Unity and Conflict
The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan." Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the ruler of the Oda clan at the time. Hideyoshi had joined Nobunaga at a young age, but was not highly regarded because of his peasant background. Nevertheless, Hideyoshi's increasing influence allowed him to seize a significant degree of power from the Oda clan following Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582. As the virtual ruler of the most of Japan, Hideyoshi created a new clan name "Toyotomi" in 1584 and achieved the unification of Japan in 1589.
When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his son Toyotomi Hideyori was still an infant. Five regents were appointed to rule until his maturity, and conflicts among them began quickly. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu deposed Hideyori and took power after winning the Battle of Sekigahara. In 1614, Hideyori came into conflict with the Tokugawa clan, leading to Tokugawa Ieyasu's Siege of Osaka from 1614 to 1615. As a result of the siege, Hideyori was forced to commit seppuku. After his death, the Toyotomi clan dissolved, leaving the Tokugawa clan to solidify their rule of Japan.
Read more about this topic: Toyotomi Clan
Famous quotes containing the words unity and/or conflict:
“From cradle to grave this problem of running order through chaos, direction through space, discipline through freedom, unity through multiplicity, has always been, and must always be, the task of education, as it is the moral of religion, philosophy, science, art, politics and economy; but a boy’s will is his life, and he dies when it is broken, as the colt dies in harness, taking a new nature in becoming tame.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“Managing a tantrum involves nothing less than the formation of character. Even the parent’s capacity to cope well with conflict can improve with this experience. When a parent knows he is right and does not give in for the sake of temporary peace, everybody wins. The parent learns that denying some pleasure does not create a neurotic child and the child learns that she can survive momentary frustration.”
—Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)