Hideyoshi

Season

1996

7.6

A dramatized biography of the second of Japan's three legendary leaders. Rising from obscurity, Hideyoshi served under the command of Oda Nobunaga. With an extrodinary combination of intelligence, bravery and military skill, Hideyoshi rose to near-absolute power and greatly expanded upon Nobunaga's unification of Japan's warlords. This series also focused on Hideyoshi's personal life, particularly his relationships with his mother and his wife, and the pair's rivalry for influence over him.

Episode List

S1 • E1

Episode #1.1

In the latter half of the 16th Century, peasant Hiyoshi is drawn into the orbit and then into the service of the warlord Oda Nobunaga.

S1 • E2

The Miracle of Okehazama

It is the year 1560. Hiyoshi is falsely accused of theft, with consequences he does not expect. War looms between Oda and the Imagawa clan. Akechi Mitsuhide seeks a daimyo to serve and attempts to take service with Imagawa Yoshimoto. As Yoshimoto slowly advances on Kyoto with an army of 30,000 men, Nobunaga leaves Kiyosu Castle and attacks him at Okehazama with a force of just 3,000. On the battlefield, Hiyoshi unexpectedly renews an old acquaintance.

S1 • E3

The Wedding

In the aftermath of the battle at Okehazama, Yoshiro announces his intention to marry One and presents her with a kimono. Although still in search of a position, Akechi Mitsuhide refuses the offer of service with the Saito clan and must go into hiding. One informs her parents of her acceptance of Yoshiro's proposal. Lord Nobunaga makes an unexpected appearance at the wedding and presents a gift. Yoshiro earns a new name and swears an oath with his life as guarantee.

S1 • E4

Brothers

Yoshiro (now Hideyoshi) has sworn an oath that he will see that the walls of Kiyosu Castle are repaired in just 3 days, or he will commit seppuku. Akechi Mitsuhide's mother, Yoshi, travels to Echizen to visit her sick daughter-in-law, Hiroko. Hideyoshi witnesses his half-brother Kochiku being outbid at the market for a rare tea bowl by a mysterious traveller. One begins to learn what married life is like with her driven new husband. The traveller Sen Soeki sells the Sung period tea bowl to Nobunaga at a profit whilst Hideyoshi observes their meeting from the garden. Meanwhile Kochiku has taken the castle construction workers for an evening of entertainment in the pleasure district, where he offers financial incentives for the fastest-working teams. The following morning Hideyoshi and the work gangs set to with a will, working on the wall repairs non-stop until they are complete on the morning of the 3rd day. Hideyoshi learns the truth of the scene he witnessed from the garden. Returning to the family farm, he has a confrontation with his stepfather. Trying to persuade Kochiku to give up his life as a farmer to pursue that of a samurai, Hideyoshi's argument gains support from an unexpected source. One arrives to tell him that he has been promoted to head of a unit of ashigaru, with a stipend of 50 kan. Kochiku is persuaded to accept his new role, taking on the name Koichiro. Hideyoshi travels to the stronghold of Koroku, an old acquaintance, where he also encounters his erstwhile friend Ganmaku, now calling himself Ishikawa Goemon. His reception is decidedly unfriendly.