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One of the more well-known names in the history of Japanese Warring States. For good or bad, you decide.
Akechi Mitsuhide is one of the most trusted vassals of Oda Nobunaga, having served other lords before coming to Nobunaga's services. He's talented in arts, excelling in warfare and pretty much has the makings of a really wonderful man. Too bad for him Nobunaga is a Bad Boss, so he gets insulted here and there, starting from getting yelled at in front of guests, or being called 'kumquat head'. Mitsuhide tries to endure, bless him, but then he finally snaps during one certain incident wherein his mother is killed by his hostages because Nobunaga killed the hostage leader, not even knowing that Mitsuhide's mother was there. The insults, combined with his mother's death becomes too much for him.
At one point, Mitsuhide is told to reinforce Hashiba Hideyoshi who's trying to take down the Mouri clan. Mitsuhide complies... then suddenly makes a turn and instead strikes a resting Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple (immortalized by the oft-quoted "The enemy is inside Honnoji!") This attack surprises Nobunaga since he's at minimum forces. In the end, Mitsuhide seizes power from Nobunaga and the latter is Driven to Suicide.
Mitsuhide tries to appeal to the other lords, but no clans will support him, since they dislike and mistrust him for his betrayal, not even the Hosokawa clan who are linked through marriage with his daughter Tamako (later known as Hosokawa Gracia). Within 13 days of his rule, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decides to take revenge and confronts him and beats the tar out of him in the Battle of Yamazaki. Mitsuhide retreats... then gets killed by peasants with bamboo spears. Although there were rumors that Mitsuhide didn't die, but instead retired, and later resurfaced as a monk named (Nankobo) Tenkai.
Opinions to this day vary about Mitsuhide, and probably split into two main camps. One camp see Mitsuhide as being justified in his betrayal, or they like giving Nobunaga a Historical Villain Upgrade, so in turn they promote Mitsuhide to the Lovable Traitor. The other camp think he's a disgrace to the samurai name and prolonged the war by halting Nobunaga's unification of the country; he's essentially the Judas Iscariot of the Sengoku era (though Nobunaga himself isn't Jesus Christ material anyway...)
Maybe he's not a very prominent daimyo, but Mitsuhide remains a popular figure in the Sengoku era, if only because he took down the primary juggernaut of the time.
References to Mitsuhide appear in the following works:Anime
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