but to no avail. Meanwhile,
Hosokawa Fujitaka, to whom he was related through marriage, quickly cut ties with him, and
Tsutsui Junkei refused to side with him and half-heartedly supported Hideyoshi.
Death Mitsuhide had counted on
Toyotomi Hideyoshi being occupied
fighting with the Mori, and unable to respond to Mitsuhide's
coup d'état. However, having learned of the assassination of his lord, Hideyoshi quickly signed a peace treaty with the Mori, and alongside
Tokugawa Ieyasu rushed to be the first to avenge Nobunaga. Hideyoshi force marched his army to Settsu in four days, and caught Mitsuhide off guard. Mitsuhide had been unable to garner support for his cause, and his army had dwindled down to 10,000 men. Hideyoshi, however, had won over former Oda retainers, including
Niwa Nagahide and
Ikeda Tsuneoki, and had a strength of 20,000 men. In July 2, 1582, the two forces met at the
Battle of Yamazaki. Mitsuhide took up a position south of
Shōryūji Castle, securing his right flank by the Yodo river, and his left at the foot of the 270-metre
Tennozan. Hideyoshi immediately seized the advantage by securing the heights of Tennōzan; his vanguard then maneuvered to face the Akechi forces along the Enmyōji river. Mitsuhide's forces made a failed attempt to force Hideyoshi from Tennōzan.
Ikeda Tsuneoki moved to reinforce Hideyoshi's right flank, which soon crossed Enmyōji-gawa and turned the Akechi flank. Simultaneously, Hideyoshi's forces marched against the Akechi front; this started a rout, only two hours after the battle had begun. Mitsuhide's men fled, with the exception of the 200 men under Mimaki Kaneaki (御牧 兼顕), who charged and were destroyed by Hideyoshi's larger force. Soon, panic set in among the Akechi army, and Hideyoshi's army chased them back to Shōryūji, where the garrison collapsed. The bandit leader
Nakamura Chōbei later killed Mitsuhide as Mitsuhide fled the battle. ==Family==