The Honno-ji Incident, and the Death of Oda Nobunaga
New Discoveries & New Revelations to an Old Mystery
Oda Nobunaga was killed in the Honno-ji Incident early in the morning of June 21, 1582, when Nobunaga was attacked while staying at Kyoto’s Honno-ji Temple by a large force commanded by one of his most trusted generals, Akechi Mitsuhide.
By 1582, Oda Nobunaga had risen to become one of the most powerful daimyo in Japan, and his aim of unifying the nation was becoming apparent. He had subjugated approximately a third of the nation, and was about to win a sizable more with planned invasions of the far western Chugoku and Shikoku regions. Nobunaga had sent his generals across the nation in an aggressive expansionist campaign. The timing was right for Nobunaga, as his remaining four main enemies were weakened by internal problems or the recent deaths of clan leaders. The Takeda clan had just been destroyed in the Battle of Temmokuzan that March, leaving the Mori clan as his main rival. As such, he had sent Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi to battle with the Mori in the Chugoku region. Shibata Katsuie was dispatched to Echizen to oust the Uesugi clan, Niwa Nagahide was to invade the Chosokabe clan’s island of Shikoku, while Takigawa Kazumasu was to keep the Kanto based Hojo at bay.
Nobunaga was celebrating the destruction of the Takeda by touring the Kansai region with Tokugawa Ieyasu when a request for reinforcements came from Hideyoshi who was laying siege to the Mori held Takamatsu Castle in modern-day Okayama Prefecture. Nobunaga ordered Akechi Mitsuhide to assist, and feeling safe in firmly controlled territory Nobunaga and as few as 70 guards, personal servants and staff stayed at Kyoto's Honno-ji Temple. Mitsuhide meanwhile was in his Kamiyama Castle in Tamba, 20 kilometers west of Kyoto at the time he issued the orders to march on Kyoto.