Hidetsugu Toyotomi (1/2)A man whose life was tossed about by Hideyoshi

During the Sengoku period, in order to become a great feudal lord, one needed the support of one's brothers and other family members, as well as senior vassals known as fudai. Sometimes family members performed more than just vassals, and there were also cases where they fought or fell out for various reasons, and various records are left behind by warlords. Toyotomi Hidetsugu was also at the mercy of his position as the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan. This time, we will introduce the life of Hidetsugu.

Hidetsugu's birth and growth

He was born in 1568 as the eldest son of Hideyoshi's older sister Tomo (Zuiryuin Nisshu) and Yasuke (later known as Miyoshi Yoshifusa). He is believed to have been born in the Kibune-sha area, where his father's mansion was located, in Chita County, Aichi Prefecture. He was named Jihei.

In April 1570, the Azai clan of northern Omi, who had been allied with Oda Nobunaga, defected and joined the Asakura clan. Nobunaga then temporarily withdrew from Kanagasaki. However, in June he again marched into Omi Province with reinforcements from Tokugawa Ieyasu, and won the Battle of Anegawa against the combined forces of Azai and Asakura.

Hideyoshi successively attempted to seduce other subsidiary castles of Odani Castle, and in 1572, he skillfully persuaded Miyabe Tsuneyoshi, the lord of Miyabe Castle, to surrender. However, Hideyoshi's nephew, Jihei, who was four years old at the time, was sent as a hostage to guarantee Tsuneyoshi's safety.
Jihei was nominally adopted by Tsuguharu, and he abandoned his peasant name, took the common name Jibei-no-jo, changed his given name to Yoshitsugu, and began to call himself Miyabe Yoshitsugu.

On September 1, 1573, Odani Castle fell and the Azai clan was destroyed (Battle of Odani Castle).
Nobunaga gave Hideyoshi the castle as the greatest achievement, and made Miyabe Tsuguharu one of Hideyoshi's vassals. It is unclear how long Yoshitsugu (Hidetsugu) remained an adopted son of the Miyabe family, but since there was no reason to keep a hostage for someone who had become his vassal, it is thought that by the time Nagahama Castle was built on the shores of Lake Biwa in 1574, he had already reverted to the Hashiba or Kinoshita clans. However, it is unclear what name Hidetsugu, who was 6 years old at the time, was calling himself at that time.

From Miyoshi Magoshiro to Hashiba Hidetsugu

In 1575, when Matsunaga Hisahide and the Miyoshi Triumvirate surrendered to Nobunaga in the Kinai region, Miyoshi Yasunaga, a member of the Miyoshi clan who had influence in Awa Province and was holed up in Takaya Castle in Kawachi, also surrendered. However, through Matsui Yukan, he presented Nobunaga with a famous teapot that he had coveted, the Crescent Moon Tea Jar, which pleased Nobunaga so much that he was subsequently treated well as a vassal.

Nobunaga had recently unified Tosa Province and given Motochika Chosokabe a certificate of approval, stating that "the affairs of Shikoku will be cut off in due course according to Motochika's achievements," but the situation changed in 1580 when the Chosokabe clan expanded their influence into Awa Province and began attacking the castles of Yasunaga's son Miyoshi Yasutoshi and nephew Togawa Kazutoshi, who had sided with the Oda clan. Yasunaga approached Hideyoshi and gained his support, and then lobbied for the reversal of the previous policy, which reflected the thinking of Akechi Mitsuhide, a senior retainer of the Oda clan and who served as the diplomatic liaison with the Chosokabe clan.

In March 1581, Nobunaga, claiming to be mediating between the Awa forces and the Chosokabe clan, ordered Motochika to return half of the occupied territories in Awa Province, but Motochika refused to comply and a conflict ensued. The following year, Nobunaga's third son, Kobe Nobutaka, was appointed commander-in-chief to invade Shikoku, and Yasunaga was scheduled to adopt Nobutaka, but the Honnoji Incident occurred in June 1582, and all plans were scrapped.
In order to strengthen ties, Miyoshi Yasunaga adopted Hideyoshi's nephew.

Yoshitsugu (Hidetsugu), who was adopted again, changed his nickname to Magoshichiro, his given name to Nobuyoshi, and began calling himself Miyoshi Nobuyoshi. Around 1583, Nobuyoshi became the leader of the remaining vassals of the Miyoshi clan, and became a feudal lord in the Kitayama region of Kawachi with a fief of 20,000 koku.

Also, as the son of a farmer inherited the prestigious Miyoshi clan, his father Yasuke also began to use the Miyoshi surname, and thereafter changed his name to Miyoshi Musashinokami Yoshifusa.

Just before the Battle of Yamazaki in 1582, Nobuyoshi became engaged to the daughter of Ikeda Tsuneoki (Wakamasadokoro), who had rushed to Hideyoshi's side, and the following year she was married to him and became his lawful wife.

In January 1581, when Takigawa Kazumasu raised an army, Nobuyoshi marched out as the general leading Nakamura Kazuuji and 20,000 Omi troops, crossed Okimi-ga-hata Pass from Toriimoto into Ise Province, and captured Mine Castle where Takigawa Gidayu (Masushige) was holed up. After that, Hideyoshi defeated Shibata Katsuie in the Battle of Shizugatake and established his position as Nobunaga's successor and ruler of Japan. As the oldest of the second generation among Hideyoshi's few relatives, Nobuyoshi came to be valued highly.

Around the spring of 1584, he reverted to the Hashiba family name and changed his name to Hashiba Nobuyoshi (Magoshichiro), and it is believed that he left Miyoshi Yasunaga at this point.

In March of the same year, he made a blunder in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, where he participated with high expectations as the nephew of the most powerful man in Japan. His father-in-law, Tsuneoki Ikeda, and his brother-in-law, Nagayoshi Mori (who had been defeated at the Siege of Haguro), strongly proposed to Hideyoshi that Nobuyoshi invade Mikawa Province as a "middle attack" and Nobuyoshi volunteered to become the commander-in-chief of this separate force, which was approved. However, on April 9, he was ambushed by Yasumasa Sakakibara and Yasutaka Osuga in Hakusan Forest and suffered a devastating defeat. Hideyoshi was furious and severely reprimanded him for showing his disappointment after such an unsightly defeat.

In 1585, when Hideyoshi marched to conquer Saika in Kii, Nobuyoshi (Hidetsugu) was appointed vice-commander along with his uncle Hidenaga, and had the opportunity to clear his name. On March 21, in the Battle of Sengokubori Castle, Nobuyoshi's forces attacked from all sides, killing all the rebels without taking a single head, and taking the castle.
Around July of the same year, around the time Hideyoshi became regent, he was given the name Hidetsugu, and took the name Hashiba Hidetsugu.

Appointed as the second regent

After Chosokabe Motochika surrendered and Shikoku was pacified, a large-scale transfer and increase of territory was carried out in the subsequent council. Hidetsugu was given 200,000 koku for himself, and 230,000 koku for his senior retainers (Nakamura Kazuuji, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, Horio Yoshiharu) for the elderly, making him a daimyo with a total of 430,000 koku.

His territory consisted of the five counties of Gamo, Koga, Yasu, Sakata, and Asai in Omi Province, which was a key area for exchange between the East and the West. Hidetsugu decided to establish his castle in what is now Omihachiman City in Gamo County, and built Hachimanyama Castle, overlooking Azuchi and close to Lake Biwa.

Hidetsugu is said to have ruled his territory well, and in Omihachiman there is a story of the "Water Dispute Trial." Around the spring of 1586, Hidetsugu was promoted to the rank of Ukon'e Gon no Chujo, and on November 25th, Hideyoshi bestowed his real surname of Toyotomi on Hideyoshi, and at the same time he was appointed as a councilor.

In 1590, he marched to the Odawara Conquest, where Hidetsugu was made deputy commander and was instructed to receive instruction from Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hidetsugu was the commander in chief in the attack on Yamanaka Castle, taking the castle in half a day and taking the head of the castle's defender, Matsuda Yasunaga.

Hidetsugu was away in Oshu, but as a reward for his achievements in the Siege of Odawara, Oda Nobukatsu was stripped of his title for refusing to be transferred to the five provinces of the Tokaido, and as a result, Hidetsugu was given Owari Province, five northern counties of Ise Province, and other territories that had been Nobukatsu's, and together with his former territories, he became a daimyo with a fief of 1 million koku. As a result, Hidetsugu moved his castle to Kiyosu Castle. The territories of the elders were also transferred to the Tokaido.

Hidenaga died on January 22, 1582, and Hideyoshi's eldest son, Tsurumatsu, died on August 5. It is generally believed that Hidetsugu became Hideyoshi's adopted heir in November of that year, but there are various theories about when he was adopted and it is unclear, with some saying that he was adopted before that. Due to the hereditary succession of the Kanpaku position, Hidetsugu's official rank was hastily raised, and he was appointed Gon Dainagon on November 28 and Naidaijin on December 4.

On December 28, Hidetsugu was appointed as Kanpaku (chief adviser to the Toyotomi clan) and at the same time became the head of the Toyotomi clan. After he was appointed Kanpaku, Hidetsugu conducted government affairs from his main residence in Jurakudai, the government office, but all matters were subject to the "taboos" and "rules" established by Hideyoshi, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued to hold the overall position, resulting in a dual political system.

The construction of Fushimi Castle (Shizuki Castle), Hideyoshi's retirement home, was also carried out under Hidetsugu's control. On May 17, he was awarded the rank of Juichii, and although Hideyoshi was the chief mourner at the funeral of his wife, O-Mana-dokoro, in August, it was Hidetsugu who managed the funeral.

The Birth of Toyotomi Hideyori

However, after the succession was completed, Hideyoshi learned that Yodo-dono, who had returned from Hizen Province, was pregnant. At first, Hideyoshi pretended to be calm[37], but when Yodo-dono gave birth to Hideyori (Hideyori) in the Ninomaru of Osaka Castle on August 3, 1593 (the second year of Bunroku), he was so overjoyed that he left Nagoya Castle on August 15 after receiving the news and came to Osaka on the 25th to hold his child in his arms.