Island of Ezo, Matsumaye Nobuhiro, whose grandfather had crossed thither and subdued the aborigines. For the first time the wars and tumults that had convulsed Japan since the Ojin era were at last brought to an end, and the whole country came under the administrative sway of one strong ruler. The story of the rise of Hideyoshi from the humblest to the most elevated position in the feudal world of Japan is highly characteristic of the man and his times. The son of a foot-soldier in Owari, Hideyoshi's original name was Tōkichi. From early childhood he acquired among his playmates a reputation for cleverness. Subsequently, attracted by the great renown of Nobunaga, he took service under him, who, pleased with the sagacity displayed by the youth, raised him after a time to the command of a division of soldiers. Tōkichi grew in favor with the Oda chief, who conferred on him the name of Hashiba, deriving it from the names of his two ablest generals, Niwa and Shibata. When Nobunaga was assassinated, Hideyoshi showed remarkable promptness and ability in destroying the traitorous vassal, a deed that won for him high popularity among the partisans of the deceased chief. Thenceforth his career was a series of brilliantly conceived and boldly executed conquests. Professing always to protect the Oda family, he took advantage of the discussions between Nobutaka and Nobukatsu to overthrow Katsuiye and Kazumasu, and showed at once his magnanimity and his prowess in the easy terms of peace which he granted to the Shimadsu family while pushing his operations against the Hōjō to their complete overthrow. Thus, despite his humble origin, he succeeded ultimately in grasping the administrative reins of the whole empire. His ambition prompted him to desire the post of _sei-i-tai-shōgun_, but custom had required from time immemorial that the occupant of that high office should be a member of the Minamoto clan. This difficulty Hideyoshi sought to overcome by getting himself adopted as the son of the Shōgun Yoshiaki, but the latter could not be persuaded to consent. Ultimately, he induced the emperor to appoint him _kwanryō_ or regent, a position really ranking higher than that of shōgun. On that occasion the sovereign conferred on him the family name of Toyotomi. Hideyoshi also spared no pains to restore the prestige of the throne, supplying all the expenses required for the imperial household and exacting from the nobles an oath that they would reverence the sovereign and make no encroachment on the imperial domains.