Service under Nobunaga

Battle of Okehazama

In 1558, he joined the Oda clan, now headed by Oda Nobunaga, as an ashigaru. He became one of Nobunaga's sandal-bearers and was present at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto to become one of the most powerful warlords in the Sengoku period. According to his biographers, he supervised the repair of Kiyosu Castle, a claim described as "apocryphal", and managed the kitchen.

In 1561, Hideyoshi married One who was Asano Nagakatsu's adopted daughter. He carried out repairs on Sunomata Castle with his younger brother Toyotomi Hidenaga and the bandits Hachisuka Masakatsu and Maeno Nagayasu. Hideyoshi's efforts were well received because Sunomata was in enemy territory. He constructed a fort in Sunomata, according to legend overnight, and discovered a secret route into Mount Inaba after which much of the garrison surrendered.

Siege of Inabayama Castle

Hideyoshi was very successful as a negotiator. In 1564, he managed to convince, mostly with liberal bribes, 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). The new surname included two characters, one each from Oda's two other right-hand men, Niwa Nagahide (丹羽 長秀) and Shibata Katsuie (柴田 勝家).

Battle of Anegawa

Hideyoshi led troops in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570 in which Oda Nobunaga allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu to lay siege to two fortresses of the Azai and Asakura clans. 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. Initially based at the former Azai headquarters in Odani, Hideyoshi moved to Kunitomo, and renamed the city Nagahama in tribute to Nobunaga. 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. Nobunaga sent Hideyoshi to Himeji Castle to conquer the Chūgoku region from the Mori clan in 1576. He then fought in the 1577 Battle of Tedorigawa.

 

• Outline of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598)
  

  HISTORIC PEOPLE

  Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598)

  Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a preeminent daimyō, warrior, general, samurai, and politician of the Sengoku period who is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier". He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Warring States period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. View Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) »

  Early Life: Very little is known for certain about Hideyoshi before 1570, when he begins to appear in surviving documents and letters. His autobiography starts in 1577 but in it Hideyoshi spoke very little about his past.

  Service under Nobunaga: In 1558, he joined the Oda clan, now headed by Oda Nobunaga, as an ashigaru. He became one of Nobunaga's sandal-bearers and was present at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto to become one of the most powerful warlords in the Sengoku period.

  Rise to Power: After the assassinations at Honnō-ji of Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son Nobutada in 1582 at the hands of Akechi Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved lord, made peace with the Mōri clan and defeated Akechi at the Battle of Yamazaki.

  Pinnacle of Power: The 1590 Siege of Odawara against the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region eliminated the last resistance to Hideyoshi's authority. His victory signified the end of the Sengoku period.

  Decline of Power: The stability of the Toyotomi dynasty after Hideyoshi's death was put in doubt with the death of his son Tsurumatsu in September 1591.

  Death: His death was kept secret by the Council of Five Elders to preserve morale, and the Japanese forces in Korea were ordered to withdraw back to Japan by the Council of Five Elders.

  Cultural Legacy: Toyotomi Hideyoshi changed Japanese society in many ways. These include imposition of a rigid class structure, restriction on travel, and surveys of land and production.

HISTORY

 

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.