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Toyotomi Hideyoshi
豊臣秀吉
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi is remembered as a warlord and an administrative reformer. He was a general of the powerful Oda Nobunaga, who nicknamed him “the monkey” because of his homely appearance and short stature. However, Hideyoshi displayed the ambition of a giant; and he was a supremely competent military leader until near the end of his life.
Hideyoshi liked to celebrate his own victories. Once, after a successful military expedition, he held a ten-day tea ceremony in Kyoto. Despite his love of pomp and ceremony, though, Hideyoshi made short work of his enemies. By 1590, he controlled most of Japan.
Administrative Initiatives
Hideyoshi was not content to just rule Japan. He also wanted to mold the country according to his own concept of the ideal state. He was particularly concerned with preserving class lines, and adamantly believed that farmers should not be allowed to possess weapons. When he took over an area, one of his first tasks was the disarming of the peasants. He frequently had his men search house-to-house for contraband swords. He also forbade merchants and artisans from living in farming villages, compelling them to live in cities and towns instead. This would assure that merchants and craftsmen would not mix too freely with the peasantry.
Hideyoshi instituted a nationwide census, and changed the tax system. Instead of requiring payment in cash, Hideyoshi decreed that taxes would be paid in rice. This practice enabled him to more effectively tax provinces according to their productive capability. To ensure that there would be no “slacking” in the system, he ordered farmers to grow crops on all of their arable land.
Hideyoshi Attempts to Conquer the World
In 1592, Hideyoshi’s confidence was at its height, and he decided to “take over the world”—by which he meant Korea and China. This grand ambition was to prove unattainable. Although he had enjoyed success after success against his native Japanese enemies, conquering a foreign country was considerably more difficult. His initial forays into Korea were moderately successful, but the Chinese intervened and repelled Hideyoshi’s forces.
Undiscouraged, he launched another invasion force in 1597. The next year he died. For the immediate future, this put an end to Japanese plans to conquer the Asian mainland.
