Incident at Honnō-ji

Siege of Kyoto

Incident at Honnō-ji, Meiji-era print

Date	June 1582
Location	Honnō-ji temple and Nijō Palace, Kyoto, Japan
Result	Akechi victory; Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada commit suicide

Belligerents

Oda forces under Akechi Mitsuhide's command

Inhabitants and garrison of Honnō-ji, courtiers, merchants, artists, and servants of Oda Nobunaga

Commanders and leaders

Akechi Mitsuhide
Akechi Hidemitsu

Oda Nobunaga†
Oda Nobutada†

Strength

A massive number of Akechi troops.

Nobunaga, Nobutada, Mori Ranmaru, and a handful of other Nobunaga's retainers small garrison of Kyoto

Casualties and losses

Unknown, but not excessive.

Oda Nobunaga, Mori Ranmaru, Oda Nobutada, and many others

The Honnō-ji incident (本能寺の変, Honnō-ji no Hen^?) refers to the forced suicide on June 21, 1582, of Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority.

Oda Nobunaga was at the height of his power, having destroyed the Takeda clan earlier that year at the Battle of Tenmokuzan. He had central Japan firmly under his control, and his only rivals were the Mōri clan, the Uesugi clan, and the Hōjō clan, each weakened by internal affairs. After the death of Mōri Motonari, his grandson, Terumoto, strove only to maintain the status quo, aided by his two uncles, as per Motonari's will. Hōjō Ujiyasu, a renowned strategist and domestic manager, had also died, leaving his less prominent son Ujimasa in place. Finally, the death of Uesugi Kenshin left the Uesugi clan, devastated also by an internal conflict between his two adopted sons, weaker than before.

It was at this point that Oda Nobunaga began sending his generals aggressively into all directions to continue his military expansion. He ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi to attack the Mōri clan; Niwa Nagahide to prepare for an invasion of Shikoku; Takigawa Kazumasu to watch the Hōjō clan from Kōzuke Province and Shinano Province; and Shibata Katsuie to invade Echigo Province, the home domain of the Uesugi clan.

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