The is a branch of the Toki clan, 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 warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the foun ...

. The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

of the 16th century. The Akechi became the head, soryo of the Toki after the Toki fell to the Saitō clan in 1540. The Akechi refused to be under Saitō Yoshitatsu who attacked Nagayama castle. Akechi Mitsuhide then served shoguns Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Ashikaga Yoshiaki. After introducing Ashikaga Yoshiaki to

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, Mitsuhide became a powerful general under

. However, after 1582, Mitsuhide trapped Nobunaga at Honnō-ji and forced him to commit suicide. The Akechi then gained power due 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 had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

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

Battle of Yamazaki The was fought in 1582 in Shimamoto, Osaka, 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, ...

, twelve days after the Incident at Honnō-ji. The Akechi clan then fell from prominence.

Important figures

* Akechi Mitsutsugu, grandfather of Akechi Mitsuhide. Mitsutsugu was father of Omi-no-kata, Saito Dosan wife. * Akechi Mitsutsuna (died 1538), senior retainer under the Toki clan throughout the latter Sengoku period of feudal Japan * Akechi Mitsuhide (c. 1520–1582), samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. Renowned for his betrayal and murder 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 lif ...

(died 1582), retainer beneath the clan of Akechi 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 castle commander of Yakami Castle. Control over the Yakami Castle passed into Mitsutada hands when the Hatano clan w ...

(died 1582), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Akechi clan * Akechi Mitsuyoshi (died 1582), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, son of Akechi Mitsuhide * Hosokawa Gracia (1563–1600), daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide and a famous samurai convert to Christianity. Hosokawa Tadaoki's wife.

Important figures

Family tree

References

See also