Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (????, original surnames Kinoshita ?? and Hashiba ??; 1536 - September 18, 1598), was a sengoku daimyo who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege, Oda Nobunaga and brought an end to the Sengoku period. He was also known for his invasion of Korea. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms.

Popular culture

Being the subject of much fiction and speculation, Toyotomi's life is also frequently used as a source of inspiration in fictional works, films, and video games.

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Toyotomi's stereotypical, monkey-like appearance, for example, is used in Onimusha, and he is portrayed in the popular video game as a sneaky and cunning character.

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In Koei's Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends, Hashiba Hideyoshi is a powerful monkey-like character wielding a three-segment staff.

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Toyotomi's life and struggles also inspired the popular video game series by Koei, Taikou Risshiden.

Related Topics:
Koei - Taikou Risshiden

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In Visco Games' arcade shoot-em-up Vasara 2, Toyotomi (as Hashiba Hideyoshi) is an enemy boss who guards the stage just before Oda Nobunaga's. He appears and attacks the heroes in a gigantic chimpanzee-like robot with extremely long arms.

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As Messier Undertree, Toyotomi appears in Cantos LVI and LVIII of Ezra Pound's long poem The Cantos.

Related Topics:
Ezra Pound - The Cantos

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Also, in James Clavell's famous novel Shogun, though Toyotomi Hideyoshi isn't a character by name, the figure of the Taiko in this historical novel bears a remarkable resemblence to him while going by a different name.

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