The Lake Biwa Crossing

Akechi Mitsuharu

Oda Clan

Akechi Mitsuharu

“Mitsuhide’s son-in-law and trusted senior retainer. He led the attack on Honnōji, then withdrew to Sakamoto after defeat. Before the castle fell, he catalogued its treasures and handed them to the besieging generals to save them from the flames, then died by his own hand in loyalty to his lord. Join his campaign in Tamba, share the aftermath of Yamazaki, and protect the treasures and the Akechi name, and he may treat you as kin worthy of his legacy.”

Life

Akechi Samanosuke

Ambition

Secure Ōmi and Tamba as Mitsuhide’s most trusted right hand and raise the Akechi to the foremost house among the Oda retainers.

He reveres Mitsuhide, head of the family, and is determined to support his lord and father-in-law’s bid for supremacy with all his skill and strategy.

If the Akechi retreat even a step after the decision at Honnōji, the clan will be branded rebels and face annihilation.

Obstacles of the era

The immense strain of challenging the realm through the Honnōji Incident
Guarding Azuchi Castle in Ōmi and maintaining its supply lines
Hideyoshi’s lightning-fast counterattack at the Battle of Yamazaki

Character and convictions

Source of ambition

As Mitsuhide’s son-in-law, he is resolved to share his lord’s fate to the very end.

Turning point

He led the attack at Honnōji and helped kill Nobunaga, only to find that none of the allies he had counted on, including Hosokawa and Tsutsui, would join him.

How he treats others

Mitsuhide’s wife and children, his own children, and the women of the Akechi family left at Sakamoto Castle are his responsibility to protect.

Principle he will not yield

Abandoning his father-in-law Mitsuhide in a crisis and begging the enemy for his life.

Historical path

1569 - 1578

Mitsuharu enters Mitsuhide’s service, marries his daughter, and becomes a trusted Akechi retainer

“Composed and taciturn, he reasons clearly, speaks of war and affairs with discernment, and shows resolve when duty is at stake.”

1579 - 1581

An Akechi commander who joined Mitsuhide’s campaign in Tamba, led the advance, and held Fukuchiyama Castle

“Still composed and measured, he speaks methodically of sieges and command, and treats the fortunes of the Akechi house with gravity.”

1582

An Akechi vanguard commander who attacked Honnōji, killed Nobunaga, and was defeated at Yamazaki

“Tense yet resolute, he weighs the outcome of great events gravely and keeps his nerve even when he sees disaster approaching.”

1582

Samanosuke retreats to Sakamoto, catalogues its treasures for the besieging generals, then dies by his own hand as the castle burns

“At his most composed, he speaks slowly of treasured objects and his family’s future, remaining calm even at death’s door.”

Final chapter

1582 (aged 47)

After hearing of the defeat at Yamazaki, he rode across Lake Biwa from Azuchi to return to Sakamoto Castle, a feat remembered as Samanosuke’s crossing. As Hori Hidemasa’s forces closed in, he handed the castle’s famous treasures and tea utensils to the enemy to preserve them. He then killed Mitsuhide’s wife and children himself, set fire to the keep, and took his own life.

He gave Hori’s forces an inventory of the treasures, saying they were national heirlooms too precious to lose in war, then ensured his family’s fate and took his own life.

“A fierce commander who led the assault that killed Nobunaga, yet in his final moments entrusted priceless national treasures to the enemy rather than see them lost to war. Even his foes admired this noble end.”