Japanese history is full of fascinating facts. This time, let's look at a personality raised to the rank of legend, Oda Nobunaga, the famous samurai. Discover its history in a new light!
The Man Who Killed Nobunaga T01
The Man Who Killed Nobunaga is a historical seinen of Akechi Kenzaburo and Todo Yutaka. The series, published by Delcourt/Tonkam, is finished in 8 volumes and currently has 3 volumes in France.
"This breathless tale sheds light on a new thesis that upends everything you thought you knew about Akeshi Mitsuhide's life. Is the story we all know a lie?
Immerse yourself in the final months of Oda Nobunaga, a prominent warlord who conquered and unified much of sixteenth-century Japan. Let yourself be carried away by his friendship with Yasuke, the very first black samurai and rediscover the story of the betrayal of his apprentice, Akeshi Mitsuhide, who assassinates him during the Honnôji Incident. This episode is probably the most striking enigma in the history of Japan. After more than four centuries, the veil is finally lifted on the many mysteries that still hovered over this historic event. »
This first volume takes us into the Tenshô era and more precisely to 1582, when Akechi Mitsuhide killed Oda Nobunaga. Well, for the first pages anyway. Indeed, this first volume will retrace the 15 years taking place before this event. We will be able to discover who were these samurai who are now part of the legend.
"Historical facts are reshaped by the victors"
And who better than a presumptive descendant to count us this story? Indeed, it turns out that the mangaka, Akeshi Kenzaburo would be a descendant of Akeshi Mitsuhide. And the latter disputes the commonly accepted version of the honnôji incident. Who would have had an interest in changing the version of events? Why make Akeshi look like a traitor? So many questions we can't wait to discover the answers!
An interesting first volume
As said before, this series traces historical facts. This first volume focuses on the characters of Oda Nobunaga and Akeshi Mitsuhide. We discover how these two legendary characters arrived at the top and forged their legend. Throughout the pages, we discover with great pleasure the different battles they had to fight, the meetings they made and the sacrifices necessary to establish peace. However, it can sometimes be difficult not to lose track given the number of dates, names and battles that are presented to us. Indeed, the author evokes some battles in just a few boxes and moves on very quickly. Many names of samurai, shogun, lords and other Japanese personalities of the time are mentioned. However, we must admit that we knew very few of the people mentioned and understanding some of the scenes was difficult for us. The discovery of this series will be less appreciated if you do not have a minimum of knowledge about this historical period. The author has nevertheless placed annotations throughout this first volume, helping us to situate ourselves in space, time and explaining certain techniques or ranks in Japanese society. In addition, the synopsis mentioned above, is that of the series and not of this first volume. Indeed, although Yasuke appears in this first volume, few pages are granted to him and his story is only briefly explored. We will probably have to wait for the rest of the series to learn more about the first Black Samurai in the history of Japan. This first volume is therefore an introduction to the series and presents a very large number of characters, while retracing the history of these two Japanese legends.
A biased opinion?
As previously presented, the author of the series would be a possible descendant of Akechi Mitsuhide. We can therefore wonder if the facts that will be presented to us are not somewhat embellished in order to make the character of Akechi Mitsuhide less "guilty" than what the legend tells. It may seem normal that Akechi Kenzaburo wants to restore his family's image, but is he really objective?
"Hideyoshi was made a hero…Mitsuhide fallen to the rank of felon… and falsified historical truth."
Failing to answer this question, we can tell you that the two main characters are presented in a very "flat" way, without depth. Indeed, the characters stick to the image given to them, without any nuance, despite the number of battles fought. However, we must highlight the pencil stroke of Todo Yutaka allowing us to admire the action scenes. Indeed, the cartoonist manages to transcribe the violence that raged at that time.
The Honnōji Incident
We cannot present you all the battles mentioned in this first volume in view of their number, however, it seems important to us to tell you about the most significant. As you may have understood, it was during this incident that Oda Nobunaga lost his life. This name comes from the fact that the drama took place in Honno-ji Temple, located in Kyoto. History tells that Nobunaga undertook to invade part of Japan in order to recover land and continue its military expansion. At that time, he controlled central Japan, but wanted to expand by attacking three clans opposed to him, the Mōri, Uesugi and Go-Hōjō clans. After sending his generals to attack his enemies, Oda Nobunaga stopped at Honnōji Temple. However, Akechi Mitsuhide took advantage of the fact that Nobunaga's entourage consisted only of servants to attack him. After encircling the castle with Nobunaga's own troops, he was seppuku. But why did Akechi Mitsuhide decide to go after Nobunaga? Again, there is no shortage of versions regarding Mitsuhide's intentions. Jealousy? Fear? Grudge? So many hypotheses for which we will unfortunately never have the answers. However, Akechi Mitsuhide was assassinated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who avenged Oda Nobunaga a few days later.
Some terms to know:
Seppuku: Traditional male suicide by disembowelment, appeared in Japan around the twelfth century among the samurai. Daimyo: Principal provincial governors from the military class. Shogun: General-in-Chief of the Armies of Japan. Ronin: Samurai without a master. The Man Who Killed Nobunaga is a work that we recommend if you are interested in Japanese history and more specifically that related to the samurai. And although this first volume is only an introduction, we can hope to learn more about the famous Yasuke and his story in the rest of the series.
