Head of the Toyotomi clan

Toyotomi Hideyori

豊臣秀頼

1593 – 1615

Born in 1593 as the son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his concubine Yodo (Chacha), Toyotomi Hideyori succeeded to the Toyotomi clan as a young child after his father's death. His uncle Toyotomi Hidetsugu, who had previously been heir, committed suicide on Mount Kōya in 1595 following Hideyori's birth. Hideyori's birth marked a fundamental shift in the Toyotomi succession plan from an adult regent-centered structure to one centered on a young lord. After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Hideyori was supported by his mother Yodo at Osaka Castle, by attendants and nursemaids, by senior retainers including his guardian Katsugi Katsumoto, and by the collective decision-making of the Five Great Elders and Five Commissioners, but he was too young to govern the realm himself. In 1603, he married Sen-hime, granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, to restore Tokugawa-Toyotomi relations. However, during the 1614-1615 Siege of Osaka, he fought against the Tokugawa forces, and with the fall of Osaka Castle in May 1615, he perished alongside his mother Yodo, resulting in the extinction of the main Toyotomi line.

Sources　国立公文書館「慶長・元和の文化」／大和郡山市「片桐且元」／国立公文書館「千姫の輿入れ」／国立公文書館「方広寺鐘銘事件」／大阪市「大坂の陣400年資料」