Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉; Japanese pronunciation: [to.jo.to.mʲi (|) çi.de(ꜜ).jo.ɕi], February 16, 1537 – September 18, 1598), otherwise known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō (木下 藤吉郎) and Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴 秀吉), was a Japanese samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku and Azuchi–Momoyama periods, regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan. Although he came from a peasant background, he rose to the rank and title of kampaku (関白, Imperial Regent) and daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Chancellor of the Realm), the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first base-born person in history to become a kampaku. He then passed the position and title of kampaku to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as Taikō (太閤), 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 was killed in the Honnō-ji incident in 1582, Hideyoshi defeated the lord's assassin, Akechi Mitsuhide, at the Battle of Yamazaki and became his successor. Hideyoshi 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 (the sword hunt), and the construction and restoration of many temples, some of which are still visible in Kyoto.