Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later Koretō Hyūga no Kami (惟任日向守) from his title, was a Japanese samurai general of the Sengoku period. He is best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. For this notorious murder, he was somewhat disparagingly known as the "Nine Day Shogun". Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of the trusted generals under daimyō Oda Nobunaga during his war of political unification in Japan.
Edo period painting of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Bronze statue of Akechi Mitsuhide
Akechi Mitsuhide grave information plaque at Umemiyacho, Kyoto.
Shrine to Akechi Mitsuhide, Kyoto
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges.
A samurai in his armour in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by Felice Beato
A Kofun period helmet, gilt copper, 5th century, Ise Province
In the noh drama Sanjō Kokaji, the 10th-century blacksmith Munechika, aided by a kitsune (fox spirit), forges the tachi (samurai sword) Ko-Gitsune Maru.
Taira no Masakado attacking an opponent on horseback (Yoshitoshi)