Akechi Mitsuhide 明智 光秀

I got this Akechi Mitsuhide figure. It’s a replica made from the original Akehi Mitsuhide’s armor which you can see at Tokyo’s National Museum.

Akechi Mitsuhide was a samurai who became a legend because he killed Oda Nobunaga, one of the most important daimyo (Feudal lord) from the sixteenth century. Akechi Mitsuhide was one of the favorite Oda Nobunaga retainers, he was a successful general. But their good relationship was broken when Oda Nobunaga broke a peace agreement without Akechi Mitsuhide’s permission, that caused an missunderstanding with a rival clan, and that rival clan decided to kill Akechi’s wife.

Akechi Mitsuhide decided to avenge his wife’s death killing Oda Nobunaga, he considered that his wife’s death was Oda’s fault. He didn’t kill him, but he forced him to commit suiced following the “seppuku”(Harakiri) ritual. He recovered his honor, but his glory did not last too long. 14 days later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Akechi Mitsuhide’s clan and killed him. Sometime later Toyotomi Hideyoshi managed to take control over most of Japan and he unifed Japan for the first time in many centuries. Japan has stayed together since Toyotomi unified it at the end of the 16th century.

There are 3 tombs where Akechi Mitsuhide rests. But nobody knows which one is the real one.

Akechi Mitsuhide is a character who usually appears in many videogames. This is how he looks like in Samurai Warriors 2:

I think his is also in Onimusha and Tenjo Tenge anime.

Somo other legendary samurai:

• Goemon
• Musashi Miyamoto