Who was this person?
A warlord of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Chosen as Hideyoshi’s heir, he received the post of kampaku and is also known for building the castle town of Ōmihachiman. But when Hideyoshi’s own son Hideyori was born his position weakened, and in 1595, suspected of treason, he was sent to Mount Kōya, where his life ended.
| Name | Toyotomi Hidetsugu (豊臣秀次) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1568 – 1595 |
| Period | Azuchi-Momoyama period |
| Birthplace | Owari Province (now Aichi Prefecture) |
| Also known as | Miyoshi Nobuyoshi, Hashiba Hidetsugu |
| Main achievements |
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He was born in Owari as the eldest son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's elder sister Tomo and her husband Yasuke (later Miyoshi Yoshifusa). His childhood name was Jihei. This birth year is the usual view, though some date it a few years earlier (opinions differ). The family is said to have been farmers.
Hideyoshi won over Miyabe Keijun, a retainer of the Azai of northern Ōmi. As a hostage guaranteeing Keijun's safety, the little boy Jihei was sent to him and nominally became Keijun's adopted son. He is said to have taken the name Miyabe Yoshitsugu.
With an eye on the situation in Shikoku and the Kinai, Hideyoshi had his nephew adopted by Miyoshi Yasunaga of the prestigious Miyoshi clan to strengthen ties with him. He took the name Miyoshi Nobuyoshi and later became a lord holding land in Kawachi. The date of the adoption is disputed.
Around the time he took the name Hashiba Hidetsugu, he commanded a detached force striking at Mikawa in the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute against Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu. Attacked from behind by Ieyasu's army, he suffered a heavy defeat and lost many retainers. Hideyoshi sternly wrote that he must act with the awareness of his nephew.
After distinguishing himself in the campaigns against Kii and Shikoku, he was granted lands in Ōmi worth over 400,000 koku, including his senior retainers' shares. On Hideyoshi's instructions he built Hachimanyama Castle and laid out its town. Stories of his fair judgments are still told in Ōmi-Hachiman.
He issued a thirteen-article ordinance for the town below Hachimanyama Castle. Following Oda Nobunaga's example at Azuchi, he allowed free markets and guilds to attract merchants and gathered nearby markets into Hachiman. With the Hachiman moat linked to Lake Biwa also in use, the foundations were laid for Ōmi-Hachiman to grow as a commercial town.
He served as a deputy commander in the Odawara campaign against the Hōjō, and as commander of the attack on Yamanaka Castle in Izu he took it in just half a day. He then joined the pacification of Ōshū. Afterward he received Owari and northern Ise, becoming a great lord of the Toyotomi family.
Hideyoshi's brother Hidenaga and Hideyoshi's young heir Tsurumatsu died one after the other. Left without an heir, Hideyoshi adopted Hidetsugu and in the twelfth month handed him the post of kanpaku (regent). Hidetsugu lived in the Jurakudai palace and governed, but Hideyoshi, as taikō, kept great power.
When Hideyoshi moved to Nagoya Castle in Hizen for the invasions of Korea, Hidetsugu handled domestic government in Kyoto. He also enjoyed linked verse and the tea ceremony, eagerly collected old books and manuscripts, and protected learning and culture. Courtiers' diaries also show the depth of his learning.
Hideyoshi's consort Yodo-dono gave birth to a son, Hideyori. With Hideyoshi now having a son of his own, his relationship with Hidetsugu, the designated heir, became delicate. Hideyoshi is said to have proposed dividing Japan between Hidetsugu and Hideyori, or betrothing Hideyori to Hidetsugu's daughter.
At the end of the sixth month Hidetsugu was suspected of rebellion. Summoned to Fushimi, he was not even allowed to see Hideyoshi, was sent to Mount Kōya, and on the fifteenth day of the seventh month took his own life on orders. Afterward many of his wives and children also lost their lives as associates, and the Jurakudai was demolished.
The reasons for the incident remain unclear, and even at the time the rebellion charge was viewed with doubt. Later war tales portrayed him as violent and called him the 'murdering regent', but reliable sources supporting this are scarce. Recent research is reassessing him as a cultured warlord.
A. A warlord of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Chosen as Hideyoshi’s heir, he received the post of kampaku and is also known for building the castle town of Ōmihachiman. But when Hideyoshi’s own son Hideyori was born his position weakened, and in 1595, suspected of treason, he was sent to Mount Kōya, where his life ended.
A. Period: Azuchi-Momoyama period. Born in 1568, died in 1595.
A. Toyotomi Hidetsugu was born in Owari Province (now Aichi Prefecture).
A. As lord in Ōmi, Hidetsugu built Hachimanyama Castle and laid out a grid-plan town below it, gathering merchants there. This town became the basis of Ōmihachiman, which later flourished as a base of the Ōmi merchants.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Oda NobunagaToyotomi HideyoshiTokugawa IeyasuMogami YoshiakiIkeda TerumasaToyotomi HideyoriYodo-dono
Date MasamuneSanada Yukimura (Nobushige)Tachibana MuneshigeKuroda NagamasaYodo-donoItō MancioHasekura TsunenagaUkita Hideie
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.