The is a branch of the

Toki clan The is a Japanese kin group.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Toki," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 61 retrieved 2013-5-9. History The Toki claim desce ...

, which is descended from the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, ...

. The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

of the 16th century. The Akechi became the head (soryo) of the Toki clan after the Toki fell to the

Saitō clan Saitō, Saito, Saitou or Saitoh (written: or ) are the 10th and 11th most common Japanese surnames respectively. Less common variants are , , and . Notable people with the surname include: Notable people with the surname *, Japanese footballer * ...

in 1540. The Akechi refused to bend to the rule of

Saitō Yoshitatsu or Toki Yoshitatsu was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 54 of 80">"Saitō," ''Nobiliare du Ja ...

who retaliated by attacking Nagayama castle.

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

then served the shoguns

Ashikaga Yoshiteru , also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was the 13th ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Yoshiharu, and his moth ...

and

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he ...

. After introducing Ashikaga Yoshiaki to

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, Mitsuhide became a powerful general under Nobunaga. However, in 1582, Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga at the temple of

Honnō-ji is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan. Honnō-ji incident Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident, the assassination of the powerful warlord Oda Nobunaga, which occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nob ...

and forced him to commit

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

. The Akechi clan gained more power thanks to the collapse of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

. Later that same year, Akechi Mitsuhide was slain at the

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Yamazaki, Japan, located in current-day Kyoto Prefecture. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Mt. Tennō (天王山の戦い ''Tennō-zan no tatakai''). In the Honnō-ji Incident, Akechi Mitsuhide, ...

by the forces of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

while his oldest son took his own life, a mere twelve days after the

incident at Honnō-ji The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective. ICS was initially develope ...

. The Akechi clan quickly fell from prominence after that.

Genealogy

In the Akechi Family Tree recorded in "Zoku Gunsho Ruiju" and the "Mino no Kuni Shokki", it is said that the Akechi clan descended as branch of

of the

clan, where the Toki clan served as

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

in Mino Province for over 200 years from the

Kenmu Restoration The was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate ...

, and has produced several dozen branches from then on. .

Important figures

* Akechi Mitsutsugu, grandfather of Akechi Mitsuhide. Mitsutsugu was father of Omi-no-kata, wife of Saito Dosan. *

Akechi Mitsutsuna was a senior retainer under the Toki clan from Akechi clan throughout the latter Sengoku period of feudal Japan. He was the father of Akechi Mitsuhide and brother of "Omi-no-kata" (Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa (斎藤利 ...

(died 1538), senior retainer under the Toki clan throughout the later Sengoku period of feudal Japan. *

(c. 1520–1582), samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. Renowned for his betrayal of

. *

Akechi Hidemitsu was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. A senior retainer of Oda Nobunaga's vassal Akechi Mitsuhide, he served Mitsuhide until the latter's death in 1582 at the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is also known as Akechi Mitsuharu. Early li ...

(died 1582), retainer of the Akechi clan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period of feudal Japan. *

Akechi Mitsutada was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Akechi clan. He was a cousin of his lord, Akechi Mitsuhide. He was the castle commander of Yakami Castle. Control over the Yakami Castle passed into Mitsutada's hands when the Hata ...

(died 1582), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Akechi clan. *

Akechi Mitsuyoshi was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period and the eldest son of Akechi Mitsuhide. He stayed at Kameyama Castle when the Honnoji Incident occurred. In 1582, during Honnoji Incident, after Oda Nobutada died at Nijo Castle, he moved to ...

(died 1582), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, son of

, committed

at the age of 12 or 13. *

Hosokawa Gracia , usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara; Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to s ...

(1563–1600), daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide and a famous Christian convert.

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka and Numata Jakō, and the husband of the famous Christian convert Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he went b ...

Genealogy

Important figures

Family tree

Appendix

References

Bibliography

See also