Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan. He rose from a peasant background as a retainer of the prominent lord Oda Nobunaga to become one of the most powerful men in Japanese history. He succeeded Nobunaga after the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582 and continued Nobunaga's campaign to unite Japan that led to the closing of the Sengoku period. He became the de facto leader of Japan and acquired the prestigious positions of Chancellor of the Realm and Imperial Regent by the mid-1580s. He launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. His young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 which would lead to the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Hideyoshi was a patron of the arts and culture, especially the tea ceremony and Noh theater. He also implemented various reforms and policies, such as the land survey, the sword hunt, the separation of warriors and farmers, and the prohibition of Christianity. He was known for his ambition, charisma, cunning, and cruelty. He was given the posthumous name Toyokuni Daimyōjin and enshrined at the Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto.