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What caused the power struggle after Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598?
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
Statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Tōshō Shrine in Nikkō, Japan.
The power struggle following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598 was primarily caused by the fact that his heir, Toyotomi Hideyori, was only five years old at the time.1
Because Hideyoshi had previously forced his nephew and former heir, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, to commit suicide in 1595, he left behind no mature successor to manage the country. To address this, Hideyoshi had appointed a council of five warriors to serve as co-regents for his young son. However, this arrangement proved insufficient to maintain stability, as the following factors contributed to the ensuing conflict:21
- Internal Rivalries: Quarrels quickly erupted among the appointed regents, leading to open bloodshed.1
- Structural Weaknesses: The Hideyoshi regime lacked a fully unified governing authority; many lands were entrusted to independent tozama (outside) daimyo rather than being under the regime's direct control.3
- Political Vacuum: The failure of the Korean expeditions and Hideyoshi's death left the government vulnerable, allowing Tokugawa Ieyasu to emerge as the strongest candidate for power, culminating in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.13