織田信長は1575年の長篠（愛知県）の戦いで甲斐のような軍事大国を大量の火縄銃を使った戦法により破り、天下人になるのはもはや時間の問題でした。
Defeating such a great militaristic power, Kai in the Battle of Nagashino (Aichi Prefecture) in 1575 with his tactics of using lots of matchlocks, it was only a question of when Nobunaga Oda would come to rule over all the domains in Japan.
そんな織田信長も家臣である三河（静岡県）の徳川家康がいずれ大きな脅威となることを危惧し、徳川家康の暗殺を企てていたのではないかという話があります。
Since he was feeling apprehensive about his vassal, Ieyasu Tokugawa from Mikawa (Shizuoka Prefecture) who could become a great threat to him sometime in future, some say that he might have been plotting to assassinate him.
この話によれば、織田信長は1582年に参加者の武装解除が実質必要となる都の本能寺での会合に徳川家康を誘き寄せるよう徳川家康の接待担当であった家臣の明智光秀に命じたというのです。
According to their theory, in 1582, he ordered his vassal, Mitsuhide Akechi who was in charge of entertaining Ieyasu Tokugawa to invite him to the meeting at Honnoji Temple in the capital where the attendees substantially had to disarm themselves.
然るに、この話では、明智光秀は会合が罠であることを徳川家康に告げ、無防備状態で本能寺にいた織田信長を替わりに討ったというのです。
However, the theory says that Mitsuhide Akechi gave Ieyasu Tokugawa the truth about the entrapment, and he instead subjugated defenseless Nobunaga Oda at Honnoji Temple.
