Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536/7–1598)

AbstractJapanese warlord; best known as the second of the Three Unifiers of sixteenth‐century Japan. Considered by many to have been the most significant figure in Japanese history, Hideyoshi was born of humble origins in Owari province. Although the accounts vary, most suggest that his father was a very low‐ranking soldier in the service of the Oda clan. He was in fact so poor that he most likely did not have a surname and Hideyoshi would actually adopt several names over the course of his long career, not assuming the moniker by which he is best known until it was bestowed upon him by the imperial court in 1586. Very little is known of his early career, but it appears that Hideyoshi began around the age of 15 as a page in the service of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Within a few years, however, he transferred his allegiance to Yoshimoto's rival, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), and most likely participated in the latter's dramatic victory over the Imagawa at Okehazama in 1560. He then rose through the Oda ranks over the next several years, emerging most notably in 1567 when he allegedly facilitated the conquest of the Saito clan at Inabayama by virtue of his construction of the fortress of Sunomata in a single night. Three years later he led one of Nobunaga's columns against another rival, the Asai, eventually receiving a fief in Omi province when the Asai were finally crushed. During these years Hideyoshi gained an appreciation for forceful, surprising strikes into enemy territory and for the efficacy of firearms in battle.