On June 2, 1582, Oda Nobunaga, who was staying at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto, was forced to commit suicide under the attack of the rebellious Wise Mitsuhide. At the same time, Oda Nobunaga was on his way to support Hideyoshi Hashiba, who was caught up in the attack of Akimoto Mori. When Hideyoshi Haba learned of this, he hurried back to his division and launched the Battle of Yamazaki in Kyoto and Osaka Prefecture to defeat Mitsuhide. The motives of Mitsuhide's rebellion include various theories such as "the theory of rebellion alone" and the "theory of resentment" that wanted to take advantage of the gap between Oda Nobunaga and the "theory of resentment".
Wise light show
The change of Honnoji Temple, the most significant event in Japan's modern history, had a huge impact on the development of Japan in the following hundreds of years. In 1582, Oda Nobunaga captured almost all of the region centered on Kyoto, and now only the Maori clan in China, the Hojo clan in the Kanto region, and the Uesugi clan in the Kitaji region remained. During this period, all armies gained superiority, and Oda Nobunaga, who was in the perfect time to unify Japan, was rebelled by his subordinate Mitsuhide at the most critical moment and killed Honnoji Temple, thus failing to do so - although toyotomi Hideyoshi later briefly unified Japan, its impact may be far inferior to that of the Oda clan, so that the shogunate era lasted for hundreds of years. Such an effect may not only be for Japan, but also for the world, and even for the world, it can even be said that it can be said to be an event that can twist the world pattern. However, there are many mysteries about the change of Honnoji Temple, among which the motives of Wise Mitsuhide's rebellion have always been intriguing, and many controversies have arisen among scholars throughout the ages: there is the claim that Wise Mitsuhide intended to replace Oda Nobunaga and seize the world, and there is also the argument that Wise Mitsuhide's resentment led to rebellion. Due to the extremely limited access to first-hand historical materials, there has been a lack of detailed and credible evaluation and conclusion of this major historical event for hundreds of years. The importance of the Honnoji-ji Revolution to the course of Japanese history has led to the interest of official scholars and folk history lovers, and has been a fascinating historical mystery for many years.
Yesterday, a handwritten letter identified as Wise Mitsuhide was published, and the large number of subjective ideas contained in it provided a large number of supporting arguments for his motives for rebellion, and the academic community may use this to make more reliable conclusions about the historical evaluation of Wise Mitsuhide's rebellious motives and even the change of the entire Honnō-ji Temple.
Tatsuo Fujita, a professor of modern and middle history at Mie University in Japan, claimed that Mitsuhide, a major minister who killed Oda Nobunaga during the Honnoji Rebellion, joined forces with anti-Nobunaga forces in order to revive the Muromachi shogunate. Original letters showing the aims of mitsuhide and other anti-Nobunaga forces have been discovered.
According to Professor Fujita, the originals are in the collection of the Mino Kamo Citizen Museum in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The letter circulated in Wakayama Prefecture and was eventually purchased by philanthropists in Mino Kamo City at an antique bookstore in Kyoto Prefecture and donated to a museum.
Based on a collaborative survey with Kazuyuki Torii, chief of the Ponzo Bunko in Nagoya City, and others, it can be basically concluded that it is the original from the perspective of the shape of the letter and the texture of the letter paper. Based on handwriting, signature, and seal, the conclusion is made that "it is most likely a handwritten letter from Mitsuhide Wise." Mitsuhide's handwritten letters about the changes in Honnoji Temple are extremely rare.
The letter is believed to have been a reply from Ashikaga Yoshiaki on June 12, 1582, ten days after the Honnoji Rebellion (Tenshō 10th year, i.e., June 2, 1582). The general content is as follows: "I feel honored to be able to use it for the general. However, I have made a commitment to the (general) entry into Beijing. ”
By this time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had been expelled from Kyoto and remained in Toyoura (present-day Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture), a region under Mori Keigen. Not only did Shigehashi Tohashi, who was a member of the Zaga Party, talk about the incident, but Mitsuhide himself agreed with Ashikaga Yoshiaki to assist him when he returned to Beijing.
A copy of the letter is preserved at the University of Tokyo Historical Compilation Institute. The original is 56.8 cm long and 11.4 cm wide with slight creases. The wrapped paper used to wrap the folded letters was also kept, which was thus determined to be a secret letter sent by an emissary.
According to the Ishiguchi Family Documents and related materials discovered in Okayama Prefecture in 2014, there is the following thesis that became known as the "Shikoku Theory": Nagamasa Ibu, the daimyō of the Shikoku region, befriended Mitsuhide AndeAki and was hostile to Oda Nobunaga. At that time, Nobunaga was sending his retainer Niwa Nagahide to attack the Shikoku region, and Mitsuhide Akira, in order to rescue Nagamasa Ibu from the predicament of the war, became his motivation for launching the Honnoji Rebellion.
Wise Mitsuhide was considered to be a vassal of the two clans, Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki before entering The Capital. Mitsuhide and Ashikaga Yoshiaki returned to their relationship, so they first defeated Oda Nobunaga, and then waited for Ashikaga Yoshiaki, supported by Nagamasa Imoto and Maori Keigen, to return to Beijing, and even revive the shogunate. He probably had such a political vision. Professor Fujita said.
The day after Mitsuhide Wrote his letter, he was defeated in the Battle of Yamazaki with Hideyoshi Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, who had returned from Takamatsu Castle (present-day Okayama City) in Bichu, and died on the run.