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Amnorix · 06-28-2010, 01:39 PM

June 21

This is a really painfully slow day, so I'll go with this.

1582. The "Incident at Honno-Ji" takes place in Kyoto, Japan.

I'll describe this in a somewhat odd way -- in the novel Shogun, by James Clavell, one of the main protagonists is a woman named Mariko, who is the daughter of one Akechi Jintai. Akechi Jintai was a Lord General to the Dictator, Goroda, and in that novel her father, Akechi, betrayed and murdered the Dictator, resulting in the forced seppuku of her entire family. Mariko, already married to Lord Buntaro, was forbidden by her husband to commit seppuku, and was instead banished for a protracted period, living in perpetual shame that her father was a traitor and that she is not permitted to perform the ritual suicide that she feels she must to restore her honor.

Many of the events depicted in the novel are based on historical events in Shogunate Japan, and the events surrounding Akechi Jintai are based on the Incident at Honno-Ji.

The actual events are as follows. In 1581-82 the Daimyo (powerful lord) Oda Nobunaga was consolidating power in Japan. He had destroyed the Takeda family, his main rivals for power, and his only serious opponents had been weakened by various strategems and inner turmoil. To more quickly consolidate his power, Nobunaga had dispersed his generals and forces to chase down the remaining factions opposing him. Included in these orders were those for his General, Akechi Mitsuhide, to assist an ally whose forces were besieged. Nobunaga then retired to Honno-ji, a temple, his usual resting place when he visited Kyoto.

Akechi instead marched his army to Honno-ji, where the Daimyo was practically undefended. He and his servants and bodyguards resisted, but realized they were overwhelmed by Akechi's army. Nobunaga ordered his assistant to set the temple ablaze so that his head would not be recovered intact, and committed suicide. His assistant faithfully set the temple on fire and then joined his master by committing suicide, earning everlasting fame in Japan for devotion to duty.

Akechi quickly moved to consolidate his old master's power. Instead, however, Nobunaga's other generals consolidated forces, met Akechi on the field of battle, and defeated his forces. Akechi himself was then killed while trying to flee back to his castle.

One of Nobunaga's supporters, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, would become his successor and unify Japan for the first time in over a century.

15 years later, his health failing, Hideyoshi would call together his advisors and appoint a council of five regents to govern the country until his son turned of age. One of the five was Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Tokugawa would go on to seize power himself and institute the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would rule Japan until she was forced to modernize herself by the Meiji Restoration.

Back to Shogun, the novel -- Hideyoshi is the Taiko, and Ieyasu Tokugawa is Lord Toronaga, Ruler of the Kwanto and, eventually, Shogun.

06-28-2010, 01:39 PM	#498
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	June 21 This is a really painfully slow day, so I'll go with this. 1582. The "Incident at Honno-Ji" takes place in Kyoto, Japan. I'll describe this in a somewhat odd way -- in the novel Shogun, by James Clavell, one of the main protagonists is a woman named Mariko, who is the daughter of one Akechi Jintai. Akechi Jintai was a Lord General to the Dictator, Goroda, and in that novel her father, Akechi, betrayed and murdered the Dictator, resulting in the forced seppuku of her entire family. Mariko, already married to Lord Buntaro, was forbidden by her husband to commit seppuku, and was instead banished for a protracted period, living in perpetual shame that her father was a traitor and that she is not permitted to perform the ritual suicide that she feels she must to restore her honor. Many of the events depicted in the novel are based on historical events in Shogunate Japan, and the events surrounding Akechi Jintai are based on the Incident at Honno-Ji. The actual events are as follows. In 1581-82 the Daimyo (powerful lord) Oda Nobunaga was consolidating power in Japan. He had destroyed the Takeda family, his main rivals for power, and his only serious opponents had been weakened by various strategems and inner turmoil. To more quickly consolidate his power, Nobunaga had dispersed his generals and forces to chase down the remaining factions opposing him. Included in these orders were those for his General, Akechi Mitsuhide, to assist an ally whose forces were besieged. Nobunaga then retired to Honno-ji, a temple, his usual resting place when he visited Kyoto. Akechi instead marched his army to Honno-ji, where the Daimyo was practically undefended. He and his servants and bodyguards resisted, but realized they were overwhelmed by Akechi's army. Nobunaga ordered his assistant to set the temple ablaze so that his head would not be recovered intact, and committed suicide. His assistant faithfully set the temple on fire and then joined his master by committing suicide, earning everlasting fame in Japan for devotion to duty. Akechi quickly moved to consolidate his old master's power. Instead, however, Nobunaga's other generals consolidated forces, met Akechi on the field of battle, and defeated his forces. Akechi himself was then killed while trying to flee back to his castle. One of Nobunaga's supporters, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, would become his successor and unify Japan for the first time in over a century. 15 years later, his health failing, Hideyoshi would call together his advisors and appoint a council of five regents to govern the country until his son turned of age. One of the five was Ieyasu Tokugawa. Tokugawa would go on to seize power himself and institute the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would rule Japan until she was forced to modernize herself by the Meiji Restoration. Back to Shogun, the novel -- Hideyoshi is the Taiko, and Ieyasu Tokugawa is Lord Toronaga, Ruler of the Kwanto and, eventually, Shogun.
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