Yodo-Gimi (Lady Yodo) sometimes known as Yodo Dono, was the principal wife of Hideyoshi at his old age. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, original surname Hashiba 羽柴; 1536 - September 18, 1598), was a Japanese general who united Japan. He succeeded his former liege, Oda Nobunaga. Later, he invaded Korea. He is known for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction... Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the niece of notorious Japanese The daimyō (大名) were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 12th century to the 19th century in Japan. After the Meiji restoration in 1869 the daimyō merged with the kuge to form a single aristocratic group, the kazoku. The term daimyō literally means great name... daimyo Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長 Oda Nobunaga, June 23, 1534 - June 21, 1582) was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Son of Oda Nobuhide, a minor warlord with meager land holdings in Owari Province, Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest to eventually conquer... Oda Nobunaga. She was born in Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. He replaces Margaret of Parma as Governor of the Netherlands. Prince William of Orange is outlawed, and Count Lamoral of Egmont imprisoned. February 10 - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary I of Scotland... 1567 during the The Sengoku Period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai) or warring-states period, is a period of long civil war in the History of Japan that spans through the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. It started in the late Muromachi period in 1467 with the Onin War (Onin... Sengoku period of Japanese history to Nobunaga's sister O-ichi and rival warlord Azai Nagamasa (浅井 長政) (1545 - August 28, 1573) was a son of Azai Hisamasa, from whom he took over in. Nagamasa successfully battled both Rokkaku Yoshitaka and Saito Tatsuoki. He married Oda Nobunagas sister Ichi but later joined the Asakura family and the monks of Mt. Hiei... Asai Nagamasa.

Early Years

During her childhood Lady Yodo was known by her nickname Chacha. In Events January 23 - The assassination of regent James Stewart, Earl of Moray throws Scotland into civil war February 25 - Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England. May 20 - Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas. August 8 - The Peace of Saint-Germain ends the Third War of Religion... 1570 her father, Nagamasa, broke his alliance with Oda Nobunaga and there was a three year period of fighting until in Events January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland. July - Spanish forces under the Duke of Alva capture Haarlem after a seven month siege. August-October - Unsuccessful siege of Alkmaar by Alva November - Alva resigns as Spanish Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in the Netherlands, and... 1573 Nobunaga's army surrounded Nagamasa at Odani. Nobunaga however requested his sister's safety, and Lady Yodo along with her mother, and her two sisters (O-go and O-Hatsu) managed to escape. Odani castle fell, and amongst those who died were Lady Yodo's father and her brother.

Lady Oichi went on to marry Shibata Katsuie (柴田 勝家)　(1530 - 1583) was a Japanese military commander during the Sengoku Period who served to Oda Nobunaga. He initially supported Oda Nobukatsu as he was his retainer. In 1556, he launched a coup detat against Nobunaga but after a loss at Battle of... Shibata Katsuie, a military commander serving under Nobunaga, and took with her Lady Yodo. They lived in Kitanosho castle until Nobunaga's death in Events August 5 - Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St Johns, Newfoundland. Toyotomi Hideyoshi commences construction of Osaka Castle in Japan. King James VI of Scotland signs a charter creating the Tounis College - what is now the Indias independence against... 1583 when Katsuie and general Toyotomi Hideyoshi clashed over the issue of succession. Katsuie was defeated and died along with Oichi in his castle. However before Oichi perished she passed Lady Yodo and her other daughters in to the care and protection of Hideyoshi.

The Wife of Hideyoshi

Lady Yodo fell in love with and married Hideyoshi and soon moved to Yodo castle (from which she inherited her name). Hideyoshi already had a wife, Kita-no-Mandokoro, but since she was unable to conceive, Lady Yodo inherited many of her privleges and soon displaced her all together. She had two sons with Hideyoshi, Tsurumatsu, who died young, and Toyotomi Hideyori (豊臣秀頼), 1593-1615, was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. However, when Hideyoshi died in 1598, the regents he had appointed to rule in Hideyoris place began jockeying amongst each other for power. In... Hideyori born in Events May 18 - Playwright Thomas Kyds accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. July 25 - King Henry IV of France returns to Catholicism, and is recognized as King in most of France. Outbreak of the Long War in Hungary between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans... 1593 who became the designated successor of Hideyoshi.

In Events February 27 - France at Rheims. March 21 - Henry IV enters his capital of Paris for the first time. Births February 19 - Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James VI of Scotland/James I of England and Anne of Denmark. May 29 - Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim... 1594 the family moved to Fushimi Castle but tragedy befell when in Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. Considered the end of the French Wars of Religion. May 2 - Peace of... 1598 Hideyoshi died and the Toyotomi clan lost much of its influence and importance. Lady Yodo moved to Osaka castle with her son Hideyori plotted the restoration of the Toyotomi clan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (also (archaic) Iyeyasu; 徳川 家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu January 31, 1543–June 1, 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, and is commonly known as one of the three great unifiers of feudal Japan (the other two are Oda Nobunaga and... Tokugawa Ieyasu, who seized control from Hideyori after the death of his father, now realised Hideyori to be a threat. He attacked Osaka castle in Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. October 11 - Adriaen Block and a group of Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the area he explored and named New Netherland. The French Estates-General meets for the last time before... 1614 but the attack fell through, and subsequently he signed a truce with Hideyori.

However in Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. June 4 - Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu took Osaka Castle in Japan. The second volume of Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote is published. End of the Sengoku Period in Japan. Births January 30 - Thomas Rolfe March... 1615 Ieyasu betrayed the truce and once again attacked Osaka castle, and this time he succeeded. Lady Yodo fled into the surrounding mountains, where both she and her son Hideyori committed suicide; thus eliminating the Toyotomi name.