Toyotomi

Toyotomi refers to a prominent Japanese clan and political faction centered on Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who rose from humble origins to become the de facto ruler of Japan and to oversee a large part of the country’s unification in the late Sengoku period. The name Toyotomi was adopted by Hideyoshi and became associated with his house and the centralized administration he established.

Hideyoshi began as a retainer of Oda Nobunaga and, after Nobunaga’s death in 1582, continued the drive to unify Japan. By around 1590 he had brought most rival daimyō under central control. He moved the seat of power to Osaka, built Osaka Castle, and implemented centralizing reforms, including cadastral surveys and measures to stabilize governance. He also pursued an ambitious foreign policy, attempting to subjugate Korea during the Imjin War (1592–1598).

After Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, power rested with a regency for his young son, Toyotomi Hideyori, and with senior retainers divided by factions. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 shifted the balance toward the Tokugawa clan. The Osaka Campaign of 1614–1615 ended the Toyotomi’s political influence when Osaka Castle fell, and the Toyotomi line continued mainly as a noble house without independent power.

Legacy of the Toyotomi includes its role in Japan’s unification and the early Edo period’s centralizing governance. The era left cultural and architectural traces, especially in Osaka, and remains a prominent subject in Japanese history and memory.