＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
What image do you have of Akechi Mitsuhide? Generally speaking, he was a warlord of the Sengoku period who committed a rebellion against Oda Nobunaga (the Honnoji Incident) and was killed by farmers after three days in the field.
However, it is not well known how Akechi Mitsuhide came to serve Oda Nobunaga, and how he came to commit rebellion while being promoted to a feudal lord comparable to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the truth remains a mystery.
NHK’s 2020 historical drama, “Kirin ga Kuru,” featuring Akechi Mitsuhide, will be the focus of public attention. So, in this article, I would like to take a closer look at this Akechi Mitsuhide’s character.
By the way, the reason for making an unknown Kanaguri Shiso and Tabata Seiji the main character, as in 2019’s “Idaten: Tokyo Olimpic Story,” or featuring someone who has not been the main character so far, like Akechi Mitsuhide in next year’s “Kirin ga Kuru,” is that “the producer is unique and ambitious,” or “the story is out of Is it because “the producer is a unique and ambitious person” or because he wants to “breathe new life into a drama that has run out of material and has become a rut?
In any case, we look forward to Shunsaku Ikehata’s skill in writing the script for the 2020 Taiga Drama, which will take the popular “Warring States Period” as its theme but make the “losers” the protagonists instead of the “winners” as in the past.
Although Masato Sakai’s performance as Yukimura Sanada was one-note and lackluster, Masao Kusakari’s performance as Masayuki Sanada and Hiroshi Oizumi’s performance as Nobuyuki Sanada made the 2016 “Sanadamaru” a reasonably entertaining drama, so I expect it to be a lively drama worthy of the “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games” year.
１．About Akechi Mitsuhide
Compared to Oda Nobunaga , who defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama and came close to the feat of unifying the country, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi who cleverly attacked his successor and achieved unification of the country, Akechi Mitsuhide, a champion of Japan for only 13 days, was a “shadowy figure” so to speak, who was not a spectacular existence and was stigmatized as “a rebel”.
As a result, he has not been the protagonists of much drama and have not featured much in history until now. This is a true indication that “history is the history of the victor. The reason why there are few historical records on Akechi Mitsuhide is because he was labeled as a “reversed vassal of the Lord’s murderer,” and historical records were erased or falsified to conceal his relationship with Mitsuhide.
However, from Akechi Mitsuhide’s side, it is natural that the aspect will be very different.
Akechi Mitsuhide(? – 1582) was born into the Akechi clan, a branch of the Toki clan of the Seiwa Genji clan. ～The year of his birth is also unknown.
According to some theories, he was born in 1516, 1528, 1540 or later, etc. According to the 1540 or later theory, he was younger than Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).
Mitsuhide’s ancestors were a branch of the Toki clan, but he seems to have turned his back on the Toki clan and relied on the Rokkaku clan of Omi.
Mitsuhide was taught by the lord of Akechi Castle, Saito Dosan , and Zen monks from his youth, and is now regarded as an educated man who was well versed in the secrets of the useful arts and sciences, as well as a brave and wise general, a good lord, and a man who cared greatly for his family.
２．Career before serving Oda Nobunaga
Although the history of his youth is not well known, he served under Saito Dosan , who replaced the Toki clan as the lord of Mino, and in 1556, during the battle of Nagara River between Saito Dosan and Saito Yoshitatsu, he was on Dosan’s side and Yoshtatsu attacked Akechi Castle and his family was scattered.
He then relied on Asakura Yoshikage of Echizen to serve him for 10 years.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the last (15th) shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, before becoming shogun, urged warlords from all over the country to “go to Kyoto” and “establish his own shogunate. Hosokawa Fujitaka stood as a messenger to Oda Nobunaga , and Nobunaga agreed. Yoshiaki had a peace treaty concluded between the Oda and Saito clans in 1566, but Nobunaga broke it and marched to Mino.
Yoshiaki grew distrustful of such actions by Nobunaga, and once he gave up on Nobunaga, he came to rely on Asakura Yoshikage. This brings Mitsuhide into contact with Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
However, even though Yoshiaki expected him to go to Kyoto, Yoshikage would not move. Mitsuhide then recommends Nobunaga to Yoshiaki, saying, “Yoshikage is unreliable, but Nobunaga is a man who can be relied upon.
So, in 1568, Yoshiaki asked Nobunaga, who had taken Mino from the Saito clan, to “go to Kyoto and appoint him as Seii Taishogun” through Mitsuhide.
Since Mitsuhide’s aunt is said to be the wife of Saito Dosan , it is possible that Nobunaga’s wife, Princess Nohime (Dosan’s daughter), and Mitsuhide were “cousins”. It seems that they were at least related by blood.
３．Career in the service of Nobunaga Oda
He later became a vassal of both Yoshiaki and Nobunaga, and joined Yoshiaki in his journey to Kyoto in 1568.
In 1569, Mitsuhide was on Yoshiaki’s side during the Honkokuji Incident, when the “Miyoshi Sanninshu” raided Honkokuji Temple, Yoshiaki’s inn, to defend against the attack. Mitsuhide then joined Kinoshita Hideyoshi , Niwa Nagahide , and Nakagawa Shigemasa in the administration of affairs in and around Kyoto under the rule of Nobunaga.
Eventually, Nobunaga clashed with Yoshiaki, and in 1570, he was formally elevated to the position away from the Shogun and given the “right to execute tranquility under heaven” by the Imperial Court.
In 1571, Mitsuhide submitted a “request for retirement” to Yoshiaki, citing “no prospects for the future,” but it was disapproved.
When Yoshiaki raised his army in 1573, Mitsuhide broke with Yoshiaki and participated in the battles of Ishiyama Castle and Imakata Castle as a direct vassal of Nobunaga. Yoshiaki was exiled after his surrender, and the Muromachi shogunate was effectively destroyed.
In 1575, Mitsuhide participated in the Battle of Takaya Castle, the Battle of Nagashino, and the extermination of the Echizen Ikkou Putsch. He was then entrusted with the invasion of Tamba Province. The Tamba people were pro-Yoshiaki, and had previously followed Nobunaga, but turned against him when Yoshiaki was ousted. Mitsuhide was defeated by the treacherous act of Hatano Shuji, who was in contact with the powerful Tamba provincial clan.
Later, he participated in the Battle of Tennoji against Ishiyama Honganji in 1576, the attack on Zoka and the Battle of Shigisan Castle in 1577, and the attack on Kamiyoshi Castle and Arioka Castle in Harima in 1578 as reinforcements for the Hideyoshi forces attacking Mori.
In 1579, the Tamba offensive entered its final stage, and in cooperation with Fujitaka Hosokawa, he conquered the province of Tamba, and in 1580, he was granted additional territory in Tamba (290,000 koku), bringing his total to 340,000 koku.
Nobunaga also praised Mitsuhide’s work in Tamba, saying, “Mitsuhide’s efforts in the province of Tamba have done wonders for the nation’s reputation”.
At the same time as receiving possession of Tamba, Oda’s lords in the Kinki region, including Hosokawa Fujitaka in Tango Province and Tsutsui Junkei in Yamato Province, were assigned to Mitsuhide as “Yoriki,” and a “Kinai Area Army” was established from Omi to the San’in Region. The total territory of the “Yoriki” amounted to 2.4 million koku.
In 1581, he was given the responsibility of organizing the “Kyoto On-umazoroe”. In 1582, he was ordered to serve as “Tokugawa Ieyasu’s host” at Azuchi Castle.
However, in May 1582, he was abruptly relieved of his position as Ieyasu’s host, and ordered to support Hideyoshi Hashiba’s attack on Mori, and set out early in the morning on June 2.
On the way, he announced his intention to defeat Nobunaga to his chief vassals at a camp near Shibano or in Kameyama Castle in Tanba.
However, he told his troops that he had received a message from Mori Ranmaru, saying that Nobunaga wanted to inspect the formations and armaments of Akechi’s army, and that he was heading for Kyoto.
It should be noted that there is a famous story that he held an “Atago-yama Renga-kai” on May 28 before going into battle, where he performed mysterious songs. Atago Shrine is worshipped by the warriors as a military god, and was visited on May 27 as a prayer for good fortune.
He stayed overnight that day and the next day, he held a renga poetry reading with Satomura Jhouha, a renga poet, and others.
The first verse of the poem was “Toki wa ima amega shita shiru satsuki kana”（The time is now May, the month that reigns in heaven.）
The interpretation is that “Toki” means “from the Toki clan = Mitsuhide,” “Ame” means “heaven, under heaven,” and “Shitashiru” means “to command,” and that “Akechi Mitsuhide, from the Toki clan, gives orders under heaven,” which includes the meaning of “a warning of rebellion.
And at the end of “Atago Hyakuin,” Mitsuhide recited the poem “Nawate（繩手） no 行衛（Yukue） Tadachi to ha Shire” . The meaning of the poem is “I knew at once the direction the road was taking”.
Was this an expression of his determination to commit rebellion?
There is also a story that he drew lots at Atago Shrine several times. Although this was ostensibly a prayer for victory in the attack on Mori, it may have been intended as a prayer for success in the rebellion.
It is said that the first lottery was “bad luck,” the second was “bad luck,” and the third was “bad luck” as well. I personally do not have much faith in religion or fortune-telling, but this seems to imply the failure of the “Honnoji Incident”.
４．What caused the rebellion known as the Honnoji Incident?
Although there is no established theory, I believe that the following causes may have contributed to the rebellion.
(1) Resentment and dissatisfaction with Nobunaga’s dictatorial behavior and treatment of himself
Nobunaga originally called Mitsuhide “kumquat-head” and Hideyoshi “monkey” or “bald rat,” which were insulting nicknames.
Power harassment, such as violence and verbal abuse without regard for the other person’s personality, must have been an everyday occurrence.
Nobunaga, the “supreme king” and “despot,” denied the authority of religion and carried out massacres such as the burning down of Mount Hiei, which was considered tyrannical and merciless. Nobunaga also burned to death a member of the Akechi clan, Kaisen Jyouki, who left behind a chorus that read, “Anzen kanarazushimo sansui wo mochiizu, shintou wo mekkyaku seba hi mo mata suzushi”(安禅不必須山水 滅却心頭火自涼)
The modern translation is as follows
To zazen with a quiet mind, you don’t necessarily need mountains and water.
If the mind is set at naught, even fire is cool by nature.
Mitsuhide, who did not see Buddhism as an enemy, endured his inner conflicts and followed Nobunaga. However, after the burning of Mount Hiei, he worked to rebuild Enryaku-ji Temple and protected its sutras and other cultural properties.
As a close associate of Nobunaga, Mitsuhide was also a “disputing vassal” or “admonishing vassal” who admonished Nobunaga for his actions that could be described as out of control.
Mitsuhide was sent to battle year after year, and he worked faithfully and took credit. Nobunaga also had a certain amount of respect for Mitsuhide, but I believe that he could not stand Nobunaga’s treatment of Mitsuhide, who seemed to have used up all his energy in the conquest of Tamba Province, by removing him from the role of Ieyasu’s host to support Hideyoshi’s attack on Mouri, his rival.
Furthermore, at this time, Nobunaga took away Mitsuhide’s fiefs in Tamba and Omi Shiga-gun, which he had worked so hard to establish, and gave him Izumo and Iwami, which were still his enemy’s fiefs.
This was, in anyone’s opinion, a “leftward shift,” a “taking of fiefdoms in name only, not in reality, a change of country”. It was as if he had been ordered to take Izumo and Iwami by himself.
Mitsuhide had been putting up with a lot in the master-servant relationship, but this one incident may have completely destroyed the relationship of trust.
(2) Mitsuhide’s ambition to seize the reigns of heaven
I believe that Mitsuhide, who had grown powerful to the point of having his own “Kinai Area Army,” thought that he could conduct a “benevolent government” of the “Holy Son of Heaven” like the ancient Chinese “Gao and Shun” rather than a dictatorial and self-righteous government like Nobunaga.
For this purpose, I think he thought that if he defeated Nobunaga and sought cooperation from other feudal lords, it would not be a dream to “take the reigns of heaven.
However, he did not make careful preparations, assumed that everyone was dissatisfied with Nobunaga, and thought that he only had a chance to take action now, when security around Nobunaga was thin. The fact that Mitsuhide was originally a “stranger” with an unknown background may have been another reason why he could not gain the cooperation of the other feudal lords.
Although Hideyoshi was a “stranger” with an even more humble background than Mitsuhide, he was able to achieve the feat of unifying the country because of his talent for “persuasion” and “eloquence,” his superior “tact and wit,” and his remarkable ability to “seize the hearts of the people,” “assess the situation,” “gather information,” and “strategize.
(3) Tokugawa Ieyasu’s instigation
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the “raccoon dog father,” may have pretended to sympathize with Mitsuhide, who was being treated badly by Nobunaga, and seduced him into cooperating with him if he defeated Nobunaga.
(4) Instigation by the Imperial Court
It is possible that the Imperial Court, which held a grudge against Nobunaga for neglecting the Imperial Court (Emperor Oogimachi), seduced Mitsuhide, who held the Imperial Court in high esteem, into overthrowing Nobunaga.
5. causes of the Honnoji Incident that ended in failure in three days
(1) Hosokawa Fujitaka’s refusal to cooperate
(2) Junkei Tsutsui’s “Hora ga toge” on the sidelines
(3) Hashiba Hideyoshi ‘s return from Bitchu Takamatsu
Mitsuhide had gone to the trouble of defeating Nobunaga, but his request for help from his confidant and relative by marriage, Hosokawa Fujitaka , was turned down.
Tsutsui Junkei was opportunistic and reluctant to cooperate with Mitsuhide.
Also at an unusually fast pace, Hashiba Hideyoshi ‘s army returned from Bicchu Takamatsu and attacked.
As a result, Mitsuhide’s reign ended after only 13 days.
Hideyoshi’s “Great Return from Bittyu Takamatsu,” which was a “great military movement of 200 km in 10 days,” was so well-prepared and forceful that it is suspected that Hideyoshi may have sensed Mitsuhide’s rebellious moves in advance.
Since he was skilled in espionage, he may have had his spies spy on the movements of his rival Mitsuhide on a daily basis.
６．Expectations for NHK’s Taiga Drama “Kirin ga Kuru
The 2019 Taiga Drama “Idaten ~Tokyo Olimpic Banashi~” seems to have not been well received, perhaps due to the fact that the main character Kanakuri Shiso in the first part and Tabata Masaji in the second part were both minor figures (meaning not well known to the public), but also about the main character Akechi Mitsuhide in 2020 There is also a bit of concern about Akechi Mitsuhide, as he is not very flashy.
However, just as there are “two sides” to human beings, there are “two sides” to history as well. We hope that this drama will shine a spotlight on the “other side of history” that has not been illuminated until now, and remind the general public of the truth of history.
The title of the drama is derived from the legendary animal “Kirin,” which is said to appear to a king who performs insei. The story is said to question who the qilin as a motif is and how it appears before which hero.
It is said to be an ensemble drama that weaves a story of the Warring States period with a different interpretation from the past, focuses on the mysterious background of Akechi Mitsuhide, also depicts the times of the fathers of the heroes, and goes from the stirrings of Saito Dosan, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu and others to their activities.
Since this is a Sengoku Jidai Gekijo from a different perspective than before, the chances of success seem to me to be 50-50. However, I personally hope that such a challenging endeavor will be successful.
