Editing Samurai (section)

==== Battle of Sekigahara ====
{{See also|Battle of Sekigahara}}
[[File:Sekigaharascreen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Battle of Sekigahara]], known as {{Nihongo|"Japan's decisive battle"|天下分け目の戦い|Tenka wakeme no tatakai}}]]

Before his death, Hideyoshi ordered that Japan be ruled by a council of the five most powerful ''sengoku daimyo'', {{nihongo3|[[Council of Five Elders]]|五大老|Go-Tairō}}, and Hideyoshi's five retainers, {{nihongo3|Five Commissioners|五奉行|[[Go-Bugyō]]}}, until his only heir, the five-year-old [[Toyotomi Hideyori]], reached the age of 16.<ref name="sekigahara">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.go.jp/exhibition/digital/ieyasu/contents3_01/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108090341/https://www.archives.go.jp/exhibition/digital/ieyasu/contents3_01/|script-title=ja:関ヶ原の戦い|language=ja|publisher=[[National Archives of Japan]]|date=|archive-date=8 January 2023|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> However, having only the young Hideyori as Hideyoshi's successor weakened the Toyotomi regime. Today, the loss of all of Hideyoshi's adult heirs is considered the main reason for the downfall of the Toyotomi clan.<ref name="jk270323">{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=67|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327064223/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=67|script-title=ja:豊臣秀次|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=27 March 2023|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="toyo220516">{{cite web|url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/117781?page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421180805/https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/117781?page=3|script-title=ja:新説！豊臣家を滅ぼした｢組織運営｣の大失敗|language=ja|publisher=Toyo Keizai|date=22 May 2016|archive-date=21 April 2021|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="yh100324">{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/cf674ebf35996045d03fcb26aab8ae4fd833e8df|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310115834/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/cf674ebf35996045d03fcb26aab8ae4fd833e8df|script-title=ja:どうして豊臣政権は短命だったのか？存続のカギは弟・豊臣秀長が握っていた|language=ja|publisher=Yahoo News|date=1 September 2023|archive-date=10 March 2024|access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Hideyoshi's younger brother, [[Toyotomi Hidenaga]], who had supported Hideyoshi's rise to power as a leader and strategist, had already died of illness in 1591, and his nephew, [[Toyotomi Hidetsugu]], who was Hideyoshi's only adult successor, was forced to commit seppuku in 1595 along with many other vassals on Hideyoshi's orders for suspected rebellion.<ref name="jk270323"/><ref name="toyo220516"/><ref name="yh100324"/>

In this politically unstable situation, [[Maeda Toshiie]], one of the ''Gotairō'', died of illness, and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], one of the ''Gotairō''' who had been second in power to Hideyoshi but had not participated in the war, rose to power, and Ieyasu came into conflict with [[Ishida Mitsunari]], one of the ''Go-Bukyō'' and others. This conflict eventually led to the [[Battle of Sekigahara]], in which the {{nihongo3|Eastern Army|東軍|Tō-gun}} led by Ieyasu defeated the {{nihongo3|Western Army|西軍|Sei-gun}} led by Mitsunari, and Ieyasu nearly gained control of Japan.<ref name="sekigahara"/>

Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain a large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence. Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era, declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans: [[Minamoto]], [[Taira]], [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], and [[Tachibana clan (samurai)|Tachibana]]. In most cases, however, it is difficult to prove these claims.