4.6 Muromachi Period : The Rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
After the Siege of Odawara Castle and defeat of the Later Hōjō, there was military unification of Japan. With no major organized opposition, Hideyoshi quickly moved to expand his control of Japan and to eliminate potential adversaries.
After the Kanto campaign, Toyotomi Hideyoshi became aware of the large numbers of rōnin, masterless samurai. He decreed a Population Census Edict of all houses and occupants and that anyone who entered a village from another village or an outside province was to be expelled, the Expulsion Edict. The decree uncovered many rōnin. Hideyoshi issued the Separation Edict which prohibited samurai and their retainers from becoming peasants or merchants, and samurai from employing any retainer who had fled from their original masters. It also banned peasants from abandoning their fields to engage in commerce or wage labor, thus ensuring stable revenue from the land tax. It provided stiff punishment for violations. The Population Census Edict of 1592 was a complete national census detailing the gender, age, and profession of each person and the number of households in each village for future armies.
Hideyoshi attempted to formalize the balance of power by establishing administrative bodies that would watch over each. The members of the Council of Five Elders came from different powerful clans.
Europeans had arrived in 1543, which opened up the Nanban trade period. In the early years, the Japanese had good relations with the Portuguese. Hideyoshi tolerated the Christians but had reservations. Christians were suspect: Can one serve two masters? Eventually, Hideyoshi concluded that Christianity was not essential to maintain trade with European countries. Hideyoshi became very opposed to Christianity leading to persecution.
Hideyoshi had a last great ambition: to conquer Ming dynasty China. Hideyoshi sent two armies to invade Korea to get to China. There was much bloodshed and brutality. The invasions ended in 1598 with Hideyoshi’s death. His designated successor Toyotomi Hideyori was only five years old and the Japanese commanders in Korea returned to Japan.
Successors to Hideyoshi: Hidetsugu and Hideyori
Hideyoshi wanted an orderly succession, so he resigned from his post as kanpaku in 1591 by taking the title taikō, or “retired Kampaku,” and turned the regency over to his nephew and adopted son, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. Toyotomi Hidetsugu assumed the position, taking residence at Jurakudai.
The age-old dual governing system, where Hideyoshi was in charge while Hidetsugu, the nominal kampaku, was being groomed to take over, worked well for a time. While Hideyoshi was busy handling the invasion of Korea, Hidetsugu handled domestic affairs. Things changed in 1593 when Hideyoshi’s concubine, Yodo-dono, gave birth to a son, Hideyori. After that rumors started about Hidetsugu committing unjustified murder and in 1595, when Hidetsugu was accused of plotting a coup, he was ordered to commit seppuku.
The ensuing killing and destruction of Hidetsugu’s family and supporters went overboard. Daimyō associated with Hidetsugu were confined and Jurakudai was destroyed. Hideyoshi ordered the execution of Hidetsugu’s entire family, including children, wives and mistresses. The harshness and brutality shocked Japanese society and alienated many daimyō.
Nearing death in 1598, Hideyoshi appointed a group of the most powerful men in Japan to govern as the Council of Five Elders until Hideyori came of age. After Hideyoshi died there was an uneasy peace. After 1599, Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu struggled for power.
At the decisive Battle of Sekigahara, October 21, 1600, Ieyasu defeated Ishida Mitsunari, thanks to some defections and others who refused to fight for Ishida’s Western Army.
Generally regarded as the last major conflict of Sengoku-Jidai, Ieyasu’s victory at Sekigahara marked the end of the Toyotomi reign. Three years later, Ieyasu received the title Sei-i Tai Shogun, and established the Edo bakufu, which lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
Daitoku-ji Temple (Temple of Great Virtue) is the head temple of the Rinzai-shō Sect of Buddhism. Daitoku-ji was a focal point of many of the events in the late Muromachi Period and Azuchi-Momoyama Period and had ties to many of the major characters of the time.
Sen no Rikyū the great tea master of the Momoyama Era is associated with Daitoku-ji, designing the garden of sub-temple Ōbai-in. He is buried there.
In an age when Christianity was introduced to Japan, Daitoku-ji reflects that age. In the Daitoku-ji temple complex lies the grave of Hosokawa Gracia; at Zuiho-in, there is a rock garden in shape of cross; and Ōtomo Sōrin who converted from Zen to Christianity is honored.
There are also Momoyama art works in Daitoku-ji.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi conducted the funeral of Oda Nobunaga in 1582 and afterwards many tatchu (minor temple buildings) were built in memory of deceased military commanders.
Keep the history of the Muromachi Period in mind when visiting this great site while on a Kyoto trip.