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Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Real Name: Kinoshita Tōkichirō (later Hashiba Hideyoshi)
history (childhood name: legend)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) 本名: Kinoshita Tōkichirō (later Hashiba Hideyoshi) (木下藤吉郎 / 羽柴秀吉)
Answer: Toyotomi Hideyoshi was first known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō (木下藤吉郎), then Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉). "Toyotomi" was a new surname granted by the imperial court in 1586.
Hideyoshi was born around 1537 in Owari Province (now Aichi) to a family of commoners. History: in his service to Oda Nobunaga he is recorded as Kinoshita Tōkichirō. Around 1573 he took the surname Hashiba (羽柴), reportedly combining characters from the names of Nobunaga's senior retainers Niwa (丹羽) and Shibata (柴田). In 1585 he became kampaku (imperial regent), and in 1586 the court granted him the brand-new clan name 豊臣 (Toyotomi). After he passed the regency to his nephew, he was called 太閤 (Taikō), the title for a retired regent.
Legend: the childhood name 日吉丸 (Hiyoshimaru) and the story that his mother conceived him after dreaming of the sun come from later Edo-period biographies, not from period documents.
He unified Japan in 1590, ordered the invasions of Korea (1592–98), and died in 1598.
FAQ
What was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's original name? He is recorded as Kinoshita Tōkichirō, later Hashiba Hideyoshi.
Was Hiyoshimaru his real childhood name? That name comes from later biographies and is not confirmed by period sources.