Someone please tell me more about Toyotomi Hidetsuga?

[Gothmog]

In STW, he is listed as an heir after Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but that's about all I know about him.

Anyone can enlight me with more information about him?

[NZ Tanuki]

Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568?-95)

By 1592, Hideyoshi was very concerned about who would be his successor; after all, his only son, Tsurumatsu had died two years earlier, and there seemed little chance that another child would be born soon. Furthermore, Hideyoshi was extremely disappointed with his relatives, and especially the sons whom he had adopted. Of the former, only Hidenaga, his step-brother, had served him well, but he had also died at the age of 50. Similarly, his nephew, Hideyasu, had died young. So it was with some misgiving that Hideyoshi even considered Hidetsugu as his heir; for whilst Hidetsugu had demonstrated some early promise, Hideyoshi was also prompted to give the following advice to the young man shortly before his appointment as Regent: "You should follow my example, except in three things--addiction to tea, a love of falconry, and a craze for women."

Early in 1592, Hidetsugu was installed in the Ju^rakudai and immediately began to justify Hideyoshi's earlier misgivings. He is said to have lived a vicious, dissipated life; served no useful function; is reputed to have had concubines by the dozen; is said to have plotted the capture of Osaka-jo by a campaign of systematically corrupting its guardians; and was so brutal, he earned the well-deserved title: Sassho^ Kampaku (The Murdering Regent). Hidetsugu was well-known to the Jesuit missionaries (he is reported to have been friendly towards Christians), but they considered his character particularly flawed; Frois, in a typical moment of understatement, maintained that Hidetsugu "had one weakness, namely a passionate delight in killing."

Hideyoshi /may/ have overlooked such behaviour as no more than scandalous tale-telling, but when the situation in Korea brought into the open a serious division of opinion amogst his leading daimyo, he acted to ensure that the governmental structure he had established (upon Nobunaga's framework) could not be compromised. Thus, in August 1595, Hidetsugu was banished to Ko^yasan, and ordered to commit seppuku.

Hope this is of some small assistance.

Regards,
NZ Tanuki

[Gothmog]

I see, that's why he is not mentioned that much ...

That's a lot, my friend.

[gkillm]

revive