Letter by Akechi Mitsuhide
- Person
-
作者明智光秀
- Date
-
制作年 AD16
- Title
- アケチミツヒデヒツショジョウ
- Materials, techniques and shape
- 紙本墨書
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-000400-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
-
慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Handwriting Art Font Rectangle Creative arts
Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-82) was a descendant of the Toki clan of Mino Province. In 1568, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582; great warlord during the Sengoku Period who conquered most of Japan to unify the nation, but was assassinated by one of his trusted generals) entered Kyoto, pledging loyalty to Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537-97; 15th Shogun of the Muromachi military government). By this time, Mitsuhide held a prominent role as Nobunaga’s trusted confidant and adviser. In 1582, Hashiba Hideyoshi (1536-98; who was later renamed Toyotomi Hideyoshi and succeeded in unifying the war-torn nation as the virtual heir to Nobunaga’s legacy) was attacking the Mohri army in Bicchu (Okayama Prefecture) at their stronghold of Takamatsu Castle. Hideyoshi asked for a backup, so Nobunaga sent Mitsuhide’s army. On his way to the battlefield, Mitsuhide invited Satomura Joha to hold a renga composition ceremony at Mt. Atago in Kyoto. Renga is a form of collaborative poem in which the first poet writes the hokku, the first three lines consisting of a 5-7-5 syllable count, and the second poet writes the 7-7 count couplet and later completes the renga after both poets take turns in composing the stanzas. Mitsuhide started the poem, or the hokku stanza (which later evolved into the haiku style of poetry), with “Time is now – the rain falling in the month of May,” which is well-known to imply his resolve to destroy Nobunaga. On the very next day, June 1 to be exact, Mitsuhide murdered Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple. On the 13th, Mitsuhide and his forces were defeated in battle by Hashiba Hideyoshi at Yamazaki in Yamashiro Province (today’s Kyoto). During his retreat, Mitsuhide met his death by a bamboo spear at the hand of a local farmer. The letter shows prayers that Mitsuhide dedicated to Itoku-In Temple, located in Mt. Atago, before his departure to the Battle of Tango (Hyogo Prefecture) in 1579. It describes how he dedicated five silver coins and promised to donate one entire piece of land in his possession if his prayers are answered. (Mt. Atago lies toward the northwest of the capital city of Kyoto. The Atago Gongen Shrine erected at the summit was worshipped for the reigning deity’s power to extinguish fires. Mitsuhide had deep faith in the temple of Mt. Atago.) The letter was written when the general was 52.
今日廿一至丹後国出陣仕候彼表心懸候地所々任存分申付候様ニ別而御祈念所仰候寄存知儀共於相叶者一所寄進可仕候仍銀子五枚令奉納候後藤四郎兵衛へ刻判させ候目出度毎々慶事可申述候恐々謹言九月廿一日光秀（花押）愛宕山 威徳院 御同宿中
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Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Letter by Akechi Mitsuhide
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1幅
- Attachments
- 旧蓋裏の書付
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