The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period.

Unity and conflict

The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan".

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

was another primary unifier and the ruler of the Oda clan at the time. Hideyoshi joined Nobunaga at a young age, but was not highly regarded because of his peasant background. Nevertheless, Hideyoshi's increasing influence allowed him to seize a significant degree of power from the Oda clan following Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582. As the virtual ruler of most of Japan, Hideyoshi received the new clan name "Toyotomi" in 1585 from the emperor, and achieved the unification of Japan in 1590. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his son Toyotomi Hideyori was only five years old. Five regents were appointed to rule until his maturity, and conflicts among them began quickly. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu deposed Hideyori and took power after winning the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. In 1614, Hideyori came into conflict with the Tokugawa clan, leading to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Siege of Osaka from 1614 to 1615. As a result of the siege, Hideyori and his mother, Yodo-dono, committed

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

in the flames of Osaka castle. After their death, the Toyotomi clan dissolved, leaving the Tokugawa clan to solidify their rule of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the last member of the Toyotomi clan was (1609–1645). A rumor said that Toyotomi Hideyori's son

Toyotomi Kunimatsu was a member of the Japanese clan of Toyotomi following the Edo period of the 17th century. Kunimatsu was famed for being the son of Toyotomi Hideyori, who was the son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His mother was Hideyori's concubine, Icha (伊茶).Ther ...

escaped execution, and another rumor said that Hideyori had an illegitimate son named Amakusa Shirō.

Other notables

* Ōmandokoro * Toyotomi Hidetsugu * Toyotomi Hidenaga * Yodo-dono * Nene * Hashiba Hidekatsu * Toyotomi Sadako * Tomo (Toyotomi)

Bibliography

* Seiichi Iwao, Teizō Iyanaga, 2002: ''Dictionnaire historique du Japon'', vol. 1, p. 1145. Maisonneuve & Larose * Chris Spackman, 2009: ''An Encyclopedia of Japanese History '', p. 387. BiblioBazaar, LLC * William Scott Wilson, 2004: ''The lone samurai: the life of Miyamoto Musashi'', p. 32. Kodansha International * George Sansom, 1961: ''A history of Japan', vol. 2 (1334-1615). Stanford University Press * Eiji Yoshikawa, 1993: ''Taiko''. A. Knaus Verlag: München.

External links

Samurai-archives.com: Toyotomi clan
Toyotomi clan {{Japan-clan-stub