Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a preeminent daimyō, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier".
Background
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was born on March 17, 1536. According to tradition, he was born in Owari Province, the home of the Oda clan (present-day Nakamura-ku, Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture). He was born of no traceable samurai lineage, being the son of a peasant-ashigaru (foot soldier) named Yaemon. He had no surname, and his childhood given name was Hiyoshi-maru (日吉丸) ("Bounty of the Sun") although variations exist. Yaemon died in 1543, when Hideyoshi was 7, the younger of two children, his sibling being an older sister.
Education
His parents intended him to become a Buddhist priest and sent him to the nearby Komyoji Temple. Hideyoshi was averse to assuming that profession and at 15 years of age fled and found employment with Yukitsuna Matsushita, castellan of Kuno and a retainer of Yoshi- moto Imagawa. He became restive again and at the age of 20 assumed the name of Tokichiro Kinoshita and succeeded in becoming a menial of Nobunaga Oda, the famous warrior.
Career
In 1558, he joined the Oda clan. He became one of Nobunaga's sandal-bearers and was present at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560. In 1564, he managed to convince a number of Mino warlords to desert the Saitō clan. Hideyoshi approached many Saitō clan samurai and convinced them to submit to Nobunaga, including the Saitō clan's strategist, Takenaka Shigeharu. Nobunaga's easy victory at Inabayama Castle in 1567 was largely due to Hideyoshi's efforts, and despite his peasant origins, Hideyoshi became one of Nobunaga's most distinguished generals, eventually taking the name Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴 秀吉).
Hideyoshi led troops in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. He participated in the 1573 Siege of Nagashima. In 1573, after victorious campaigns against the Azai and Asakura, Nobunaga appointed Hideyoshi daimyō of three districts in the northern part of Ōmi Province. Hideyoshi later moved to the port at Imahama on Lake Biwa. From there he began work on Imahama Castle and took control of the nearby Kunitomo firearms factory that had been established some years previously by the Azai and Asakura. Under Hideyoshi's administration, the factory's output of firearms increased dramatically.
He fought in the Battle of Nagashino. He then fought in the 1577 Battle of Tedorigawa, the Siege of Miki, the Siege of Itami (1579), and the 1582 Siege of Takamatsu. Toyotomi Hideyoshi died September 18, 1598.
Achievements
Toyotomi Hideyoshi changed Japanese society in many ways. These include the imposition of a rigid class structure, restriction on travel, and surveys of land and production. Class reforms affected commoners and warriors. During the Sengoku period, it had become common for peasants to become warriors, or for samurai to farm due to the constant uncertainty caused by the lack of centralized government and always tentative peace. Upon taking control, Hideyoshi decreed that all peasants be disarmed completely. Conversely, he required samurai to leave the land and take up residence in the castle towns. This solidified the social class system for the next 300 years.
Furthermore, he ordered comprehensive surveys and a complete census of Japan. Once this was done and all citizens were registered, he required all Japanese to stay in their respective han (fiefs) unless they obtained official permission to go elsewhere. This ensured order in a period when bandits still roamed the countryside and peace was still new. The land surveys formed the basis for systematic taxation.
Hideyoshi also influenced the material culture of Japan. He lavished time and money on the tea ceremony, collecting implements, sponsoring lavish social events, and patronizing acclaimed masters. As interest in the tea ceremony rose among the ruling class, so too did demand for fine ceramic implements, and during the course of the Korean campaigns, not only were large quantities of prized ceramic ware confiscated, many Korean artisans were forcibly relocated to Japan.
Connections
In 1561, Hideyoshi married One who was Asano Nagakatsu's adopted daughter.
Father:
Kinoshita Yaemon
(d. 1543)
Mother:
Ōmandokoro
Spouse:
Nene
Kōdai-in (高台院) (born Sugihara Yasuko (杉原 寧子) formerly known as Nene (ねね), One (おね), Nei (ねい), or Nemoji, was a Buddhist nun and founder of the temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, Japan. She was formerly the principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under the name of Toyotomi Yoshiko (豊臣 吉子). She is also known by the title of "Kita no mandokoro".
