Honnō-ji Incident 1582 Episode 37: 6 Mitsuhide and Nobunaga 3 Entering the Capital. On June 2, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide struck down Oda Nobunaga. At that time, Hideyoshi was confronting the Mōri at Bitchū Takamatsu, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was heading from Sakai to Kyoto. The Takeda of Kai had been extinguished. Japan was in the Sengoku period, and the world was in the Age of Discovery. The time is now. A mystery of history. Investigating its causes and motives. 'Mitsuhide-ki'
Episode 37: 6 Mitsuhide and Nobunaga 3 Entering the Capital
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Yoshiaki advanced to the Tenjin Baba.
The vanguard had already begun their attack.
On the 29th, Kinoto-i, clear weather, Today, the warrior's palace, it is said they advanced to the Tenjin Baba, The vanguard burned the foot of Akutagawa and attacked, it is said, Besides that, they set fires in various places in Kawachi, it is said,
("Tokitsugu-kyō Ki")
Akutagawa Mountain Castle fell.
Facing such a large army, they must have lost their will to fight.
The castle soldiers retreated under the cover of darkness.
Koshimizu Castle (Nishinomiya) and Takiyama Castle (Kobe) followed suit.
Hosokawa Rokurō-dono and Miyoshi Hyūga-no-kami holed up in Akutagawa, and retreated at nightfall. Along with this, the castles of Shinohara Ukyō-no-suke (Nagafusa), Koshimizu and Takiyama, were also abandoned.
Nobunaga entered Akutagawa Mountain Castle, escorting Yoshiaki.
Nobunaga was keenly aware of Miyoshi Nagayoshi.
It had been his long-cherished wish since he decided to enter the capital.
He erased this.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga accompanied them to Akutagawa Castle, and the Shogun moved his residence there. ( "Shinchō Kōki")
Yamashina Tokitsugu recorded these events meticulously.
Nobunaga began his attack on Ikeda Castle.
On the 30th, Hinoe-ne, clear weather, rain began to fall from the hour of the Boar (around 10 PM), Today, the warrior moved his residence to Akutagawa, it is said, Katsuryū-ji, Akutagawa, and other castles were surrendered last evening, The Kōriyama dōjō was destroyed today, Tomita, outside the temple was destroyed, and inside the temple, things were settled, It is said they began the attack on Ikeda,
◎Nobunaga attacked Ikeda Castle.
The Ikeda clan had sided with the Miyoshi Triumvirate.
On the 2nd of the tenth month, they attacked Ikeda Castle, the residence of Chikugo, Nobunaga observed from the mountain to the north.
◎Inside the castle was Araki Murashige.
Murashige was one year younger than Nobunaga.
At this time, he was thirty-four years old.
He was a senior vassal of the Ikeda family.
He harbored dreams and ambitions in his heart.
For a while, the fierce battle continued.
There was a warrior named Kajikawa Heizaemon, a brave man well-known within Mizuno Kingo's ranks. Along with him, Uozumi Hayato and Yamada Hanbei from the personal guard, these were also well-known warriors. Both men competed to be the first to climb the outer defenses, and here, in the push and pull of the battle for a while, Kajikawa Heizaemon was struck in the hip and retreated, dying in battle. Uozumi Hayato was also wounded here and retreated. Because it was so severe, there were many deaths on both sides. Finally, they set fire to it, burning the town.
The morale of the Oda army was high.
This time, the attendants accompanying the procession, all the families considered it a fame that would last for generations, and their morale was renewed day by day, fighting like the wind rising, attacking like a river breaking its banks, is this not what that refers to?
◎Mitsuhide later formed marital ties with Hosokawa Fujitaka and Araki Murashige.
He married his daughters into both families.
In other words, he built a marriage network centered on the Akechi.
This will be discussed later.
◎ The Ikeda clan surrenders.
The head of the family was Katsumasa.
He stopped resisting and surrendered the castle.
The Ikeda Chikugo-no-kami surrendered and offered hostages,
(Shinchoko-ki)
Araki Murashige was quite the schemer.
Facing the Oda army, which was swarming like clouds and mist, the Ikeda clan had no intention
of fighting to the end at all.
Perhaps it was just a token resistance.
Miyoshi fled.
'I have fulfilled my duty.'
That was enough.
Nobunaga was in a hurry to end the battle.
'Everything is arranged.'
The intentions of both parties matched.
'Surrender.'
It becomes clear from the post-war settlement.
⇒ Continued in the next episode Episode 38, 6 Mitsuhide and Nobunaga, 3 Entering the Capital