[3][4] Hideyoshi 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.

Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to initial success, but eventual military stalemate damaged his prestige before his death in 1598.

Hideyoshi left an influential and lasting legacy in Japan, including Osaka Castle, the Tokugawa class system, the restriction on the possession of weapons to the samurai, and the construction and restoration of many temples, some of which are still visible in Kyoto.

Hideyoshi carried out repairs on Sunomata Castle with his younger half-brother, Hashiba Koichirō, along with Hachisuka Masakatsu, and Maeno Nagayasu.

[9][12] In 1573, after victorious campaigns against the Azai and Asakura, Nobunaga appointed Hideyoshi daimyō of three districts in the northern part of Ōmi Province.

Initially, Hideyoshi stayed at the former Azai headquarters at Odani Castle, but moved to Kunitomo town and renamed it "Nagahama" in tribute to Nobunaga.

[b] As the war turned in Ieyasu's favor and Sanada Masayuki defected to the Tokugawa side, the Hōjō clan negotiated a truce.

Instead, he arranged to have himself adopted by Konoe Sakihisa, one of the noblest men belonging to the Fujiwara clan, and secured a succession of high court titles.

[35] The Negoro-gumi, the warrior monks of Negoro-ji, were allied with the Ikkō-ikki and with Tokugawa Ieyasu, whom they supported in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute the previous year.

The complex was set aflame, beginning with the residences of the priests, and Hideyoshi's samurai cut down monks as they escaped the blazing buildings.

[37] He dispatched Kanamori Nagachika to destroy the Anegakōji clan of Hida while Hideyoshi carried out the siege of Toyama Castle.

Later in 1587, Hideyoshi banished Christian missionaries from Kyūshū, either to exert greater control over the Kirishitan daimyō[39] or to prohibit human trafficking.

Hideyoshi's army of 220,000 men surrounded Odawara Castle and its 82,000-strong Hōjō garrison, in what has been called "the most unconventional siege lines in samurai history".

Under Hideyoshi's patronage, Rikyū made significant changes to the aesthetics of the tea ceremony that had a lasting influence over many aspects of Japanese culture.

[citation needed] Following Rikyū's death, Hideyoshi turned his attention from tea ceremony to Noh, which he had been studying since becoming Imperial Regent.

When his half-brother Hidenaga died of illness shortly after, Hideyoshi named his nephew Hidetsugu his heir, adopting him in January 1592.

[49]: 92  Hideyoshi wrote to his adopted son Hidetsugu that "it is not Ming China alone that is destined to be subjugated by us, but India, the Philippines, and many islands in the South Sea will share a like fate.

In July 1595, amidst suspicions of treason and the ongoing Korean invasion, Hidetsugu was stripped of his titles, exiled to Mount Kōya, and then ordered to commit suicide in August 1595.

[43][50][51][52][53] In the aftermath, Hideyoshi solidified his authority by securing loyalty oaths, signed in blood, from magistrates and daimyos including influential damiyo like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Ukita Hideie, Mori Terumoto, and Kobayakawa Takakage.

[54] After several years of negotiations, broken off because envoys of both sides falsely reported that the opposition had surrendered, Hideyoshi appointed Kobayakawa Hideaki to lead a renewed invasion of Korea.

While Hideyoshi's battle at Sacheon led by Shimazu Yoshihiro was a major Japanese victory, all three parties to the war were exhausted.

According to the Tokugawa Jikki record, Hideyoshi held a secret meeting with Koide Hidemasa and Katagiri Katsumoto where he shared his regret of launching invasions of Korea.

Two of Hideyoshi's top generals, Katō Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori, had fought bravely during the war but returned to find the Toyotomi clan castellan Ishida Mitsunari in power.

[56][57] It is now believed that Hideyoshi's loss of all his adult heirs, leaving only the five-year-old Hideyori as his successor, was the primary reason for the weakening of the Toyotomi regime and its eventual downfall.

During the Sengoku period, it had become common for peasants to become warriors, or for samurai to farm due to the constant uncertainty caused by the lack of centralised government and always tentative peace.

Following the death of Maeda Toshiie, however, Tokugawa Ieyasu began to secure alliances, including political marriages (which had been forbidden by Hideyoshi).

In a letter to his wife, Hideyoshi wrote: I mean to do glorious deeds and I am ready for a long siege, with provisions and gold and silver in plenty, so as to return in triumph and leave a great name behind me.

In the 1949 Mexican hagiographic film Philip of Jesus, Luis Aceves Castañeda plays a character corresponding to Hideyoshi but named "Emperor Iroyoshi Taikosama".

Goemon is portrayed as the faithful retainer and avenger of Oda Nobunaga, unhistorically depicted as the victim of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Additionally, actor Yukijirō Hotaru plays The Taikō (Nakamura Hidetoshi), a character based on Toyotomi Hideyoshi, in the 2024 miniseries Shōgun.