The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the Sengoku period of the 16th century.

The Akechi refused to bend to the rule of Saitō Yoshitatsu who retaliated by attacking Nagayama castle.

However, in 1582, Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga at the temple of Honnō-ji and forced him to commit seppuku.

Later that same year, Akechi Mitsuhide was slain at the Battle of Yamazaki by the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi while his oldest son took his own life, a mere twelve days after the incident at Honnō-ji.

In the Akechi Family Tree recorded in "Zoku Gunsho Ruiju" and the "Mino no Kuni Shokki", it is said that the Akechi clan descended as branch of Toki clan of the Seiwa Genji clan, where the Toki clan served as shugo in Mino Province for over 200 years from the Kenmu Restoration, and has produced several dozen branches from then on.