Editing Oda Nobunaga (section)

==Death==
[[File:Oda Udaijin Taira no Nobunaga in Flames at the Temple Honnoji LACMA M.84.31.116.jpg|thumb|An ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Yoshitoshi]] depicting Nobunaga fighting in the Honnō-ji Incident]]
By 1582, Nobunaga was at the height of his power and, as the most powerful warlord, the ''de facto'' leader of Japan. Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu finally occupied Shinano and Kai Provinces, defeated the Takeda at the Battle of Tenmokuzan, destroying the clan and resulting in Takeda Katsuyori fleeing from the battle before committing suicide with his wife while being pursued by Oda forces.<ref name=Turnbull2/> 

By this point, Nobunaga was preparing to launch invasions into [[Etchu Province]], [[Shikoku]] and Mōri clan domain. Nobunaga's former sandal-bearer, Hashiba Hideyoshi, invaded [[Bitchū Province]] and laid [[Siege of Takamatsu|siege to Takamatsu Castle]]. The castle was vital to the Mōri clan, and losing it would have left Mōri's home domain vulnerable. More reinforcements led by [[Mōri Terumoto]] arrived to relieve the siege, prompting Hideyoshi to ask in turn for reinforcements from Nobunaga. 

Nobunaga immediately ordered his leading generals and also Akechi Mitsuhide to prepare their armies, with the overall expedition to be led by Nobunaga.<ref name="Sato"/>{{rp|241}}<ref name= Sansom2/>{{rp|307a}} Nobunaga left Azuchi Castle for [[Honnō-ji]], a temple in Kyoto he frequented when visiting the city, where he was to hold a [[tea ceremony]]. Hence, Nobunaga only had 30 [[Page (servant)|pages]] with him, while his son Oda Nobutada had brought 2,000 of his [[cavalrymen]].<ref name= Sato />{{rp|243}}

===Honnō-ji incident===
{{Main|Honnō-ji incident}}
[[File:Honnouji hondo1.jpg|thumb|[[Honnō-ji]] temple main hall]]
Akechi Mitsuhide, stationed in Tanba province, led his army toward Kyoto under the pretense of following the order of Nobunaga, but as they were crossing [[Katsura River]], he decided to assassinate Nobunaga for unknown reasons. The exact cause of his betrayal remains controversial.

Mitsuhide, aware that Nobunaga was nearby and unprotected for his tea ceremony, saw an opportunity to act. At that time, Mitsuhide is said to have announced to his troops that "''The enemy awaits at Honnō-ji!''" (敵は本能寺にあり, Teki wa Honnō-ji ni ari). But this is a later creation. In reality, Mitsuhide kept the target of the attack secret from his troops so that information would not leak out.<ref name="cyzo264587">{{cite web| url = https://www.cyzo.com/2021/01/post_264587_entry.html| title =明智光秀「敵は本能寺にあり!」とは言っていない?| last = Horie| first = Hiroki| author-link =| date = 10 January 2021| orig-date = | editor-last = | editor-first = | website = Nikkan Caizo | publisher = Caizo| language = ja| trans-title = Didn't Mitsuhide Akechi say, "The enemy is at Honnoji!"?| access-date = 24 July 2023}}</ref>

On 21 June 1582, before dawn, the Akechi army surrounded the Honnō-ji temple with Nobunaga present, while another unit of Akechi troops was sent to [[Myōkoku-ji|Myōkaku-ji]]. Although Nobunaga and his servants resisted the unexpected intrusion, they were soon overwhelmed. Nobunaga also fought back for a while before retreating, and after letting the court ladies escape, he committed {{transliteration|ja|seppuku}} in one of the inner rooms.<ref name="goethe20210306">{{cite web| url = https://goetheweb.jp/lifestyle/more/20210306-nobunaga26| title  = 本能寺の変で信長が最後に発したひと言とは?| last = Ishikawa| first = Takuji | author-link =| date = 6 March 2021| orig-date = | editor-last = | editor-first = | website = goetheweb.jp | publisher = [[Gentosha]]| language = ja| trans-title = Nobunaga's last words to Nyōbō at the Honnoji Incident| access-date = 24 July 2023}}</ref>

After capturing Honnō-ji, Mitsuhide attacked Nobutada, the eldest son and heir of Nobunaga, who also died by suicide.<ref name= Sansom2 />{{rp|307–08}}

Mitsuhide searched for Nobunaga's body but could not find it. As a result, he was unable to prove Nobunaga's death, thus neither providing justification for his rebellion nor gaining support from those who doubted Nobunaga's death.<ref name="jbpress54295">{{cite web| url = https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/54295| title =本能寺の変、死を覚悟した信長がとった最期の行動| last =Owada| first =Yasutsune| author-link =| date = 16 October 2018| orig-date = | editor-last = | editor-first = | website = JBpress | publisher = Japan Business Press Co., Ltd.| language = ja| trans-title = The Honnoji Incident, Nobunaga's last act after preparing to die| access-date = 24 July 2023}}</ref>
[[File:20120310-KoyaOdaNobunagaNoHaka.jpg|thumb|Grave of Oda Nobunaga at [[Mount Kōya]], [[Wakayama Prefecture]]]]

Later, when Nobunaga's retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi learnt of his lord's death, he intercepted Mitsuhide's messenger trying to deliver a letter to the Mōri clan, informing them of Nobunaga's death and requesting an alliance, and withheld information. Hideyoshi managed to pacify the Mōri by demanding the suicide of [[Shimizu Muneharu]] in exchange for ending his siege of Takamatsu Castle, which the Mōri accepted. He then turned back to Kyoto with his forces in a swift [[Maneuver warfare |forced march]] known as the ''Chūgoku Ōgaeshi''.

Mitsuhide failed to establish his position after Nobunaga's death, and Oda forces under Hideyoshi defeated his army at the [[Battle of Yamazaki]] in July 1582. During a losing battle,  Mitsuhide was killed in an instance of '' [[ochimusha|ochimusha-gari]] '' (落ち武者狩り), a medieval Japanese custom in which local samurai, farmers and bandits hunt fleeing samurai for bounty and the valuables on their person.

Hideyoshi continued and completed Nobunaga's conquest of Japan within the following decade.