Council of Five Regents

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The Council of Five Regents , also known as the Five Tairō ( Japanese 五大 老 , go-tairō ), was a council formed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to rule Japan for his son, Hideyori , until he came of age. Hideyoshi chose his five most powerful daimyo : Ukita Hideie , Maeda Toshiie , Uesugi Kagekatsu , Mōri Terumoto and the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu . Kobayakawa Takakage was also intended to be regent, but died before Hideyoshi himself.

Hideyoshi hoped that the councilors' power would neutralize one another so that neither of them could take control.

Hideyoshi's health began to deteriorate after his illness in the second half of 1598. Aware of the need to find a way to ensure his son's successor as heir after his death, he called on some confidante daimyo to grant his final request:

“Until Hideyori reaches adulthood, I will ask for the help of the people whose names appear in this document. This is the only request I want to make. "

- Toyotomi Hideyoshi : 101 Letters of Hideyoshi (1975, p. 77)

Almost immediately after Hideyoshi's death in 1598 , the regents split into two camps. In 1600 supporters of both parties split into a "western" camp, led by Ishida Mitsunari , and an "eastern" camp, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Open war broke out only in the middle of 1600 . This ended in a troubled peace with the Battle of Sekigahara .

Hideyoshi's sons were killed, and Tokugawa Ieyasu laid the foundation for Tokugawa rule for over 250 years .

Illustrations

  • Ukita Hideie

  • Maeda Toshiie

  • Uesugi Kagekatsu

  • Mōri Terumoto

  • Tokugawa Ieyasu

  • Kobayakawa Takakage

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 五大 老 . In: 日本 大 百科全書 (ニ ッ ポ ニ カ) at kotobank.jp. Retrieved November 30, 2016 (Japanese).
  2. ^ AL Sadler: Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Ieyasu . Ed .: Tuttle Publishing. 2009, ISBN 4-8053-1042-1 .
  3. ^ Adriana Boscaro: 101 Letters of Hideyoshi . Ed .: Sophia University. Tokyo 1975, 77.