Tokichiro Kinoshita / Hideyoshi Hashiba / Hideyoshi Toyotomi

> *"Well then… Time for Tokichiro Kinoshita to go wild!"*
> - Tokichiro Kinoshita
>
>

Tokichiro Kinoshita, who later goes by the names Hideyoshi Hashiba and Hideyoshi Toyotomi, is a samurai and general who serves under the command of the daimyo Nobunaga Oda.

## Description

Tokichiro/Hideyoshi is a general under the command of Nobunaga Oda. He is dedicated to Nobunaga to the point of putting himself in danger to secure his lord’s safety.

## Personality

Tokichiro/Hideyoshi is a light-hearted and very loyal individual. Even when faced with mortal peril he tries to find good in the situation, choosing to go into a battle frenzy rather than lament his own circumstances.

## Plot

### Kanegasaki (April, 1570)

After securing Nobunaga’s escape during the battle with the Asai and Asakura, Tokichiro finds himself surrounded by Demons. Wishing Nobunaga safety, he prepares to end his life fighting. Just as he is about to be attacked by a Demon, Inugami dispatches the creature. Tokichiro is surprised to see Aoi before him and recognises her from her intervention in Oke Gorge.

The group lead Tokichiro’s troops through a narrow mountain pass, fighting off waves of demons from the front and rear as they progress. After reaching their destination, Tokichiro thanks Aoi and Inugami for saving his life. He asks them to join his army and help Nobunaga to achieve his goal. Aoi declines, but Tokichiro accepts her answer and concludes that they will probably end up fighting together again anyway.

### Ishiyama (April, 1580)

Alerted to a massive demonic force at Ishiyama Temple, Takechiro, now going by the name Hideyoshi, discovers Inugami and Aoi fighting alone. He leads the Oda forces forward to help Inugami and Aoi, and together they proceed to repel the Demon onslaught until the temple is clear.

### Tamba (May, 1584)

At an Oda camp, Hideyoshi interrupts a meeting between Aoi and Nobunaga to report the presence of Demons in Mitsuhide’s province of Tamba.
Hideyoshi leads his force to aid Aoi and Inugami in ridding the province of Demons. After a long battle, they eventually succeed.

### Yamazaki (June, 1584)

After learning of Nobunaga’s death, Hideyoshi leads the Oda forces to Yamazaki in order to take revenge on Mitsuhide. Along with Aoi and Inugami, they face off against Mitsuhide’s amassed Demon army. After a desperate struggle, the Oda forces are victorious.
After the battle, Hideyoshi orders his forces on to Azuchi Castle to finish things with Mitsuhide once and for all.

### Azuchi (June, 1584)

Hideyoshi and his men help Aoi and Inugami break through to Azuchi Castle. Inside they find Mitsuhide transformed into an enormous Demon. Fighting through the Demon hordes, Hideyoshi’s men erect sacred pillars in key locations, breaking the barrier that protects Mitsuhide. With this, Inugami is able to finally defeat him.

## True History

Tokichiro Kinoshita was born on either February 2nd, 1536, or March 26, 1537. He was born in Owari Pronvince the son of a peasant foot soldier, but very little is known about his childhood. He originally had no surname, and had the given name of Hiyoshi-maru.

Under the name Tokichiro Kinoshita, he first joined the Imagawa Clan as a servant to a local ruler named Matsushita Yukitsuna. He traveled all the way to the lands of Yoshimoto Imagawa, daimyo of Suruga Province, and served there for a time, only to run away with a sum of money entrusted to him.

In 1558 he joined the Oda Clan, now headed by Nobunaga Oda, as a foot soldier. He became one of Nobunaga's sandal-bearers and was present at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when Nobunaga defeated Tokichiro’s former lord, Yoshimoto Imagawa.

Tokichiro was very successful as a negotiator. In 1564, he managed to convince a number of Mino warlords to desert the Saito clan. Tokichiro approached many Saito samurai and convinced them to submit to Nobunaga.
Nobunaga's easy victory at Inabayama Castle in 1567 was largely due to Tokichiro's efforts, and despite his peasant origins, he became one of Nobunaga's most distinguished generals, eventually taking the name Hashiba Hideyoshi. The new surname included two characters, one each from Oda's two other right-hand men, Nagahide Niwa and Katsuie Shibata.

Hideyoshi led troops in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570 in which Oda Nobunaga allied with Ieyasu Tokugawa to lay siege to two fortresses of the Azai and Asakura clans. In 1573, after victorious campaigns against the Azai and Asakura, Nobunaga appointed Hideyoshi daimyo of three districts in the northern part of Ōmi Province.

After the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582 at the hands of Mitsuhide Akechi, Hideyoshi, seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved lord, made peace with the Mōri Clan and defeated Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki.

At a meeting to decide on a successor to Nobunaga, Hideyoshi supported Nobutada's young son, Hidenobu Oda. Having won the support of other two Oda elders, Hideyoshi established Hidenobu's position, as well as his own influence in the Oda clan. Tension quickly escalated between Hideyoshi and the Oda Clan’s chief general, Katsuie Shibata, and at the Battle of Shizugatake in the following year, Hideyoshi destroyed Katsuie's forces and thus consolidated his own power, absorbing most of the Oda clan into his control.
Nobunaga's other son, Nobukatsu Oda, remained hostile to Hideyoshi. He allied himself with Ieyasu Tokugawa, and the two sides fought two inconclusive battles. It ultimately resulted in a stalemate, although Hideyoshi's forces were delivered a heavy blow. Finally, Hideyoshi made peace with Nobukatsu and Ieyasu eventually agreed to become a vassal of Hideyoshi.

Like Nobunaga before him, Hideyoshi never achieved the title of shogun. Instead, he secured a succession of high court titles including, in 1585, the prestigious position of Imperial Regent. In 1586, Hideyoshi was formally given the new clan name Toyotomi by the imperial court.
In 1588, Hideyoshi forbade ordinary peasants from owning weapons and started a sword hunt to confiscate arms. The swords were melted down to create a statue of the Buddha. This measure effectively stopped peasant revolts and ensured greater stability at the expense of freedom of the individual daimyo.
A 1590 siege against the Hōjō clan eliminated the last resistance to Hideyoshi's authority. His victory signified the end of the Sengoku period.

In September 1591, Hideyoshi’s only child died. When his half-brother Hidenaga died shortly after, Hideyoshi named his nephew Hidetsugu his heir, adopting him in January 1592. The birth of Hideyoshi's second son in 1593, Hideyori, created a potential succession problem. To avoid it, Hideyoshi exiled his nephew and heir Hidetsugu to Mount Kōya and then ordered him to commit suicide in August 1595. Hidetsugu's family members who did not follow his example were then murdered in Kyoto, including 31 women and several children.

Hideyoshi attempted to live out Nobunaga’s dream of a Japanese conquest of China via Korea, and launched two campaigns into Korea after they refused him safe passage. Both invasions were unsuccessful, however, and the conquest ended in 1598.

Later that year Hideyoshi passed away from natural causes.