📖 Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, although born into a poor farming family, rose to the highest rank of the Japanese court nobility as "Kampaku" through hard work and intelligence, ultimately achieving the unification of Japan. He is a rare success story in Japanese history, known for his remarkable comeback, and is celebrated alongside Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu as one of the "Three Great Unifiers of the Sengoku Period."

Unlike Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who were born into samurai noble families, he was born into a poor farming family. He became a servant of Oda Nobunaga, starting with menial tasks such as leading horses and carrying shoes. Nobunaga gradually recognized Toyotomi Hideyoshi's talents and promoted him from a household servant to a military commander. After learning about the Incident at Honnō-ji, Hideyoshi returned to Kyoto at an astonishing speed (historically known as the "Chūgoku Great Return") and defeated Akechi Mitsuhide. He became an adopted son of the nobility and ascended to the highest rank in the Japanese imperial court, the position of "Kanpaku" (regent). He accomplished the great feat of the initial unification of Japan.