Incident at Honnoji
From Freepedia
The Incident at Honnōji (本能寺の変 Honnōji-no-hen?) refers to the forced suicide in June 211582 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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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 Mori clan, the Uesugi clan, and the Late Hojo clan, each weakened by internal affairs. After the death of Mori Motonari, his grandson, Mori Terumoto only strived to maintain the status quo, aided by his two uncles, as per Motonari's will. Hojo 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 Hojo 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 Honnoji, 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.
Akechi's Treachery
Upon receiving the order, Akechi 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.
Akechi 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.
Akechi 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, Akechi announced, "The enemies are at Honnoji."
Before dawn, the army had Honnoji surrounded in a coup. Nobunaga and his servants and bodyguards resisted, but when they realized it was futile against Akechi's overwhelming number. Setting fire to the building, Nobunaga committed suicide. His remains were not found, a fact often speculated about by writers and historians.
After capturing Honnoji, Akechi 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.
Reasons for the coup
Akechi's reasons for the coup was in fact a mystery that has been a source of controversy and speculation, although there have been several theories. The most common ones maintain that Akechi 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 Akechi 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".
After the incident
Quickly making peace with the Mori clan, Hashiba Hideyoshi returned from the Chugoku 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 Hojo 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.
