Friends who are familiar with the ancient history of Japan know that in the later years of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the highest-ranking courtiers of the Toyotomi regime were the so-called "Five Elders of Toyotomi". Interestingly, however, there are six "Toyotomi Five Elders" in Japanese history (Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiyasu, Mori Keimoto Mori, Ukita Hideya, Hayakawa Takakei, and Uesugi Keikatsu). What's going on?
The first thing to explain is that "Toyotomi Five Elders" and "Five Elders, Five Pursuits" were names that were widely used only in the Edo period. According to maeda toshi's writings and other historical sources, the real historical name of "Toyotomi Daimyo" should be "Gobō Dojo". However, the difference between "Big Elder" and "Imperial Worshipper" is basically that the names are different, and the traditional saying of "Five Elders" is used later in this article.
In the seventeenth year of Tenshō (1589), Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan. However, the unification of Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very unstable, and there were still many powerful and independent daimyōs under the Toyotomi regime, such as Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiya, Mori Keimoto, Ukita Hideya, Uesugi Keikatsu, Date Masamune, and so on, which led to the Toyotomi regime being essentially a federation of daimyō.
Due to his low-level origins and poor family lineage, Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not have a lineage or a lineage available, and the banners he personally cultivated (such as Ishida Sansei, Otani Yoshiji, Fukushima Masanori, kato Kiyomasa) were capable, but their qualifications and prestige were really insufficient. In desperation, Toyotomi Hideyoshi could only select the important ministers of the Toyotomi regime from among the pro-Toyotomi daimyo and let them enter the core decision-making circle.
In the fourth year of Bunroku (1595), Toyotomi Hideyoshi killed his chosen adopted son, Toyotomi Hideji, and made Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was not yet two years old, his heir. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was fifty-eight years old and his health was deteriorating, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi was sure to be the young lord who succeeded to the throne. So Toyotomi Hideyoshi formally established the "Five Elders" and "Five Pursuits", hoping that these ten important ministers would assist Toyotomi Hideyoshi to become an adult pro-government.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's earliest selection of the "Five Elders" were Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiyasu, Ukita Hideya, Maori Keimoto, and Kohayakawa Takakei. Tokugawa Ieyasu's granddaughter has been betrothed to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Maeda Toshiya was a close friend of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked like Yukita Hideyoshi, and Kohayakawa Takakei relied on Toyotomi Hideyoshi to upgrade from a vassal of Mori Keigen to a juxtaposition with Mori Keigen.
It can be said that four of the "Five Elders" originally selected by Toyotomi Hideyoshi were loyal to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the threatening Tokugawa Ieyasu was completely isolated. However, in the second year of Keicho (1597), Kohayakawa Takakei died. In order to continue to isolate Tokugawa Ieyasu among the "Five Elders", Toyotomi Hideyoshi had Tokugawa Ieyasu's old enemy and Uesugi Kenshin's adopted son Uesugi Keikatsu succeed him as the daimyō of Kohayakawa Takakei.
In the third year of Keisaku (1598), Toyotomi Hideyoshi fell ill and died, and the "five elders" selected by Toyotomi Hideyoshi were Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiyasu, Ukita Hideya, Mori Keigen Mori, and Uesugi Keisatsu. Together with The Death of Kohayakawa Takakei in the second year of Keicho's reign (1597), There were six "Five Elders" appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.