Toyotomi Hideyoshi

During the Siege of Takamatsu, on June 21, 1582, Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son and heir, Nobutada, were killed in the Honnō-ji incident by the forces of the traitorous Akechi Mitsuhide. Their assassination in Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto ended Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralised power in Japan under his authority.

Hideyoshi, seeking vengeance for the death of his lord, made peace with the Mōri clan and thirteen days later met Mitsuhide and defeated him at the Battle of Yamazaki, avenging his lord (Nobunaga) and taking Nobunaga's authority and power for himself.[11]^{: 275–279}

In 1582, Hideyoshi began construction of Osaka Castle. Built on the site of the temple Ishiyama Hongan-ji, which was destroyed by Nobunaga,[13] in 1597, construction was completed and the castle would become the last stronghold of the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death.[14]

One Hundred Aspects of the Moon No. 67, by Yoshitoshi: The Moon and Hideyoshi at the Battle of Shizugatake.

In late 1582, Hideyoshi was in a very strong position. He summoned the powerful daimyō to Kiyosu Castle so that they could determine Nobunaga's heir. Oda Nobukatsu and Oda Nobutaka quarreled, causing Hideyoshi to instead choose Nobunaga's grandson Samboshi, whose other name was Hidenobu.[15] Katsuie initially supported the choice of Samboshi, Nobunaga's grandson.[16] but he later supported Oda Nobutaka, Nobunaga's third son, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual. He then allied with Oda Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu against Hideyoshi who was allied with Oda Nobukatsu. Having won the support of the other two Oda clan elders, Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneoki, Hideyoshi established Hidenobu's position, as well as his own influence in the Oda clan. He distributed Nobunaga's provinces among the generals and formed a council of four generals to help him govern. Tension quickly escalated between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie, and at the Battle of Shizugatake in the following year, Hideyoshi destroyed Katsuie's forces.[17] Hideyoshi had thus consolidated his own power, dealt with most of the Oda clan, and controlled 30 provinces.[8]^{: 313–314} The famous kirishitan daimyo and samurai Dom Justo Takayama fought on his side at this epic battle.

In 1584, Nobunaga's other son, Oda Nobukatsu, remained hostile to Hideyoshi. Nobukatsu allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the two sides fought at the inconclusive Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. It ultimately resulted in a stalemate, although Hideyoshi's forces were delivered a heavy blow.[7] Ieyasu and Hideyoshi never actually fought against each other themselves but the former managed to check the advance of the latter's allies.[18] Finally, after Hideyoshi and Ieyasu heard the news of Ikeda Tsuneoki and Mori Nagayoshi died, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu withdrew their troops. Later, Hideyoshi made peace with Nobukatsu and Ieyasu, ending the pretext for war between the Tokugawa and Hashiba clans. Hideyoshi sent Tokugawa Ieyasu his younger sister Asahi no kata and mother Ōmandokoro as hostages.

Like Oda Nobunaga before him, Hideyoshi never achieved the title of shōgun. Instead, he arranged to have himself adopted by Konoe Sakihisa, one of the noblest men belonging to the Fujiwara clan and secured a succession of high court titles Chancellor (Daijō-daijin), including, in 1585, the prestigious position of Imperial Regent (kampaku).[19] Also in 1585, Hideyoshi was formally given the new clan name Toyotomi (instead of Fujiwara) by the Imperial Court.[7] He built a lavish palace, the Jurakudai, in 1587, and entertained the reigning Emperor, Emperor Go-Yōzei, the following year.[20]

Battle standards of Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Afterwards in 1585, Hideyoshi launched the siege of Negoro-ji and subjugated Kii Province.[23] The Negoro-gumi, the warrior monks of Negoro-ji, were quite skilled in the use of firearms, and were devout followers of Shingi, a branch of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. They were allied with the Ikkō-ikki, and with Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Toyotomi's chief rivals. In particular, they attracted Hideyoshi's ire for their support of Tokugawa in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute the previous year. After attacking a number of other warrior monk outposts in the area, Hideyoshi's force turned to the monastery of Negoro-ji, attacking it from two sides. By this time, many of the Negoro-gumi had already fled to Ōta Castle. Later, Hideyoshi besieged Ōta Castle. The complex was set aflame, beginning with the residences of the priests, and Hideyoshi's samurai cut down monks as they escaped the blazing buildings.

In the 1585 invasion of Shikoku, Toyotomi forces seized and conquered Shikoku island, the smallest of Japan's four main islands, from Chōsokabe Motochika.[24] Toyotomi's forces arrived 113,000 strong under Toyotomi Hidenaga, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Ukita Hideie and the Mōri clan's "Two Rivers", Kobayakawa Takakage and Kikkawa Motoharu. Opposing them were 40,000 men of Chōsokabe's. Despite the overwhelming size of Hideyoshi's army, and the suggestions of his advisors, Motochika chose to fight to defend his territories. The battles culminated in the siege of Ichinomiya Castle, which lasted for 26 days. Chōsokabe made a half-hearted attempt to relieve his castle from the siege, but surrendered in the end. He was allowed to keep Tosa Province, while the rest of Shikoku was divided among Hideyoshi's generals.

During the late summer of August 1585, Hideyoshi launched an attack on Etchū Province and Hida Province.[25] Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispatched Kanamori Nagachika to destroy the Anegakōji clan of Hida and he carried out the siege of Toyama Castle. The Toyama Castle garrison was led by Sassa Narimasa, one of his former allies many years back. Hideyoshi led his army of around 100,000 soldiers against the 20,000 men of the Sassa Narimasa forces; in the end, Narimasa's defense was shattered, opening the way for Toyotomi's supremacy over Etchū Province and Hida Province.

In 1586 Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered Kyūshū, wresting control from the Shimazu clan.[26] Toyotomi Hidenaga, half-brother to Hideyoshi, landed to the south of Bungo on Kyūshū's eastern coast. Meanwhile, Hideyoshi took his own forces down a more western route, in Chikuzen Province. Later that year, with a total of 200,000 soldiers against the 30,000 men of the Shimazu forces, the two brothers would meet up in the Shimazu home province of Satsuma. They besieged Kagoshima castle, the Shimazu clan's home. The Shimazu surrendered, leaving Hideyoshi to return his attention to the Hōjō clan of Kantō, the last major clan to oppose him.

Later in 1587, Hideyoshi banished Christian missionaries from Kyūshū, to exert greater control over the Kirishitan daimyō.[27] However, since he did much trade with Europeans, individual Christians were overlooked unofficially.

In 1588, Hideyoshi forbade ordinary peasants from owning weapons and started a sword hunt to confiscate arms.[28] The swords were melted down to create a statue of the Buddha. This measure effectively stopped peasant revolts, and ensured greater stability at the expense of freedom of the individual daimyō.

In 1590, Hideyoshi carried out the Odawara Campaign against the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region.[29] It is notable as the first battle that involved the alliance between Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. With 220,000 men, the massive army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi surrounded Odawara Castle and its 82,000-strong Hōjō garrison, in what has been called "the most unconventional siege lines in samurai history". The samurai were entertained by everything from concubines, prostitutes, and musicians to acrobats, fire-eaters, and jugglers. The defenders slept on the ramparts with their arquebuses and armor; despite their smaller numbers, they discouraged Hideyoshi from attacking. After three months the Hōjō surrendered, losing the will to fight after the sudden appearance of Ishigakiyama Ichiya Castle.

This eliminated the last resistance to Hideyoshi's authority. His victory signified the end of the Sengoku period. During the siege, Hideyoshi offered Ieyasu the eight Hōjō-ruled provinces in the Kantō region, in exchange for the submission of Ieyasu's five provinces. Ieyasu accepted this proposal.

In February 1591, Hideyoshi ordered Sen no Rikyū to commit suicide, likely in one of his angry outbursts.[30] Rikyū had been a trusted retainer and master of the tea ceremony under both Hideyoshi and Nobunaga. Under Hideyoshi's patronage, Rikyū made significant changes to the aesthetics of the tea ceremony that had a lasting influence over many aspects of Japanese culture. After the completion of the Sanmon gate (金毛閣, in the offering written by Shunoku Sōen at the request of Rikyū, thousands of households opened their door at once said this sentence, which angered Hideyoshi then became a turning point of the relationship between Rikyū and Hideyoshi. Finally Hideyoshi ordered him to commit ritual suicide. Even after Rikyū's death, Hideyoshi is said to have built his many construction projects based upon aesthetics promoted by Rikyū, perhaps suggesting that he regretted his actions.

Following Rikyū's death, Hideyoshi turned his attention from tea ceremony to Noh, which he had been studying since becoming Imperial Regent. During his brief stay in Nagoya Castle in what is today Saga Prefecture, on Kyūshū, Hideyoshi memorised the shite (lead role) parts of ten Noh plays, which he then performed, forcing various daimyō to accompany him onstage as the waki (secondary, accompanying role). He even performed before the emperor.[31]

The Kunohe rebellion was an insurrection in the Sengoku period of Japan, that occurred in Mutsu Province from 13 March to 4 September 1591.

Kunohe Masazane, a claimant to daimyo of the Nanbu clan, launched a rebellion against his rival Nanbu Nobunao which spread across Mutsu Province. Nobunao was backed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who along with Tokugawa Ieyasu sent a large army into the Tōhoku region in mid-1591 which quickly defeated the rebels. Hideyoshi's army arrived at Kunohe Castle in early September. Masazane was outnumbered and surrendered Kunohe Castle but he and the castle defenders were executed. The Kunohe rebellion was the final battle in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaigns during the Sengoku period and completed the unification of Japan.[32]

In the first campaign, Hideyoshi appointed Ukita Hideie as field marshal, and had him go to the Korean peninsula in April 1592. Konishi Yukinaga occupied Seoul, which was the capital of the Joseon dynasty of Korea, on June 19. After Seoul fell easily, Japanese commanders held a war council in June in Seoul and determined targets of subjugation called Hachidokuniwari (literally, dividing the country into eight routes). Each targeted province was attacked by one of the army's eight divisions:

• Pyeongan by the First Division led by Konishi Yukinaga.
• Hamgyong by the Second Division led by Katō Kiyomasa.
• Hwanghae by the Third Division led by Kuroda Nagamasa.
• Gangwon by the Fourth Division led by Mōri Katsunaga.
• Chungcheong by the Fifth Division led by Fukushima Masanori.
• Jeolla by the Sixth Division led by Kobayakawa Takakage.
• Gyeongsang by the Seventh Division led by Mōri Terumoto.
• Gyeonggi by the Eighth Division led by Ukita Hideie.

In only four months, Hideyoshi's forces had a route into Manchuria and occupied much of Korea. The Korean king Seonjo of Joseon escaped to Uiju and requested military intervention from China. In 1593, the Wanli Emperor of Ming China sent an army under general Li Rusong to block the planned Japanese invasion of China and recapture the Korean peninsula. The Ming army of 43,000 soldiers headed by general Li Ru-song proceeded to attack Pyongyang. On January 7, 1593, the Ming relief forces under Li recaptured Pyongyang and surrounded Seoul, but Kobayakawa Takakage, Ukita Hideie, Tachibana Muneshige and Kikkawa Hiroie won the Battle of Byeokjegwan north of Seoul, in modern day Goyang City. At the end of the first campaign, Japan's entire navy was destroyed by Admiral Yi Sun-sin of Korea whose base was located in a part of Korea the Japanese could not control. This, in effect, put an end to Japan's dream of conquering China as the Koreans simply destroyed Japan's ability to resupply their troops who were bogged down in Seoul.

Toyotomi Hideyori

The birth of Hideyoshi's second son in 1593, Hideyori, created a potential succession problem. To avoid it, Hideyoshi exiled his nephew and heir Hidetsugu to Mount Kōya and then ordered him to commit suicide in August 1595. Hidetsugu's family members who did not follow his example were then murdered in Kyoto, including 31 women and several children.[34]

In January 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had twenty-six Christians arrested as an example to Japanese who wanted to convert to Christianity. They are known as the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan. They included five European Franciscan missionaries, one Mexican Franciscan missionary, three Japanese Jesuits and seventeen Japanese laymen including three young boys. They were tortured, mutilated, and paraded through towns across Japan. On February 5, they were executed in Nagasaki by public crucifixion.[35]

The 26 Christian martyrs of Nagasaki, 18–19th century, Choir of La Recoleta, Cuzco

After several years of negotiations (broken off because envoys of both sides falsely reported to their masters that the opposition had surrendered), Hideyoshi appointed Kobayakawa Hideaki to lead a renewed invasion of Korea, but their efforts on the peninsula met with less success than the first invasion. Japanese troops remained pinned down in Gyeongsang Province. In June 1598, the Japanese forces turned back several Chinese offensives in Suncheon and Sacheon, but they were unable to make further progress as the Ming army prepared for a final assault. While Hideyoshi's battle at Sacheon led by Shimazu Yoshihiro was a major Japanese victory, all three parties to the war were exhausted. He told his commander in Korea, "Don't let my soldiers become spirits in a foreign land."[2].

Hideyoshi sitting with his wives and concubines

• Wife Nene (between 1541 and 1549–1624), or One, later Kōdai-in
• Minami-dono, daughter of Yamana Toyokuni
• Yodo-dono (1569–1615), or Chacha, later Daikōin, daughter of Azai Nagamasa
• Minami no Tsubone, daughter of Yamana Toyokuni
• Kyōgoku Tatsuko, daughter of Kyōgoku Takayoshi
• Kaga-dono or Maahime, daughter of Maeda Toshiie
• Kaihime, daughter of Narita Ujinaga
• Sonnomaru-dono, adopted daughter of Gamō Ujisato, daughter of Oda Nobunaga
• Kusu no Tsubone, later Hokoin, daughter of Azai Nagamasa
• Sanjo-dono or Tora, daughter of Gamō Katahide
• Himeji-dono, daughter of Oda Nobukane
• Hirozawa no Tsubone, daughter of Kunimitsu Kyosho
• Ōshima or Shimako, later Gekkein, daughter of Ashikaga Yorizumi
• Anrunkin or Otane no Kata
• Ofuku, later Enyu-in, daughter of Miura Noto no Kami and mother of Ukita Hideie

Hashiba Hidekatsu (Ishimatsumaru)

• Hashiba Hidekatsu (Ishimatsumaru) (1570–1576) by Minami-dono
• daughter (name unknown) by Minami-dono

Tsurumatsu

• Toyotomi Tsurumatsu (1589–1591) by Yodo-dono
• Toyotomi Hideyori (1593–1615) by Yodo-dono

• Hashiba Hidekatsu (Tsugaru) (1567–1586), fourth son of Oda Nobunaga
• Oda Nobutaka, later Toyotomi Takahiro (1576–1602), seventh son of Oda Nobunaga
• Oda Nobuyoshi, later Toyotomi Musashi (1573–1615), eighth son of Oda Nobunaga
• Oda Nobuyoshi (d. 1609), tenth son of Oda Nobunaga
• Ukita Hideie (1572–1655), son of Ukita Naoie
• Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568–1595), first son of Hideyoshi's sister Tomo with Miyoshi Kazumichi
• Toyotomi Hidekatsu (1569–1592), second son of Hideyoshi's sister Tomo with Miyoshi Kazumichi
• Toyotomi Hideyasu (1579–1595), third son of Hideyoshi's sister Tomo with Miyoshi Kazumichi
• Yūki Hideyasu (1574–1607), Tokugawa Ieyasu's second son
• Ikeda Nagayoshi, third son of Ikeda Nobuteru
• Kobayakawa Hideaki (1577–1602), Hideyoshi's nephew from his wife Nene's family
• Prince Hachijō Toshihito (1579–1629), sixth son of Prince Masahito

• Gohime (1574–1634), daughter of Maeda Toshiie, married to Ukita Hideie
• O-hime (1585–1591), daughter of Oda Nobukatsu, married to Tokugawa Hidetada
• Oeyo (1573–1626), daughter of Azai Nagamasa, married to Saji Kazunari, Toyotomi Hidekatsu, Tokugawa Hidetada
• Konoe Sakiko (1575–1630), daughter of Konoe Sakihisa, married to Emperor Go-Yōzei
• Chikurin-in (1579/80–1649), daughter of Ōtani Yoshitsugu. She was also known as Akihime and Riyohime. She was married to Sanada Yukimura. They had two sons, Sanada Daisuke and Sanada Daihachi, and some daughters
• Toyotomi Sadako (1592–1658), daughter of Toyotomi Hidekatsu with Oeyo, later became the adopted daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada and married to Kujō Yukiie
• Daizen-in, daughter of Toyotomi Hidenaga, married to Mōri Hidemoto
• Kikuhime, daughter of Toyotomi Hidenaga, married to Toyotomi Hideyasu
• Maeda Kikuhime (1578–1584), daughter of Maeda Toshiie

• Toyotomi Kunimatsu (1608–1615)
• Tenshuni (天秀尼) (1609–1645)

In the 1949 Mexican hagiographic film Philip of Jesus, Luis Aceves Castañeda plays a character corresponding to Hideyoshi but named "Emperor Iroyoshi Taikosama".[49]

In the Netflix anime series Great Pretender (2020), Hideyoshi is referenced many times by Laurent Thierry, one of the central protagonists of the series.[50]

In the Netflix documentary series Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (2021), Hideyoshi is portrayed by Masami Kosaka. The show depicts his life and rise to power.[51]