Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, otherwise known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō and Hashiba Hideyoshi, was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the late Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan. Although he came from a peasant background, he rose to become the most powerful man in Japan, earning the rank and title of and, the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first person in history to become a Kampaku who was not born a noble. He then passed the position and title of Kampaku to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as, the title of a retired Kampaku, until his death.
Hideyoshi rose from a peasant background as a retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japanese history. He distinguished himself in many of Nobunaga's campaigns. After Nobunaga's death in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582, Hideyoshi defeated his assassin Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki and became Nobunaga's successor. He then continued the campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. Hideyoshi became the de facto leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of daijō-daijin and kampaku by the mid-1580s. He conquered Shikoku in 1585 and Kyūshū in 1587, and completed the unification by winning the Siege of Odawara in 1590 and crushing the Kunohe rebellion in 1591. With the unification of Japan complete, Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Hideyoshi's young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 which would lead to the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Hideyoshi's rule covers most of the Azuchi–Momoyama period of Japan, partially named after his castle, Momoyama Castle. Hideyoshi left an influential and lasting legacy in Japan, including Osaka Castle, the Tokugawa class system, the restriction on the possession of weapons to the samurai, and the construction and restoration of many temples, some of which are still visible in Kyoto.

Early life (1537–1558)

According to tradition, Hideyoshi was born on February 16, 1537, according to the lunar Japanese calendar in Nakamura, Owari Province, in the middle of the chaotic Sengoku period under the collapsed Ashikaga Shogunate. Hideyoshi had no traceable samurai lineage, and his father Kinoshita Yaemon was an ashigaru – a peasant employed by the samurai as a foot soldier. Hideyoshi had no surname, and his childhood given name was Hiyoshimaru although variations exist. Yaemon died in 1543 when Hideyoshi was seven years old.
Contemporary writings from Ankokuji Ekei and Kakukane Ue, a retainer of the Shimazu clan, confirm Hideyoshi's poor background, with Ekei noting that Hideyoshi even had to beg on the street.
Many legends describe Hideyoshi being sent to study at a temple as a young man, but he rejected temple life and went in search of adventure. Under the name Kinoshita Tōkichirō, he first joined the Imagawa clan as a servant to a local ruler named .

Service under Nobunaga (1558–1582)

In 1558, Hideyoshi became an ashigaru for the powerful Oda clan, the rulers of his home province of Owari, now headed by the ambitious Oda Nobunaga.
Hideyoshi soon became Nobunaga's sandal-bearer, a position of relatively high status. According to his biographers, Hideyoshi also supervised the repair of Kiyosu Castle, a claim described as "apocryphal", and managed the kitchen.
In 1561, Hideyoshi married One, the adopted daughter of Asano Nagakatsu, a descendant of Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Hideyoshi carried out repairs on Sunomata Castle with his younger half-brother, Hashiba Koichirō, along with Hachisuka Masakatsu, and Maeno Nagayasu. Hideyoshi's efforts were well-received because Sunomata was in enemy territory, and according to legend Hideyoshi constructed a fort in Sunomata overnight and discovered a secret route into Mount Inaba, after which much of the local garrison surrendered.
File:YoshiClimber.jpg|thumb|200px|One Hundred Aspects of the Moon No.6, by Yoshitoshi: "Mount Inaba Moon" 1885, 12th month. The young Toyotomi Hideyoshi leads a small group assaulting the castle on Mount Inaba.
In 1564, Hideyoshi found success as a negotiator. He managed to convince a number of Mino warlords to desert the Saitō clan, mostly with liberal bribes. This included the Saitō clan's strategist, Takenaka Shigeharu.
Nobunaga's easy victory at the siege of Inabayama Castle in 1567 was largely due to Hideyoshi's efforts, and despite his peasant origins. In 1568, Hideyoshi became one of Nobunaga's most distinguished generals, eventually taking the name Hashiba Hideyoshi. The new surname included two characters, one each from Oda's right-hand men Niwa Nagahide and Shibata Katsuie, and the new given name included characters from Akechi Mitsuhide and Mori Yoshinari.
In 1570, Hideyoshi protected Nobunaga's retreat from Azai-Asakura forces at Kanegasaki. Later, in June 1570, Nobunaga allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Anegawa to lay siege to two fortresses of the Azai and Asakura clans, and Hideyoshi was assigned to lead Oda troops into open battle for the first time.
In 1573, after victorious campaigns against the Azai and Asakura, Nobunaga appointed Hideyoshi daimyō of three districts in the northern part of Ōmi Province. Initially, Hideyoshi stayed at the former Azai headquarters at Odani Castle, but moved to Kunitomo town and renamed it "Nagahama" in tribute to Nobunaga. Hideyoshi later moved to the port at Imahama on Lake Biwa, where 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. Later, Hideyoshi participated in the 1573 siege of Nagashima.
In 1574, Hideyoshi and Araki Murashige captured Itami Castle, and later in 1575, he fought in the Battle of Nagashino against the Takeda clan.
In 1576, he took part in the Siege of Mitsuji, part of the eleven-year Ishiyama Hongan-ji War. Later, Nobunaga sent Hideyoshi to Himeji Castle to conquer the Chūgoku region from the Mori clan. Hideyoshi then fought in the Battle of Tedorigawa, the siege of Miki, the siege of Tottori and the siege of Takamatsu.

Death of Nobunaga

On June 21, 1582, during the Siege of Takamatsu, Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son and heir Nobutada were both killed in the Honnō-ji incident. Their assassination 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 Akechi Mitsuhide and defeated him at the Battle of Yamazaki, avenging Nobunaga and taking his authority and power for himself.
Meanwhile, the Hōjō clan and the Uesugi clan invaded Kai and Shinano province when they heard of Nobunaga's death, beginning the Tenshō-Jingo war. When the Oda clan learned of the defeat of Takigawa Kazumasu at the Battle of Kanagawa by the Hōjō clan, Hideyoshi sent a letter to Ieyasu on July 7 giving him authorization to lead military operations to secure the two provinces from the Hōjō and Uesugi clans. As the war turned in Ieyasu's favor and Sanada Masayuki defected to the Tokugawa side, the Hōjō clan negotiated a truce. Hōjō Ujinobu and Ii Naomasa were the Hōjō and Tokugawa representatives for the preliminary meetings. Representatives from the Oda clan such as Oda Nobukatsu, Oda Nobutaka, and Hideyoshi himself mediated the negotiation until the truce officially took effect in October with both Ieyasu and Hōjō Ujinao exchanging family members as hostages as a sign of goodwill.

Rise to power (1582–1585)

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

Conflict with Katsuie

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 infant grandson Oda Hidenobu.
Shibata Katsuie initially supported Hideyoshi's decision, but later supported Nobunaga's third son Nobutaka, for whom Katsuie had performed the genpuku ritual. He allied with Nobutaka and Takigawa Kazumasu against Hideyoshi. Tension quickly escalated between Hideyoshi and Katsuie, and at the Battle of Shizugatake in the following year, Hideyoshi destroyed Katsuie's forces. Hideyoshi had thus consolidated his own power, dealt with most of the Oda clan, and now controlled some 30 provinces.

Conflict with Ieyasu

In 1584, Nobukatsu allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the two sides fought at the inconclusive Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. This ultimately resulted in a stalemate, although Hideyoshi's forces were delivered a heavy blow. Ieyasu and Hideyoshi never fought against each other in person, but the former managed to check the advance of the latter's allies. After Hideyoshi and Ieyasu heard the news of Ikeda Tsuneoki and Mori Nagayoshi's deaths, both withdrew their troops.
Following this, Ieyasu's general Sakakibara Yasumasa circulated a derogatory manifesto condemning Hideyoshi's conduct as betrayal towards the will of Oda Nobunaga and also insulting Hideyoshi's origins. This infuriated Hideyoshi, who offered a reward of 100,000 Kan to anyone who could bring him Yasumasa's head.
Later, Hideyoshi made peace with Nobukatsu and Ieyasu, ending the pretext for war between the Tokugawa and Hashiba clans. However, Ieyasu continued to refuse to become Hideyoshi's vassal. Hideyoshi had begun to move towards attacking Ieyasu, but the 1586 Tenshō earthquake caused extensive damage to Osaka, causing Hideyoshi to abandon the campaign against Ieyasu. Hideyoshi sent his younger sister Asahi no kata and mother Ōmandokoro to Tokugawa Ieyasu as hostages. In response, Ieyasu finally traveled to Osaka and expressed his intention to submit to Hideyoshi.