Historical Background
After the successful coup against Oda Nobunaga in the Honnouji Incident (June 2, 1582), Akechi Mitsuhide swiftly consolidated control of the Kinai region. He ordered his son-in-law Akechi Hidemitsu to take over Azuchi Castle, Nobunaga’s old home fortress. He then contacted the Kuge in imperial court and local daimyo powers to aid in his transition of power.
Contrary to his expectations, support for him was minimal, with even his close allies Hosokawa Fujitaka and Tsutsui Juneki remaining silent. Hashiba Hideyoshi was engaged in the westward campaign against the Mouri at this time, but upon hearing the news regarding Honnouji, he immediately negotiated a truce with the Mouri and returned his army back east towards Kyoto at unprecedented speed in 10 days, a feat commonly known as Chuugoku Oogaeshi, or the “great return from Chuugoku”. The two armies met across the Enmyoujigawa River in Yamashiro. Hideyoshi ordered his brother Hidenaga to occupy Mt. Tennouzan, which provided valuable altitudinal advantage for the battle. Akechi’s men led by Namikawa Yasuie and Matsuda Sadachika attempted to take Mt. Tennouzan to no avail.
Observing a weakness in Akechi’s left flank led by Tsuda Nobuharu, Ikeda Tsuneoki led an assault across the river, routed the Tsuda forces and successfully surrounded the Akechi main forces. Akechi Mitsuhide was defeated, abandoned Shouryuuji Castle and fled towards his home castle Sakamoto. He was believed to be killed by peasants and bandits en route, ending his brief reign of central Japan.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. Can you change history?
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| 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
Akechi Army
5 Command Cards
2 Dragon Cards
2 H&F Tokens
Move First
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| 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Hashiba Army
5 Command Cards
3 Dragon Cards
4 H&F Tokens
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| 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Victory
10 Banners
* See Command Tent rules.
Special Rules
- It is recommended to remove the Ninja Assassin Dragon card for scenarios in this series. Vassal note: The card has been set side on the Decks board (Alt+D), to include it, discard and reshuffle the deck.
- The player who does not have majority control of Mt. Tennouzan (fewer units on hills than enemy) orders one fewer unit than indicated for command cards. If a command card orders multiple sections, unordered unit can be in any section. At least 1 unit is ordered per command card.
- At the beginning of the Hashiba player’s turn, the Akechi player loses 1 H&F token as long as there are 2 or more Hashiba units across the river on Akechi’s side of the board.
- All fence terrain hexes are palisades.
- Enmyoujigawa River is fordable
Souirce: https://sengokubattles.blogspot.com/2021/04/battle-of-yamazaki-1582.html
Yuki's Post-Battle Notes and Trivia
- Mt. Tennouzan has served its strategic importance in numerous battles in Japanese history. In addition to the Battle of Yamazaki, it was also widely utilized both in the Nanbokuchou Era and during the Ounin Wars. In the Bakumatsu Era, it was used in the Kinmon Incident (1864) by the Choushuu Domain.
- Not surprisingly, "Tennouzan" has entered modern Japanese vocabulary to describe important matches in sports and gaming. Because the Battle of Yamazaki had important
implications for the rise of Hideyoshi and the eventual establishment of the Toyotomi Administration, Tennouzan is said to be "Tennouzan that decides the fate of the world" (X-F-30•N,9)X - iii). - Interestingly, the center square in Shogi (Japanese chess) is sometimes called Tennouzan due to its strategic importance, analogous to the central 4 squares in western chess.
- The Honnouji Incident and the Battle of Yamazaki are a treasure trove of conspiracy theories, as many aspects of the events appeared very unnatural to many people. For one thing, the speed by which Hideyoshi returned his enormous army makes some suspicious that he was made aware of Nobunaga' s death a lot earlier than commonly believed. Some even accused him of directly or indirectly causing Nobunaga' s death himself using Mitsuhide as a tool so he could later "avenge" Nobunaga and gain public legitimacy for his eventual usurpation.
- Another conspiracy theory was that Akechi Mitsuhide' s death was never verified, and that he lived to serve Tokugawa Ieyasu under a new identity as a monk named Tenkai(M). Some people dived really deep into this, finding numerous artifacts and symbologies as clues that the two historical figures were in fact the same person. Some even went on to claim that Tokugawa Ieyasu was the mastermind behind Honnouji in the first place, and Mitsuhide/Tenkai was only the tip of the iceberg.
- Many of these conspiracies are very silly and are impossible to definitively verify, but the fact that an incident and a battle that are hundreds of years old still generate interest among people really shows that the tales of Nobunaga and Mitsuhide have a special place in people' s hearts.
- Modern media is trending towards a mixed or a positive depiction of Akechi Mitsuhide in recent years, contrary to his traditional portrayal as a cold-blooded traitor. The 2020 Taiga Drama Kirin ga Kuru (MAW< 6) features Akechi Mitsuhide as the protagonist and tells the story from his point of view.
- Soundtrack choice is probably obvious. The most catchy tune ever created that is actually titled "Yamazaki" , by Mukaiya Minoru.