#toyotomi hideyoshi

[reasonablywittyatbest]

Leggy

[chevlvrs]

I love men these type of men

[ishido-enjoyer]

So I know I haven't been so active in the Napoleonic community in recent months, as I've been pretty absorbed with studying Japanese history and the Japanese language, but the more I've learned about Hideyoshi, the more I found myself comparing him to Napoleon, so here's a post where my two main historical interests get to intersect. :)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi has often been referred to as Japan’s Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps a bit Eurocentric given that Hideyoshi was born in 1537, 232 years before Napoleon--if anything it could be said that Napoleon was France’s Hideyoshi, but unfortunately Hideyoshi is not a name most Westerners recognize—otherwise it’s an excellent comparison. I’ve read a great deal about Napoleon over the past several years, and, although my studies on Sengoku Japan are only really in their infancy, I couldn’t help but notice a striking number of parallels and similarities between the lives and military/political careers of Hideyoshi and Napoleon.

Both men came from relatively humble origins and experienced meteoric rises through the ranks via their military service. Napoleon’s family on Corsica were minor nobility—they were not wealthy by any means but at least possessed enough connections to get Napoleon into a military academy; once his training was completed, he was commissioned as an artillery officer. Hideyoshi was born a peasant; his father was an ashigaru (foot soldier) who served a samurai. Hideyoshi followed in his father’s footsteps and became an ashigaru himself, which at the age of 26 brought him into the service of Lord Oda Nobunaga, who was soon the most powerful daimyo in Japan. His talents and intelligence impressed Nobunaga, and Hideyoshi rose to become one of his top generals and retainers by his early thirties. When Nobunaga was betrayed and assassinated in 1582, Hideyoshi, then 35, moved quickly to step into the ensuing power vacuum; within three years he had defeated his main rivals, consolidated his power, and become the most powerful man in Japan himself. Napoleon Bonaparte became a general at age 24 and crowned himself Emperor of the French at age 35. Hideyoshi was never Emperor, nor, being from a peasant background, did he receive the title of shogun, but he was designated kampaku (Imperial Regent) by the Emperor at age 38 and was the real power in the land from this point until his death in 1598.

As a result of their respective meteoric rises and remarkable military successes, both men came to view themselves as destined for greatness. Napoleon frequently spoke of destiny and believed himself guided by it. “Is there a man so blind,” he wrote in December of 1798, “as not to see that destiny itself guides all my operations? Is there anyone so faithless as to doubt that everything in this vast universe is bound to the empire of destiny?” (Broers, Napoleon: Soldier of Fortune, 195) This belief, which pervaded through his life, also made him take great risks, convinced that he was destined to succeed in his endeavors. Hideyoshi came to genuinely believe his own rise was divinely inspired and even developed his own backstory, giving himself celestial origins, and making sure to mention them frequently in his letters to others as a means of convincing them of the rightness of his cause. “At the time my mother conceived me,” he wrote on one occasion, “she had an auspicious dream. That night, a ray of sun filled the room as if it were noontime. All were overcome with astonishment and fright and when the diviners had gathered, they interpreted the event saying: when he reaches the prime of life, his virtue will illuminate the four seas, his authority will emanate to the myriad peoples.” (Berry, Hideyoshi, 9). He even went so far as bringing up his supposedly heavenly origins in a letter to the King of Korea, in hopes of pushing his case to the King to permit his armies safe passage through Korea so he could carry out his planned conquest of Ming China.

Both were regarded as military geniuses by their contemporaries. Napoleon’s quick, dominant successes in Italy, and his crushing victories against Austria, Russia, and Prussia between 1805-1807, solidified his reputation as one of the greatest generals in European history, and arguably the best military commander of his time. Hideyoshi never suffered a defeat in the numerous campaigns he waged over the years to complete the work of unifying Japan that had begun under Nobunaga.

Likewise, both men’s reputations for military genius were severely tarnished by campaigns driven out of an increasingly megalomaniacal drive for conquest abroad. Hideyoshi, his confidence bolstered by his string of military successes, began setting his sights on China, and even hinted in his correspondence that one day, after China had submitted as his vassal, he might even attempt to conquer India. To begin his conquest of China, he first needed to bring his armies through Korea. He attempted to negotiate with the King of Korea to gain safe passage for his armies, but Korea had strong ties to the Ming Dynasty, the negotiations soon broke down, and Hideyoshi sent his armies to invade Korea in 1592. The Japanese initially smashed through the pitiful Korean defenses and made a rapid drive up the peninsula, but with Ming reinforcements soon arriving to turn the tide, and the Japanese navy being repeatedly pummeled by the brilliant Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, the Japanese advance was soon stalled. Eventually the Japanese forces retreated to the southern coastline, where they hunkered down in hastily-built fortifications while peace negotiations dragged out for years between Hideyoshi’s court and the Ming court. When these negotiations also eventually broke down, Hideyoshi launched a second invasion of Korea, less for the sake of conquering China this time than simply for punishing Korea as much as possible for thwarting his initial plans. Hideyoshi himself never actually personally led his armies in Korea—he never went to Korea at all—but relied instead on the reports of his generals and inspectors, whose reports often downplayed or whitewashed the truth of Japanese defeats out of fear. Additionally, some of his primary commanders (like Konishi Yukinaga and Kato Kiyomasa) openly hated each other and their quarrels and personal rivalries occasionally hampered military operations, not unlike the quarrels of Napoleon’s commanders in Russia. The second invasion was turning into a stalemate when Hideyoshi abruptly died in September of 1598 at the age of 61. The remnants of the Japanese army eventually returned to Japan, and a six-year period of nearly relentless horrors and atrocities in Korea had all been for nothing. Napoleon, of course, launched his infamous 1812 invasion of Russia, which, while of much shorter duration than Hideyoshi’s war(s) in Korea, led to a much more thorough destruction of his armies and arguably contributed to his fall from power in 1814. Not that the Korean conflicts left the Toyotomi forces unscathed, and it can also be argued that the extent to which the Western armies had bled themselves out in Korea helped contribute to the victory of Hideoyoshi’s rival, Tokugawa Ieyasu, against his Toyotomi-loyalist enemies at Sekigahara in 1600, as Ieyasu, based in Japan’s eastern Kanto region, had pointedly kept his own forces out of the war.

Both men enacted sweeping reforms in their respective societies which long outlasted either them or the dynasties they both failed to leave behind. Both initiated nationwide cadastral surveys and land registries to make tax collection more accurate and efficient. In 1595, six leading daimyo under Hideyoshi drafted, on his behalf, a code comprised of fourteen brief articles, all of which were centered around keeping the peace, carrying out justice, and governing the behavior of the various social classes in Japan. Napoleon issued his civil code (also not written by himself), now known as the Napoleonic Code, in 1804. While not as brief as the Toyotomi regime’s code, it was written in the vernacular to make it more accessible to the average person.

Both were patrons of the arts; in Hideyoshi’s case, of Noh theater (which he became so passionate about he eventually even performed in plays in front of his subordinates), tea ceremonies, and painting; Napoleon also patronized painters, established art museums and, while not up to becoming a performer in his own right like Hideyoshi, he did attend the opera regularly.  

Both Hideyoshi and Napoleon struggled to produce an heir. Hideyoshi’s only son, Tsurumatsu, died at the age of 2 in 1591. Hideyoshi named his nephew Hidetsugu his heir in the meantime, but hoped to have another son. Neither his wife nor his considerable number of concubines were able to give him a child, leading historians to speculate that Hideyoshi may have been sterile by this point, possible as the result of a sexually transmitted disease. In 1592 his concubine Yodo-dono, also known as Chacha, gave birth to a son, Hideyori, who would become Hideyoshi’s only heir (the unfortunate nephew, Hidetsugu, was soon charged with treason and forced to commit seppuku not long after Hideyori’s birth). Hideyoshi’s inability to create an heir with so many other women led to rumors spreading, even before he died, that Hideyori was not really his child. Napoleon also struggled to produce an heir for years after crowning himself Emperor, but, as he demonstrated no problem creating sons with his mistresses, the problem was attributed to his wife’s infertility. He divorced Josephine, married a much younger princess, and soon enough had an heir of his own.

When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his heir was only five years old; when Napoleon fell from power in 1815, his heir was four years old. Both Hideyoshi’s heir and Napoleon’s heir died at the age of 21.

[ikeromantic]

Hey sweetheart. Would it be okay for you to write first time getting intimate with hide Yoshi toyotomi x y/n. It's an arranged marriage scenario and y/n has a very shy nature.

Tysm for opening your ask box ❤❤❤

This one was a challenge, nonny! How would our Hideyoshi react on his wedding night in an arranged marriage? Hm . . . Approx 1400 words of spice and sweetness!

Hideyoshi watched y/n from the other side of the room. A nervous tension ran through him, equal parts excitement and fear. This was his wife. His wife! The words flashed through his mind, and it still didn’t quite feel real. The futon lay on the floor between them, a threat and a promise. 

He could tell she was even more nervous than he was. Y/N stood with her back to the wall, fingers tangled in the fabric of her shiromuku. The white silk was wrinkling in her grip. Her eyes were glued to the floor, every line of her tense. 

“Would you like a drink? A little wine will help with - with -” he spread his hands to encompass the room.

She nodded. 

Hideyoshi sat at the table and poured her a cup of sake. “Here, come. Sit.” 

Y/N sat beside him, gaze still downcast. She took the drink from his hand and sipped it cautiously. “Thank you.”

“Are you alright? If you don’t want this, we can still -”

“I - I wanted to.” She still didn’t look up. 

Hideyoshi put a gentle hand on her arm. “I mean it. You won’t be in trouble. We can find some other way to solidify the treaty. Just say the word and I’ll talk to Lord Oda.”

Y/N finally looked up, her eyes met his. “I wanted to marry you. I just . . .” Her hand fluttered in the air for a moment before she used it to smooth her clothes. “I thought we’d have time.”

He smiled. “I thought so too. I’d have liked to take you meet with you. To talk and get to know you. But maybe we can get to know each other tonight?” Her expression was one of surprise, and she quickly looked down. Hideyoshi gently took her chin in his hand and tilted her face back toward him. 

“Y/N, why do you keep looking away from me? Do I frighten you?” 

She swallowed, meeting his gaze for just a moment before looking elsewhere with her eyes. “N-no. I . . . I just don’t know . . . what I should do . . .”

It was their wedding night and that came with certain expectations. But Hideyoshi wanted her to be comfortable with him before anything. “There isn’t anything you have to do. Just be here, with me. We’ll take it slow. I promise.” 

Her gaze came up and met his. “Alright.” There were so many emotions roiling the depths of her eyes. Affection, anxiety, desire, and nervousness in equal measure. 

Hideyoshi wanted to ease her tension and his own. “Y/N, may I help you let down your hair?” 

She nodded.

He moved to the spot behind her and sat wide-legged so she could fit between them. Her back was rigid as he reached for her hair. “You looked amazing at the ceremony. The cut of this kimono suits you. Traditional but the details -” He continued, letting his words spin out a steady stream of gentle compliments and observations. 

While he talked, he carefully pulled the pins and ribbons from her hair. She really was a beauty, though she clearly didn’t know it. Hideyoshi finger-combed her hair once it was loose, and massaged her scalp. “Is this alright?”

“Mmm. Yes,” she replied. Her posture relaxed as he worked, and her voice sounded less tense as well. 

“Good.” He moved his hands to her neck. “What about this?” When she murmured her assent, he rubbed her neck and shoulders. Just a slight pressure with the calloused pads of this thumbs. 

Y/N made a soft, pleased moan and leaned into his touch. 

Hideyoshi let his hands slide lower, beneath the collar of her kimono. Her bare shoulders felt like silk to his rough hands. He felt a flare of desire pulse through him. “Should I -” He paused to clear his throat, voice thickened and low. “Should I go lower?”

“Lower,” she repeated softly, and then, “can you help me loosen this?” She reached for the elaborately tied obi. 

He understood at once what she meant. The clothes were too fitted for him to get much further. “Yes. Let’s see.” Hideyoshi undid the obi and helped her unwrap it. “Should I . . .” He tugged gently at the uchikake. The fabric of the outer kimono was heavily embroidered and stiff. Beautiful as it was, she would probably be more comfortable without it.

Y/N shrugged her arms from the sleeves and he helped pull it the rest of the way off. She sat now, dressed in the underrobe, a light white silk kimono that gaped open slightly revealing the sheer layer beneath. 

That slight glimpse of her so near to bare-skinned yet still clothed excited him. She looked vulnerable and alluring, and completely unaware of it. He took a breath, trying to feign calm even though his heart was pounding in his chest. “Th-that’s better.” His hands slid down her shoulders, caressing her upper back. 

The more he touched her, the more he wanted to touch her. To kiss her. To taste her. He felt a curling tension in his low belly, far different than his initial nervousness. Hideyoshi leaned forward and placed what he meant to be a chaste kiss to the back of her neck. But she smelled so good and felt so very good . . . 

He kissed along her neck and shoulder, nipping and nibbling, tasting. Y/N gasped at the more intimate contact. She arched into his touch, another small moan escaping her lips. 

Hideyoshi let his hands slide down her chest to cup her breasts. She felt so good to him, this woman who was now his wife. It still felt surreal. Too good to be real. 

Y/N gave a quiet gasp at his touch and bit her lip. 

“Do you like that,” he asked, his voice low and thick. She nodded, but that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to hear her. “Tell me.”

Her voice was thready, strained, as she said. “I . . . I like it. When you touch me.”

A rush of electric heat boiled through him. It was almost like being drunk on strong alcohol. Or falling. Hideyoshi wanted to see her face. Wanted to kiss her. Desire pulsed just beneath every heartbeat, every breath, as he struggled to control the emotion. Move slow, he told himself. Be gentle.

“Would you -” He cleared his throat. “Would you like it if I kissed you?”

Y/N nodded, then added, “Yes,” as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

Hideyoshi temporarily relinquished her breasts to put his hands on her waist and lift her up, then turn her to face him. He hadn’t intended to, but found himself placing her on his lap. She wrapped her legs around his waist. The feel of her pressed against him, the slight weight and pressure of her legs around him, had him biting back his own groan. He ached for her, a sudden, pleasurable pain. 

A slight smile played at the edge of her lips as she looked at him from beneath her lashes. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” he replied hoarsely. It was more than ok, but he found it hard to think in words. Hideyoshi leaned forward, running his thumb along the line of her jaw. Her lips were flushed and a little swollen from her biting them. They looked lush and inviting. A meal for the starving man. He pressed a light kiss to them, and then another. 

There was a slight sweetness to her, a softness. It wasn’t his first kiss, but it was easily the best. 

Y/N set her hands on his shoulders, pressing close as he kissed her again and again. Each kiss went a little further, continued a little longer. She parted her lips, and moaned against his mouth as he tentatively explored with his tongue. 

When Hideyoshi finally broke away, they were both breathing hard, pulses pounding. “We - we should stop,” he rasped. “Before I can’t. I made a promise to you. I want to keep it.” He moved his hands to her waist, intending to move her away. To stand up. Get something to drink. Anything to take his mind off her, off his desire for her. 

“I . . . I don’t want to. Stop. I - I want . . .” She swallowed, her fists clenched in the fabric of his clothes. “I want you.” Y/N met his gaze and he could see that she meant it. Pushing through her natural shyness to say it. 

His eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to say that. Or to mean it. “If that is what you want, I can’t deny you.” Hideyoshi felt like a very lucky man as he leaned in to kiss her again.

[mynameiskan]

Some Ikesen chibi from my sketching practice today.

[colourless-hydrangeas]

Squishies. ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡

Look, @oda-princess!

[soraarchives]

if he can't do this for me, i don't want him

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

nobunaga/hideyoshi and hideyoshi/mitsuhide are two obvious ships in ikesen that are both, lol, given a fair amount of tease in the routes, but personally i think a relatively unexplored gold mine is the nobunaga/mitsuhide dynamic. it sticks out to me with mitsuhide's route; first in the scene when mitsuhide is announcing his "engagement" with the mc in front of nobunaga and hideyoshi. afterward nobunaga says he would like to have a word with the mc alone, mitsuhide basically asks if he could stay too, nobunaga reiterates that he's dismissed, and mitsuhide complies without hesitation. (mc's and my reaction was the same here, btw: "...mitsuhide backed down immediately. interesting.") bc i mean yeah, how many people would mitsuhide easily back down against? he also refers to nobunaga as "lord nobunaga" or "my lord" even in his internal thoughts, and while on one hand it's obvious since, yeah, he's nobunaga's vassal, there's clearly a lot of wholehearted respect for nobunaga on mitsuhide's end. like mitsuhide's always taking the piss out of people, but nobunaga's probably one of the few who would be completely unfazed by him, and that's a fun dynamic. it's completely unlike mitsuhide's relationship with all the other warlords and even the mc.

the other thing that interests me is a bit more subtle, but mitsuhide's route delves into how it's affected his mentality to be involved in all this shady and morally questionable stuff, even if it's for the big picture ultimately. the thing is: that big picture is nobunaga's ambition. in other words, it's nobunaga's ambition - a world without classism, a desire mitsuhide shares - for which mitsuhide subjects himself to all That, and he states that he does it without regret despite what it's cost him. i think mitsuhide, like hideyoshi, is deeply, deeply loyal to nobunaga; while it's not that he overly invests his self-worth and identity into serving nobunaga like hideyoshi, he out of all the warlords is by far one of the ones with the most personal stakes in nobunaga's ambition. he has absolute faith in nobunaga and serves him with everything he has. he believes that nobunaga can truly, with the support of the other warlords, bring about the kind of world they both want. and that sort of unbridled trust, that sort of loyalty... it's just fascinating for me to consider that mitsuhide feels that way towards someone.

[the-stumbling-samurai]

The Warlords- Dad Headcanon: Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi my beloved <3 The man deserves a vacation into my arms or at least a decent lunchbreak, >Girl dad like Shingen, but "cursed". >5 daughters, all somehow seeming to take after their uncle Mitsuhide in one way or another, at least in Hideyoshi's mind. >Wouldn't trade them for all the sons in the world though. >Professional at playing pretty princess dress up. >Starts fighting off and worrying about boys at a young age. Sees his 4 year old daughter holding lets sayyyy little Nobunaga Oda Jrs hand in the castle gardens and nearly decides to switch sides just to get away from them. >Such a bragging parent. “well myyy daughter managed to hide the sweets this week and it took lord nobunaga double his usual time to find them.” >Meanwhile, the only reason Nobunaga found them was because one of Hideyoshi's daughter's is a master negotiator. >They suckered Nobunaga for some ponies in exchange of goods. >Thrives for his father daughter dates. He makes sure to do something special with each of them individually every week, even if it's something as simple as fixing her hair while sitting outside as they talk. >Takes all 5 on monthly father daughter outings to the local tea house. >Wants his daughters to stay as far away from war and fighting as possible so struggles when they start becoming interested in what he does. >Ropes Ieyasu into teaching them archery as a distraction and some basic protection skills. ".... Two horses, a new set of Kimonos, and a kitten." The little girl looked up at her father innocently. "That's all I asked for this time!" She sips her tea.

Hideyoshi sighs, rubbing his temples."Girls, you can't just say no to Lord Nobunaga and try and negotiate things with him! He's our Lord! Its not nice."

"But dad! You say no to him all the time! We were just trying to help!" his oldest daughter chimes in, the other 3 nodding their heads eagerly."He was trying to get into the candy again! So we hid it!"

"And instead of telling me so I can stop him you blackmailed him?!" Hideyoshi looks at them incredulously. "What in your right mind possessed you to do that?"

"Uncle Mitsuhide said to make every moment an opportunity! He thought it was a good idea and even helped by showing us a good hiding spot!"

Hideyoshi sighs, running his hands through his hair anxiously. "Of course he did." He groans, but he can't help but let a small smile slip onto his face as his girls giggle around him... "

[redsamuraiii]

Fun Trivia : Did you know that Osaka Castle was black?

It was built by the real Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before it was destroyed and reconstructed into a white castle by Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the death of the "dictator" Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi constructed impressive castles like Osaka to herald his new position.

Castles that were built during Hideyoshi's reign like Hiroshima, Okayama and Matsumoto are black. Castles built during Tokugawa's reign like Hikone, Himeji and Nagoya are white. So when you see a castle on your next trip to Japan, you can guess who built it. 😉

The differences in color is due to the resources availability at the time, as white plastering were more expensive than black lacquered timber, so it is of no surprise that Tokugawa later used white for his castles as a symbol of wealth and power. 

You can read more from the book, Samurai Castles by Jennifer Mitchelhill which share the history of Japanese castles, from its designs, architectures, layouts, significance and legends, coupled with wonderful photos of the castles by David Green.

[nuitopia]

i love these two so much

[reasonablywittyatbest]

Sometimes I don't see him for awhile and then i do and its still so so so funny

[chevlvrs]

Ikemen memes | part 5 🫶

[ask-mai]

I present to you what Uri/ Hideyoshi’s pet thoughts about her boss staying up late in the night

You can use this to your advantage hehe 😉

VERY VERY INTERESTING 😏

[oceannyyy]

Sunset kiss

[Commission for @ pranafishy]🌅🫶💜

[mynameiskan]

A typical battle of the Oda

Masamune does whatever he wants

Hideyoshi desperately tries to get everything back on track

Kennyo feels bad for the mess among Oda's side.