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.

Rise to power

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was born in what is now Nakamura-ku, Nagoya in the Owari province, the home of the Oda clan. He was born with no traceable samurai lineage and hence without a surname: his childhood given name was Hiyoshimaru (???), although variations exist. According to Maeda Toshiie and a European missionary named Luis Frois, he was polydactyl - he had two thumbs on his right hand, and he didn't cut his extra thumb as other Japanese in his period would do. As a youth, he first joined the Imagawa clan as a servant of local ruler Matsushita, under the name Kinoshita Tokichiro (?????).

Related Topics:
Nakamura-ku, Nagoya - Owari province - Oda clan - Maeda Toshiie - Luis Frois - Polydactyl - Imagawa clan

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Later, he joined the Oda clan as a lowly servant. He was noticed for his resourcefulness and rose to a high position within a relatively short amount of time. Despite his peasant lineage, he quickly became one of Oda Nobunaga's most distinguished generals, eventually taking the name Hashiba (the name was made up of two characters, each taken from Oda's two other right-hand men, Niwa Nagahide and Shibata Katsuie) Hideyoshi.

Related Topics:
Oda Nobunaga - Niwa Nagahide - Shibata Katsuie

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Some of his well-known exploits under Oda Nobunaga, many of them exaggerated and romanticized, include the legendary overnight construction of Sunomata Castle, his encounters with Takenaka Shigenaru, and later the siege of Takamatsu Castle.

Related Topics:
Sunomata Castle - Takenaka Shigenaru - Takamatsu Castle

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After the sudden deaths of Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son, Oda Nobutada at the hands of Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582, Hashiba defeated Akechi at the Battle of Yamazaki and established his de facto succession of Oda's military rule.

Related Topics:
Oda Nobutada - Akechi Mitsuhide - 1582 - Battle of Yamazaki - De facto

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At the Kiyosu Meeting to decide on a de jure successor, Hashiba cast aside the apparent candidate, Oda Nobutaka and his advocate, Oda clan's chief general, Shibata Katsuie, by supporting Nobutada's young son, Oda Hidenobu. Having won the support of the other two Oda elders, Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Itsuoki, Hashiba established Hidenobu's position, as well as his own influence in the Oda clan. Tension quickly escalated between Shibata and Hashiba, and at the Battle of Shizugatake in the following year, Hashiba destroyed Shibata's forces and thus consolidated his own power, absorbing most of the Oda clan into his control.

Related Topics:
Kiyosu Meeting - De jure - Oda Nobutaka - Oda Hidenobu - Ikeda Itsuoki - Battle of Shizugatake

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However, Nobunaga's other son, Oda Nobukatsu remained hostile to Hashiba. He allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the two sides fought at the inconclusive Battle of Komaki-Nagakute. It ultimately resulted in a stalemate, although the Hashiba forces were delivered a heavy blow. Finally, Hashiba made peace with Nobukatsu, ending the pretext for war between the Tokugawa and Hashiba clans. Tokugawa eventually subjected himself to become a vassal to Hashiba.

Related Topics:
Oda Nobukatsu - Tokugawa Ieyasu - Battle of Komaki-Nagakute

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On the other hand, Hashiba wanted the title of shogun, because it was then considered the title of the practical ruler of Japan. However, the emperor was unable to grant such a title to someone of Hideyoshi's lowly lineage. Hashiba then wanted the last Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki to accept him as an adopted son, but was refused. Unable to become shogun, in 1585 he took the position of regent (kampaku), as the Fujiwara Regents had, and it was around this time that he married Lady Yodo, the mother of his future son. In 1596, Hashiba was formally given the name Toyotomi by the imperial court.

Related Topics:
Shogun - Emperor - Muromachi shogun - Ashikaga Yoshiaki - 1585 - Kampaku - Fujiwara Regents - Lady Yodo - 1596

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Afterwards, Toyotomi subjugated the Kii Province and conquered Shikoku under the Chosokabe clan. He also took control of Etchu and conquered Kyushu. In 1587, Toyotomi banished Christian missionaries from Kyushu to exert greater control on the Kirishitan daimyo. In 1588, Toyotomi started a sword hunt and forbid ordinary peasants from owning weapons. This measure effectively stopped peasant revolts and ensured greater stability, at the expense of individual freedom. The 1590 Siege of Odawara against the Late Hojo clan in Kanto, the last resisting force to Toyotomi's authority, signified the end of the Sengoku period.

Related Topics:
Kii Province - Shikoku - Chosokabe clan - Etchu - Kyushu - 1587 - Christian - Missionaries - Kirishitan - Daimyo - 1588 - 1590 - Siege of Odawara - Late Hojo clan - Kanto

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A year after that, Toyotomi resigned in 1591 as kampaku to take the title of taiko (retired regent). His adopted son, Hidetsugu (actually his nephew) succeeded him as kampaku.

Related Topics:
1591 - Taiko - Hidetsugu

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Before gripping control of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi employed a friendly diplomatic stance with the Ming Dynasty and helped the Chinese government combat the Japanese piracy (wak?) along the coasts of Yellow Sea, South China Sea and Taiwan. Now with his country secured, he began the Battle of Bunroku to annex Korea. On April 1592, his generals invaded Korea. Within a month, the Japanese controlled almost the entire country. However, the Koreans soon rebelled, aided by the Chinese Ming dynasty. Resistance led by Yi Sun-shin forced the Japanese army to retreat from Korea in December, 1592.

Related Topics:
Ming Dynasty - Piracy - Wak? - Yellow Sea - South China Sea - Taiwan - Battle of Bunroku - Korea - 1592 - Yi Sun-shin

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Unsatisfied, in 1596 Toyotomi unsuccessfully attempted to invade Korea again in the Battle of Keicho. This time the Japanese encountered a well-prepared joint defence of Korea and China and eventually surrendered. The invasions of Korea created a legacy of mutual bitterness between Korea and Japan. Nearly a third of Japan's army of 150,000 died in the winter of 1592 alone, but did not leave before burning Seoul to the ground in 1593. During the second invasion, Toyotomi ordered his generals to kill all who resisted the Japanese troops - including women and children - and cut off and pickle their noses, which Toyotomi collected by the tens of thousands in a large pile known today by the misnomer "Mound of Ears", located next to his mausoleum, the Hokoku-byo Mausoleum at the Hokoku Shrine in Kyoto.

Related Topics:
1596 - Battle of Keicho - 1593

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In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died; thus, the Japanese army withdrew and the battles ended. Admiral Yi Sun-shin chased the retreating Japanese navy and in the final showdown of the war half of the remaining Japanese fleet was either sunk or never returned. The futile war only served to weaken the clans that were loyal to the Toyotomi name and clan. Following Toyotomi's death, the other members of the council of five regents could not keep the ambitions of Tokugawa Ieyasu in check. Toyotomi's underaged son and designated successor Hideyori lost the claim to the power his father once held, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was declared Shogun following the Battle of Sekigahara.

Related Topics:
1598 - Council of five regents - Tokugawa Ieyasu - Hideyori - Battle of Sekigahara

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