4. End of the Sengoku Period
Ill be honest; Im not as knowledgeable about Japanese history as I am European. Even so, AC fans have been asking for a game set in Japan for some time and after a little reading I came across one particular story which might make a great AC game. The Sengoku Period, also known as the Warring States Period, was a time of constant fighting that lasted from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th. Powerful daimyos territorial lords had uneasy alliances and trade agreements, but each one was eager to unify the country under their rule. Oda Nobunaga was close to doing this himself he already controlled a large portion of central Japan and was close to quashing his rivals. In 1582 at the Battle of Temmokuzan, the combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Nobunaga demolished the last of the Takeda family. The head of the family, Takeda Katsuyori tried to escape but committed suicide after he was denied entry to another Takeda castle. The Mori, Uesugi and the Late Hojo clans were the only people standing in the way of unification under Nobunaga. While the leaders of the other two clans died by natural causes, Uesugi Kenshin, one of the best generals and administrators of the period, died in suspicious circumstances. While some believe he died of stomach cancer, others believe he was assassinated by a ninja. Nobunaga quickly began sending his generals in all directions, hoping to finally conquer the other powerful families. Nobunaga and Ieyasu celebrated the end of the Takeda clan, before the daimyo began making plans to reinforce Hashiba Hideyoshi, one of his generals, who was struggling at the Siege of Takamatsu. With Nobunagas vast army away fighting, Akechi Mitsuhide, another general under Nobunaga, took the opportunity to betray the daimyo. Mitsuhides army surrounded Honno-ji and seeing the overwhelming numbers, Nobunaga committed suicide. The reason for the coup is still a mystery. Hideyoshi quickly made peace with the Mori and travelled back to face Mitsuhide. He defeated him at the Battle of Yamazaki and Mitsuhide was killed as he tried to escape. Ieyasu and Hideyoshi briefly fought for power but after the stalemate at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, Ieyasu agreed to be Hideyoshis vassal, although he later became the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate a feudal Japanese military government after Hideyoshis death. This brought an end to the Sengoku Period. As much as I dont know enough to suggest locations, this story would be great for an AC game. As Hattori Hanzo, a famous samurai and ninja master, was Ieyasus protector, a character working for Hanzo would make perfect sense in the story. Also considering that the killers of Katsuyori, Kenshin and Mitsuhides are unknown, a ninja or samurai character would seem a logical killer of the three. On top of that, the reason behind Mitsuhides betrayal is unknown, meaning it could be tweaked for story purposes to fit into the Assassin/Templar feud.