Akechi Mitsuhide and the Honno-ji Incident - The Moment in 1582 That Decided Japanese History
Author: Hu Weiquan Publisher: Walking Culture Publishing Date: 2017/07/19 Language: Traditional Chinese ISBN: 9789869500647 Word Count: 127,468
Book Purchase Recommendation: http://moo.im/a/1clqPY
Preface:
What comes to mind when you think of the Japanese Warring States period? Oda Nobunaga? Takeda Shingen? Or Toyotomi Hideyoshi? For me, who has played a lot of Koei games (Nobunaga's Ambition), it's of course Oda Nobunaga. If I had to pick one event from the Japanese Warring States period that I find the most incredible, it would be the Honno-ji Incident, because just as Nobunaga's dream of unifying the country was about to be realized, he was killed by the rebellion of one of his most trusted retainers: Akechi Mitsuhide.
This book will explore the possible reasons why the "Honno-ji Incident" occurred by introducing the story of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Synopsis:
On the second day of the sixth month of the tenth year of Tensho, which is June 21, 1582 in the Western calendar, an event that could be said to have influenced the Japanese Warring States period, and even the development of Japanese history, occurred in Kyoto, Japan—the "Honno-ji Incident." At the time, Oda Nobunaga, who was trying to end the Warring States period and unify Japan, was attacked by troops led by Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his most trusted retainers. Nobunaga fought back with a small number of soldiers, but was unsuccessful, and finally committed suicide in the flames of Honno-ji Temple at the age of forty-nine.
This book will attempt to clarify and trace why and how Akechi Mitsuhide launched the Honno-ji Incident by using historical materials, other more credible military chronicles, and the papers and books of scholars who are currently active in the study of the Warring States period and the Honno-ji Incident, and will try to analyze the various explanations of the incident that have been put forward by academia and the public, as well as the causal relationship between the incident and the policies of the Oda government. Finally, the author will share his personal views in the last chapter.
(Synopsis from: DuMo http://moo.im/a/1clqPY)
This book is divided into two main chapters. The first part mainly describes the life and deeds of Akechi Mitsuhide. As the main character of the Honno-ji Incident, many books and manga do not describe him in detail. This book will carefully describe Akechi Mitsuhide's origins, why he joined Oda Nobunaga, how he gained Nobunaga's trust at a very rapid pace within the Oda family, and what disagreements he had with Nobunaga before the Honno-ji Incident.
The second part analyzes several possible conspiracy theories through many research reports on the Honno-ji Incident, whether through historical analysis or many biographies. The analysis in this part is quite exciting, and it makes the whole process of the Honno-ji Incident very clear. And of course, the conspiracy theories are also quite interesting and very attractive to read.
Thoughts:
Japanese Warring States manga is probably also a type that I like very much, and among them, the Oda Nobunaga-related manga is my favorite. Whether it's "Nobunaga" by Ryoichi Ikegami, "Nobunaga" by Yuka Nagate, "Nobunaga Concerto," or "Sengoku Tenmaki" by Hideki Miyashita. They are all types that I personally like, and they also have a lot of focus on the Honno-ji Incident, whether it's describing the conspiracy theory that it might be Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conspiracy, or the fantasy ending where Nobunaga wants to leave. In any case, it is a fact that Oda Nobunaga, who was in his prime, was betrayed and could not complete the great task of unification. As for why it happened. This book gives a lot of ideas, but many manga also don't focus much on Akechi Mitsuhide, and it must be said that they may want to create his mystery.
But this book, on the contrary, has a lot of descriptions of Akechi Mitsuhide. As the mastermind of the Honno-ji Incident. This book has detailed descriptions of Akechi Mitsuhide's rise, his successful process, and the many points of conflict he may have had with Nobunaga in the end, which allows readers to better understand the whole story. The narrative style of the whole book is also quite interesting, making it not at all tiring to read, but rather quite exciting, and I highly recommend everyone to take a look.
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