Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide
Akechi Mitsuhide
明智光秀
	Edo period painting of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Lord of Kameyama Castle
	In office; 1578–1582
Succeeded by	Toyotomi Hidekatsu
Lord of Sakamoto Castle
	In office; 1571–1582
Succeeded by	Niwa Nagahide
Personal details
Born	10 March 1528; Tara Castle, Mino Province, Japan
Died	July 2, 1582 (aged 54); Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Spouse	Tsumaki Hiroko
Children	Akechi Mitsuyoshi; Akechi Tama; at least one other daughter
Parents	Akechi Mitsutsuna (father); Daughter of the Wakasa Takeda clan (mother);
Relatives	Akechi Hidemitsu (son-in-law); Akechi Mitsutada (cousin)
Nickname	"Jūbei" (十兵衛)
Military service
Allegiance	Toki clan; Saitō clan; Ashikaga shogunate; Oda clan
Unit	Akechi clan
Battles/wars	Battle of Nagaragawa; Battle of Honkoku-ji; Siege of Kanegasaki; Siege of Mount Hiei; Kawachi Campaign; Battle of Nagashino; Tanba Campaign; Ishiyama Hongan-ji War; Battle of Tedorigawa; Siege of Shigisan; Siege of Yakami Castle; Siege of Kuroi Castle; Honnō-ji Incident; Battle of Yamazaki
Japanese name
Kanji	明智光秀
Hiragana	あけちみつひで
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Akechi Mitsuhide

Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀, March 10, 1528 – July 2, 1582),^[1] 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 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-days short reign of Mitsuhide is listed as the inspiration for the yojijukugo set phrase mikkatenka (三日天下, short-lived^[2] reign).^[3]^[4]

He is still popular in present culture. A ceremonial activity was held on April 15, 2018, in Kyoto.^[5]

^ Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. p. 212. ISBN 1854095234.
^ According to the Sanseido reference, 三日 should be understood not literally as three days, but as "ごく短い期間", e.g. an exceptionally short period of time
^ "三日天下" [Mikkatenka]. 広辞苑第六版 (Koujien, 6th edition) (in Japanese). 株式会社岩波書店 (Iwanami Shoten, Inc.). 2008.
^ 三日天下 [Mikkatenka]. 新明解四字熟語時点 (Shinmeika Yojijukugo Jiten) (in Japanese). 三省堂(Sanseidō). Retrieved 5 Sep 2013.
^ "「逆臣」光秀の善政たどる京都・福知山で１５日催し : 京都新聞". Archived from the original on 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-13.

[Turnbull2-1] Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. p. 212. ISBN 1854095234.

[2] According to the Sanseido reference, 三日 should be understood not literally as three days, but as "ごく短い期間", e.g. an exceptionally short period of time

[3] "三日天下" [Mikkatenka]. 広辞苑第六版 (Koujien, 6th edition) (in Japanese). 株式会社岩波書店 (Iwanami Shoten, Inc.). 2008.

[4] 三日天下 [Mikkatenka]. 新明解四字熟語時点 (Shinmeika Yojijukugo Jiten) (in Japanese). 三省堂(Sanseidō). Retrieved 5 Sep 2013.

[5] "「逆臣」光秀の善政たどる京都・福知山で１５日催し : 京都新聞". Archived from the original on 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-13.

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