---
node: toyotomi_hideyoshi
type: person
slug: toyotomi_hideyoshi
title: "Toyotomi Hideyoshi"
lead: "Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) was the second of Japan's unifiers, a peasant's son who rose to rule all Japan. He completed unification in 1590 and fixed the social order the Tokugawa would inherit."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
image_file: toyotomi_hideyoshi.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Toyotomi_Hideyoshi.jpg"
image_author: "Unknown author"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Who they were

Japan's greatest story of rising from nothing: a peasant's son — tradition has him carrying Nobunaga's sandals — who became the ruler of all Japan.

## What they did

After Nobunaga's death he avenged him within days at Yamazaki (1582), became imperial regent (kanpaku) in 1585, and completed unification with the fall of Odawara (1590). He froze the social order: the sword hunt (1588) disarmed villages, nationwide cadastral surveys fixed taxation, and warriors and farmers were legally separated. He banned Christian missionaries (a 1587 edict; the 26 martyrs of Nagasaki followed in 1597) and built Osaka Castle. His two invasions of Korea (1592–1598) brought immense devastation to Korea and ended with his death in 1598, leaving the child heir Hideyori.

## Legacy

He completed unification — and left the social framework the Tokugawa inherited.