Toyotomi Hideyori

Grave of Toyotomi Clan at Mount Koya

Toyotomi Hideyori (豊臣 秀頼 Toyotomi Hideyori), 1593-1615, was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Lady Yodo, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga.

When Hideyoshi died in 1598, the regents he had appointed to rule in Hideyori's place began jockeying amongst each other for power. In 1600, after his victory over the others at the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu seized control. Hideyori married the seven year old granddaughter of Ieyasu, Senhime, to ensure his loyalty towards the Tokugawa clan. However Ieyasu continued to view the young Hideyori as a potential threat, and attacked Hideyori in the Siege of Osaka in winter 1614. The attack failed, but Hideyori was induced to sign a truce and dismantle the defenses of his stronghold Osaka Castle.

In 1615, Ieyasu betrayed the truce and attacked again. Hideyori was forced to flee to the mountains, where he committed suicide at the age of 22, putting an end to the Toyotomi clan and paving the way for the 250-year Tokugawa Shogunate.