The New International Encyclopædia/Hideyoshi, Toyotomi

​Hideyoshi, hē′dā̇-yō′shē̇, Toyotomi (1536–98). A Japanese warrior and statesman, the son of a peasant. He was born in the village of Nakamura, Aichi Ken, province of Owari, in 1536; became groom to Nobunaga (q.v.), who made him a soldier. He speedily distinguished himself by his military talents, and in 1575 was by Nobunaga created lord of Chikuzen, and was allowed to change his family name to Hashiba. On the death of Nobunaga in 1582 he took such vigorous action that he became in 1586 the practical ruler of the Empire under the title of Kuambaku, or regent, a high office that had been reserved exclusively for members of the Fujiwara (q.v.) family. In 1591 he nominally retired in favor of his son Hidetsugu, taking, as was customary in such circumstances, the title of Taikō, hence popularly known as Taikō-sama. In 1592 he dispatched a large army to Korea to conquer it as a preliminary step in the conquest of China, but the expedition met with disaster, the Emperor of China having sent a large army to the assistance of the Koreans, and after his death at Kioto in 1598 it was recalled. Displeased with the conduct and teachings of the Jesuits, he ordered their expulsion, but no steps were taken to carry out this edict until 1596, when several Franciscan priests, Jesuits, and native Christians were crucified at Nagasaki. A monument in his honor was erected at Kioto in 1896. He had many names: Toyotomi he received from the Emperor. His posthumous name is Toyokuni. Consult: Adams, History of Japan (London, 1874); Dening, Life of Hideyoshi (Tokio, 1889); Griffis, The Mikado’s Empire (New York, 1900); and Brinkley, Japan, Its History, Arts, and Literature (8 vols., beautifully illustrated, Boston, 1901–02).