JIC: Japan Infomation Communication

Amakusa Shiro2

Amakusa Shiro

   

                                                               Masuda Shiro (Amakusa Shiro Dayu Tokisada later) was born in Konoura, Uto in 1622 as the fourth son of Masuda Jinbei a "ronin (masterless samurai)" who lived in Oyano, Amakusa island. Amakusa island is located in

Amakusa

Open

Sea

in the northwestern part of

Kyushu

.

     　Oda Nobunaga encouraged Christian missions from

Portugal

, after his death, Tokugawa Ieyasu forbad the Christianity. Suppressed Christians revolted several times, and the revolt of Amakusa in 1637-38 was the largest of such revolts.

　　　　Amakusa was located on the west edge of

Japan

, so was influenced the western culture, such as Christianity, deeply. Famers suffering hunger rebelled against the daimyo , and hold a castle. The daimyo couldn't handle the revolt, and called the help of shogunate. Then the crack army of shogunate arrived the next year, and crashed the farmers. The rebel farmers and their families were slaughtered to the last child.

　　　　Amakusa Shiro Tokisada was a leader of the Shimabara . The son of a former Konishi clan retainer, Shiro was touted by the leaders of the Shimabara Uprising as the "Fourth Son of Heaven," foretold by Saint Francis Xavier to be destined to lead the Christianization of Japan. Shiro led the defence of  Hara Castle and died when it fell. His head was displayed on a pike in

Nagasaki

for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels.

Posted by Miyuki Yoneda

Reference

http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/aoh/AMASIRO1.HTM　http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/hi64ge/amakusa2.html　http://www2.kanawa.com/japan/figure8.html

http://genzoman.deviantart.com/art/Amakusa-Shiro-Tokisada-40288719

http://art-random.main.jp/samescale/017.html

Okuni2

Izumo no Okuni was born about 1571. This time period in Japanese history was fraught with struggle. It was known as the Period of Warring States, that is, the land barrons (daimyo) fought against one another for power. Her father was a blacksmith for the Izumo Grand Shrine and, consequently, the family served as well.

     　The artist Okuni, who lived during theAzuchi-Momoyama period (1568 - 1600), was the progenitor of the Kabuki. This Priestess of Izumo (in present day

Shimane

Prefecture

) gained fame as a master of the dance, established a theatre in Kawara (in Kyoto), and later took her craft to various locales around the land. According to the diary of the Emperor Go Youzou, in the year Keicho 5 (1601), Okuni performed a dance for the ladies of the

Imperial Court

. However, other than what is written about her in the Emperor's diary, not much is known about her life.

　　　　　Okuni is said to have been an attendant at the Grand shrine of Izumo in Grandin western

Japan

. She formed a troupe of female dancers who in 1603 gave a highly popular performance of dances and light sketches on a dry riverbed in

Kyoto

. The company's lusty and unrestrained dance dramas soon became known throughout

Japan

—the style acquiring the name Okuni Kabuki—and other troupes of female dancers were formed.

　　　　　Okuni's Kagura seems to have been a form of Buddhist nembutsu, a dance of worship in praise of Amida; but her reception on the

Kyoto

river-beds may well have been due more to her physical beauty and grace of movement than to any appeal in the interests of religion.

Reference

　http://www.flickr.com/photos/astroboi/177108012/

　http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/okuni.html

　http://www.freewebs.com/crimsondiary/Okuni.htm　

http://search.eb.com/women/article-9043120　　http://www.theatrehistory.com/asian/kabuki001.html

Posted By Miyuki Yoneda

Saigo Takamori

Saigo Takamori (1828—1877)

Original name Kichibe , or Kichinosuke , literary name Nanshu a leader in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate who later rebelled against the weaknesses he saw in the Imperial government that he had helped to restore.
A samurai from the domain of Satsuma, Saigo joined Okubo Toshimichi and Kido Takayoshi in working to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate (military government) and restore rule by the emperor. He commanded the troops that seized control of the imperial palace from the shogunate, and went on to lead a campaign against the shogunate's supporters. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), he was given command of the new Imperial Guard. In 1873 he supported a war with Korea; when this plan was cancelled, he resigned from government. He opened a military school in his native Kagoshima that drew to it disaffected former samurai (class distinctions had been abolished in 1871). In 1877 some of his disciples attacked a government arsenal, and he found himself the unwilling head of a rebellion. It lasted for six months and resulted in some 12,000 dead on both sides, including Saigo himself. He is regarded as a tragic hero by the Japanese.

Book [The Last Samurai]

The Last Samurai is a biography of Saigô Takamori written by Mark Ravina. It was published in November 2003. He examines in gripping detail the clash between Saigo’s samurai ideals and impending Japanese modernity–and the reasons why Saigo has been revered for his courage and integrity until the present day. Saigô's life was the inspiration for the Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai.

Movie [The Last Samurai]

Genre: Action/Adventure
Duration: 2 hrs. 34 min.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Billy Connolly, Ken Watanabe
Director: Edward Zwick
Producer: Tom Cruise, Tom Engelman
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: December 5, 2003
Writer: John Logan

Synopsis
Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the government attempts to eradicate the ancient Samurai warrior class in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly affected by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.

Statue of Saigo Takamori

Many years later, the Meiji government made a clever move. They pardoned the popular hero posthumously in 1889, promoted him to highest honours and did their best to establish the image of a tragic hero.
One can find a statue of Saigo Takakamori in full (Western) uniform in the Central Park of Kagoshima. And another - even more famous statue was erected in Ueno Park in Tokyo. It shows the great statesman and "last samurai" leisurely dressed in a kimono walking his dog.

A picture on the left side is the statue in Ueno and right side is in Kagoshima.

 

Reference

This　information was found here: Saigo Takamori, book, movie, statue.

Posted by Megumi Masuko

Fukuzawa Yukichi

Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901), Japanese educator, who was among the first to disseminate Western ideas and culture in Japan. Born into the Nakatsu clan in Osaka, Kyushu, a low-ranking samurai, he was sent to Nagasaki to study Dutch and later added English to his studies. In 1860 he joined the first Japanese mission to the United States. By 1862 he had been to Europe and America as an interpreter of trade and diplomatic missions. Impressed with the West, he became critical of Japan's feudal system and its isolation, and in 1863 he founded the Keio Gijuku school for Western-style studies (later merged into the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo). His impressions, Seiyo Jijo (Conditions in the West, 1866), became extremely popular. Following the abolition of feudalism in 1868, Fukuzawa became the Meiji era's leading advocate of Westernization. To that end he founded (1882) the newspaper Jiji Shimpo and wrote more than 100 books.

works

Fukuzawa published numerous pamphlets and textbooks that were used in the emerging modern schools and were also welcomed by a variety of other types of reader. The great attraction of these writings was not only that the topics were new, but that the style was revolutionary in its Simplicity. The Japanese people were able to learn much about the forthcoming civilization from the So-called ‘Fukuzawa books’.

His main theme may be summarized in one word—‘independence’—since he believed that personal and national independence was the real foundation of modern society in the West. In order to achieve this self-independence, Fukuzawa advocated Western, or practical and scientific, learning, instead of the traditional studies of the Chinese classics. The more educated the people became; the better their national independence could be asserted, with a corresponding increase in public virtue and social morality.

 

In Japan, one can see a portrait of Fukuzawa Yukichi on every 10,000-yen note. This is official recognition of his dedication to the cause of introducing Western institutions and thought into Japan. Some people, however, may wonder why such a man wears traditional Japanese robes.

Gakumon no Susume

Among his books, Gakumon no susume [An encouragement of learning] is the most celebrated. It was originally a series of essays written and published between 1872 and 1876. The first essay, which was an enormous success, was the manifestation of Fukuzawa’s thesis to the general public.

"It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man. Any existing distinction between the wise and the stupid, between the rich and the poor, comes down to a matter of education. "- the encouragement of learning

Reference

http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574046/Yukichi_Fukuzawa.html

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/ThinkersPdf/fukuzawe.pdf

http://www.keio.ac.jp/english/about_keio/fukuzawa.html

posted by Kazue Takeda

Uesugi Kenshin

     Uesugi Kenshin

   

Uesugi Kenshin (, Uesugi KenshinFebruary 18,　1530—April 19, 1578) was a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku Period daimyo of Japan.

He was one of the many powerful lords of the Sengoku period. He is famed for his prowess on the battlefield, the legendary rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his military expertise, strategy and his belief in the god of war - Bishamonten. In fact, many of his followers and others believed him to be the avatar of Bishamonten, and called Kenshin god of war.

      

 

  The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima

In the year 1561 in Japan, the country is at constant war with each other, and one battle in that age of war was the Kawanakajima battles against Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin though the first three battles at Kawanakajima was just mere skirmishes, but on the topic at hand is the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima...
     Uesugi Kenshin was returning to his land from being defeated (lack of supplies) by the Hojo Clan but on the way they passed Shinano, the province of Takdea Shingen and the castle that was within their reach was Kaizu, with about 13,000 samurai at hand, Kenshin could have taken the castle easily but he did rather he wanted for Shingen to arrive, that he did with about 20,000 men.

Shingen made the first move by sending about 8,000 men to Hachimanbara and the remaining 12,000 to attack Saijoyama. Kenshin somehow knew of this movement and he marched his army to battle. When the forces of Uesugi and Takeda, the Takeda forces were disseminated with the loss of Shingen's brother and his veteran general dead.
     The generals at Kaizu castle finally discovered that Saijoyama, the camp site of Uesugi Kenshin, was barely defended, the two samurai at Kaizu castle; Baba Nobufusa and Masanobu, attacked the camp and Uesugi was forced to retreat.

TV Drama

 

Now, the TV drama that the title is “Furinkazan” is broadcasted by NHK. This story is about Yamamoto Kansuke who is strategist of Takeda Shingen who is against Uesugi. The actor of Kenshin is Gackt, Japanese famous singer. If you are interested in this drama, I recommend going to this site.

References

http://www2.harimaya.com/uesugi/

http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Uesugi_Kenshin

http://the-scholars.com/viewtopic.php?t=10550&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/georgeozma/2007-08-08

                                                                             posted by Ryo Shimizu

Hokusai

Hokusai

Hokusai, Japan's best known artist, is ironically Japan's least Japanese artist. Japan's best known woodblock print, The Great Wave, is very un-Japanese.

Hokusai, full name Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Japanese painter and wood engraver, born in Edo (now Tokyo). He is considered one of the outstanding figures of the Ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world" (everyday life), school of printmaking.

Hokusai entered the studio of his countryman Katsukawa Shunsho in 1775 and there learned the new, popular technique of woodcut printmaking.

From about 1823 to 1831, he was engaged in creating and publishing the epoch-making series of woodblock prints known as The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. These became masterpieces in the history of Japanese landscape pictures, and were considered to be most typical of this style of pictorial representation.

This series was accomplished when Hokusai was between the age of 64 and 72 and shows proof of his remarkable energy during his advanced years. He was then doing his best work, and during this period one can see the changes in his style from the earlier pictures through the latter ones in the series. He was at the height of his creative powers during this period, and in addition to The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, he also put out such masterpieces as the series Chie no Umi (One Thousand Seas, 1826), Shokoku Taki Meguri (Journey to the Waterfalls, 1883), and Ryukyu Hakkei (Eight Views of the Ryukyus, 1829). We can't help but be surprised at his energy as shown in these works.

Even after reaching the age of eighty, he was busy producing many fine prints. He often expressed his desire to live beyond the age of ninety, and just before he died on April 18, 1849 at the age of 89, he sighed and said his last words: "If heaven gives me ten more years,", paused, then continued, "or an extension of even five years, I shall surely become a true artist."

Sometimes calling himself "the mad painter", he was an eccentric man with a limited vision. He changed his dwelling place 93 times during his live, and turned out around 30.000 works of art before his death.

    If you like Hokusai, I recommend you to going to Link5　there are over 20 his paints, it makes you satisfy.

       http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hokusai/

       http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/hokusai.html  http://www.andreas.com/hokusai.html

http://www.artelino.com/articles/hokusai.asp

http://www.stmoroky.com/reviews/gallery/hokusai/24views.htm

        http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/raf_hokusai_intro.htm

Posted by Miyuki Yoneda

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉)  

One of the most remarkable men in Japanese history, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was born a peasant and yet rose to finally end the Sengoku Period. In fact, little is known for certain about Hideyoshi's career prior to 1570, the year when he begins to appear in surviving documents and letters. The autobiography he commissioned begins with the year 1577 (the year he came into his own with an independent command to fight the Môri) and Hideyoshi himself was known to speak very little if at all about his past. According to tradition, Hideyoshi was born in a village called Nakamura in Owari province, the son of a foot-soldier/peasant known to us as Yaemon.

Nobunaga has become impressed with Hideyoshi's natural talent, and it's thanks to Hideyoshi that Inabayama is taken with ease in 1567 (owing to Hideyoshi throwing up a fort at nearby Sunomata and discovering a secret route leading to the rear of Inabayama). Some time later, probably in 1573, Hideyoshi adopted the surname Hashiba, which he created by borrowing characters from two ranking Oda retainers.

Short and thinly proportioned, Hideyoshi's sunken features were likened to that of a monkey, with the rarely tactful Nobunaga taking to calling him Saru (monkey) and the 'bald rat'.

After death of Nobunaga

On 20 June 1582 Nobunaga was killed by Akechi troops at the Honno Temple in Kyoto. The event carried with it great opportunities for Akechi, Hideyoshi, and the Môri, depending on just which of the last two learned of the news first. Naturally, Akechi wanted Terumoto appraised of the situation first and in a position to tie down Hideyoshi's army. It so happened that the messenger Mitsuhide dispatched west with news of the assassination was apprehended within 48 hours and his letter delivered into Hideyoshi's hands. And moved to assume Nobunaga's preeminent political position. Ieyasu, then in the prime of life, emerged as his principal rival.Then, Hideyoshi's victory over Shibata all but established him as the real successor to Nobunaga. Samboshi's inheritance was quickly forgotten and he was stuck in Gifu, vacated by the suicide of Nobutaka after the battle. In fact, there was one more claimant-Oda Nobuo, Nobunaga's 2nd son and the lord of Owari, presently courting the friendship of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though Tokugawa had failed to make any moves during Hideyoshi's war with Shibata, he evidently saw some use to stepping up now. In the spring of 1584 Tokugawa and Nobuo allied and began issuing statements defaming Hideyoshi's suppuration of the Oda and calling on support from other clans.

The twilight

Hideyoshi's hopes for a stable realm after his death were dealt a blow with the death of his infant son Tsurumatsu in September 1591. The three year old, had been Hideyoshi's only child. This left Hideyoshi with two back-up heirs-his half-brother Hidenaga and his nephew Hidetsugu. Unfortunately, Hidenaga died not long after Tsurumatsu, a loss Hideyoshi was said to have felt keenly. His passing left Hidetsugu, whom Hideyoshi adopted in January 1592. On 11 February Hideyoshi retired as Kampaku and passed that rank on to Hidetsugu, while assuming the title that he would become most famous for: Taikô .

In the summer of 1598, Hideyoshi fell ill and summoned his most important vassals to his bedside. During August he established a council of regents (Tokugawa Ieyasu, Meada Toshiie, Môri Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, and Uesugi Kagekatsu) to rule while Hideyori came of age as well as a team of five administrators (bugyo) to handle domestic matters. These bugyô included Ishida Mitsunari, Natsuka Masaie, Maeda Gen-I, Mashita NagaMôri, and Asano Nagamasa. Each man was made to sign a pledge of loyalty to the five-year old Hideyori, providing the scene with an element of pathos. Hideyoshi insisted again and again that the five men he had chosen as regents (whom he hoped would keep one another in check) be loyal to Hideyori, and no doubt counted on Maeda Toshiie, the powerful lord of Kaga who was close to Hideyoshi and shared rural Owari roots. Finally, he succumbed to his illness and finally died on 18 September 1598. Maeda Toshiie died in 1599 and within two years of Hideyoshi's death the council of regents would be broken and Tokugawa Ieyasu would rise supreme, assuming the title of shôgun in 1603. Hideyori resided in Osaka Castle until 1615. After two sieges (Winter and Summer, 1614 and 1615) by Tokugawa forces, he committed suicide, along with the Lady Yodo. The Toyotomi name was eliminated .

Reference

http://www.samurai-archives.com/hideyoshi.html

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/TOKJAPAN/TOYOTOMI.HTM

http://www.artelino.com/articles/toyotomi_hideyoshi.asp

                                                                                                                       Posted by Kineo Motoki

Izumo no Okuni

Izumo no Okuni

         

       

         Izumo no Okuni was born about 1571.  This time period in Japanese history was fraught with struggle.  It was known as the Period of Warring States, that is, the land barrons (daimyo) fought against one another for power.  Her father was a blacksmith for the Izumo Grand Shrine and, consequently, the family served as well.

     　The artist Okuni, who lived during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568 - 1600), was the progenitor of the Kabuki. This Priestess of Izumo (in present day

Shimane

Prefecture

) gained fame as a master of the dance, established a theatre in Kawara in Kyoto, now Nanza and later took her craft to various locales around the land. According to the diary of the Emperor Go Youzou, in the year Keicho 5 (1601), Okuni performed a dance for the ladies of the

Imperial Court

. However, other than what is written about her in the Emperor's diary, not much is known about her life.

　　　　　Okuni is said to have been an attendant at the Grand shrinw of Izumo in western

Japan

. She formed a troupe of female dancers who in 1603 gave a highly popular performance of dances and light sketches on a dry riverbed in

Kyoto

. The company's lusty and unrestrained dance dramas soon became known throughout

Japan

—the style acquiring the name Okuni Kabuki—and other troupes of female dancers were formed.

　　　　　Okuni's Kagura seems to have been a form of Buddhist nembutsu, a dance of worship in praise of Amida; but her reception on the

Kyoto

river-beds may well have been due more to her physical beauty and grace of movement than to any appeal in the interests of religion.

Amakusa Shiro

Amakusa Shirou

                                                            Masuda Shiro (Amakusa Shiro Dayu Tokisada later) was born in Konomura, Uto in Kumamoto in 1622 as the fourth son of Masuda Jinbei a "ronin (masterless samurai)" who lived in Oyano, Amakusa island. Amakusa island is located in

Amakusa

Open

Sea

in the northwestern part of

Kyushu

.

     　Oda Nobunaga encouraged Christian missions from

Portugal

, after his death, Tokugawa Ieyasu forbad the Christianity. Suppressed Christians revolted several times, and the revolt of Amakusa in 1637-38 was the largest of such revolts.

　　　　Amakusa was located on the west edge of

Japan

, so was influenced the western culture, such as Christianity, deeply. Famers suffering hunger rebelled against the daimyou , and hold a castle.

The daimyo couldn't handle the revolt, and called the help of Shogunate. Then the crack army of shogunate arrived the next year, and crashed the farmers. The rebel farmers and their families were slaughtered to the last child.

　　　　Amakusa Shiro Tokisada was a leader of the Shimabara Rebellion. The son of a former Konishi clan retainer, Shiro was touted by the leaders of the Shimabara Uprising as the "Fourth Son of Heaven," foretold by Saint Francis Xavier to be destined to lead the Christianization of Japan. Shiro led the defence of

Hara Castle

and died when it fell. His head was displayed on a pike in

Nagasaki

for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels.

 

Posted by Miyuki Yoneda

Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

                                                                                   

Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was a Japanese warrior chieftain who undertook th e first stage in the military unification of Japan in the later 16th century after nearly a hundred years of disorder and disunion.

Oda Nobunaga was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. He was the son of Oda Nobuhide, a minor warlord with meager land holdings in Owari province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering most of Japan before his untimely death in 1582.

In 1551, Oda Nobuhide died unexpectedly, and during his funeral, Nobunaga was said to have acted outrageously, throwing the ceremonial incense at the altar. This act further alienated many Oda retainers, convincing them of Nobunaga's supposed mediocrity and lack of discipline, and they began to side with his more soft-spoken and well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki. Nobunaga was the leader of his faction of the Oda and master of Kiyosu. His principal enemy was his father's nemesis, the Imagawa.

Representative war

Dividing to Japan at Okehazama

The following year, 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto decided to make a decisive move to the west. His aim was to drive along the Tokaido coast, brushing aside the Oda and any who did not submit to the Imagawa army with the ultimate goal of occupying Kyoto. To this end Yoshimoto gathered perhaps 20,000 to 25,000 men from Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa in June, leaving his son Ujizane to run things while he was off conquering.

Such was the suddenness and ferocity of the attack; Imagawa assumed that a fight had broken out among his own men. His misconception was quickly righted by the appearance of Oda spearmen who succeded in taking the head of the lord of Suruga. Nobunaga's surprise attack worked beautifully, and once word spread of Yoshimoto's demise, the Imagawa army fled, utterly defeated. Matsudaira Motoyasu, resting his men in Marume, heard of the defeat and thought it best to return to Mikawa forthwith.

Nobunaga's stunning victory at Dengakuhazama (known to posterity by the name of nearby Okehazama village) changed the course of Japanese history. It had two immediate results. Firstly, it brought Oda Nobunaga national fame and removed a wolf from his back door. Secondly, it allowed Matsudaira Motoyasu to extricate himself from the Imagawa's clutches and establish Mikawa as an independent province. Both results were to have heady consequences in the years to come.

Nagashino

In this war, Nobunaga and Ieyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu) united that they fighted for Takeda. Nobunaga gathered an army of some 30,000 men, to be commanded by some of his best commanders, including Shibata Katsuie, Hashiba Hideyoshi(Toyotomi Hideyoshi), and Takigawa Kazumasu. Tokugawa brought about 8,000 men of his own.

Nobunaga left most of his guns at home and dispensed with his palisade building. It was about 3000 guns. Nobunaga elaborated three phases of gun corps. Takeda troops were flinched and gave way by Nobunaga’s operations.

28 June 1575 was Nobunaga's greatest achievement, a victory as tactically decisive as Okehazama and ultimately of great strategic significance. The victory at Nagashino all but secured his eastern flank and allowed him to throw his weight into the siege of the Honganji and consolidate his recent gains. Takeda Katsuyori was beaten but not vanquished, and would continue to harass Tokugawa, yet, as a regional power, the Takeda were broken.

The Death of Nobunaga

As mentioned earlier, Nobunaga was said to have treated his retainers haughtily, and this seems to have been nowhere more the case than with Aketi Mitsuhide. A relatively late addition to Nobunaga's inner circle, Mitsuhide was a talented general and poet, perhaps provoking his lord's jealousy as a result of the latter. The best-known story regarding the rift between the two men and just unusual enough to be true occurred in 1577. In that year, Akechi had been tasked with subduing Tamba, and in the course of his campaign besieged the castle of the Hatano clan. Akechi succeded in securing the bloodless surrender of Hatano Hideharu and brought him before Nobunaga. To Akechi's shock, Nobunaga (for reasons unknown) ordered Hatano and his brother executed. The Hatano retainers blamed Akechi for the betrayal and in revenge kidnapped and brutally murdered Akechi's mother.

Nobunaga returned from his conquest of the Takeda clan in time for news of a crisis in the west. He awoke the following morning in the Honnoji to find that during the night Akechi Mitsuhide had the temple surrounded. Raising an army on the pretext of going to Hideyoshi's aid, Mitsuhide had taken a detour into Kyôto and now called for Nobunaga's head. As Nobunaga had only a small personal guard in attendance on the morning of 21 June, the outcome was a forgone conclusion, and he died, either in the blaze that was started in the course of the fighting or by his own hand. Soon afterwards, Oda Hidetada was surrounded at Nijo and killed. 11 days after that, Akechi Mitsuhide would himself be killed, defeated by Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki.

Reference

http://www.samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html#1

http://www.answers.com/topic/nobunaga

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/TOKJAPAN/ODA.HTM

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                       Posted by Kineo Motoki