Editing Sengoku period (section)

=== Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi ===
{{main|Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Azuchi–Momoyama period}}
Though a peasant by birth, [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] had risen through the ranks of {{nihongo3|foot soldier|足軽|[[ashigaru]]}}, samurai, and ''sengoku daimyo'' under Nobunaga to become the most capable general of them all. When he learned that his lord Nobunaga had been effectively killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, he immediately made peace with the Mōri clan, who were in the midst of a battle, and turned his army back faster than anyone could have predicted, defeating Akechi Mitsuhide at the [[Battle of Yamazaki]]. Hideyoshi avenged his lord's death only 11 days after Nobunaga's death. The men who had been Nobunaga's chief vassals discussed future policy at the [[:ja:清須会議|Kiyosu Conference]], and Hideyoshi began his path to becoming Nobunaga's successor. In 1582, Hideyoshi defeated [[Shibata Katsuie]] and [[Oda Nobutaka]], who had been enemies over Nobunaga's succession, at the [[Battle of Shizugatake]], and in 1583 he began construction of [[Osaka Castle]]. In 1584, he fought bitterly against the allied forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and [[Oda Nobuo]] at the [[Battle of Komaki and Nagakute]], but was able to make a truce with Nobuo by making peace with him. In 1585, he defeated [[Chōsokabe Motochika]] in an [[Invasion of Shikoku (1585)|Invasion of Shikoku]] and pacified [[Shikoku]]. In 1586, he became {{nihongo3|Imperial Regent|関白|[[Kampaku]]}} and {{nihongo3|Chancellor of the Realm|太政大臣|[[Daijō-daijin]]}} for the first time in history, although he was not a native-born aristocrat. In 1586, he also succeeded in getting Ieyasu to swear allegiance to him. In 1587, he defeated the [[Shimazu clan]] in a [[Kyūshū campaign]] and pacified [[Kyūshū]]. In 1590, he defeated the Later Hōjō clan in the [[Siege of Odawara (1590)|Siege of Odawara]] and pacified the Kantō region. In the same year, he forced the clans of the [[Tōhoku region]] to swear allegiance to him and finally achieved the unification of Japan.<ref name="jktoyo">{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=65|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314105037/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=65|script-title=ja:豊臣秀吉|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=14 March 2024|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="kototoyooda">{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89-19047|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316063517/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%B1%8A%E8%87%A3%E7%A7%80%E5%90%89-19047|script-title=ja:豊臣秀吉|language=ja|publisher=Kotobank|date=|archive-date=16 March 2024|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref>

==== Tōhoku region (Date Masamune) ====
[[File:Date Masamune02.jpg|thumb|[[Date Masamune]]]]
[[Date Masamune]] was a one-eyed warlord, a famous ''sengoku daimyo'' who is often said to have had the potential to unite the country if only he had been born 20 years earlier.<ref name="toukendate">{{cite web|url=https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/29927/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417055158/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/29927/|script-title=ja:伊達政宗の歴史|language=ja|publisher=The Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World|date=|archive-date=17 April 2024|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="asahidate">{{cite web|url=https://www.bs-asahi.co.jp/shiro_kenbunroku/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417055320/https://www.bs-asahi.co.jp/shiro_kenbunroku/lineup/prg_031/|script-title=ja:伊達政宗|language=ja|publisher=[[TV Asahi]]|date=|archive-date=17 April 2024|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref> He became the head of the [[Date clan]] in 1584, two years after the death of Oda Nobunaga, destroyed the [[:ja:Nihonmatsu clan|Nihonmatsu clan]] and other clans, and then in 1589, at the [[Battle of Suriagehara]], defeated the [[Ashina clan (Japan)|Ashina clan]] to conquer the [[Aizu province]], and continued to expand his territory to conquer most of the [[Tōhoku region]]. On the other hand, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had only the Kantō and Tōhoku regions left to unify Japan, enacted a law called the {{nihongo3||惣無事令|Sōbujirei}} in 1587, which prohibited ''sengoku daimyo'' from waging war against each other, and Masamune's conquest of the Tōhoku region was a serious violation of this law. After destroying the Later Hōjō clan at the Siege of Odawara, Hideyoshi wanted to destroy the Date clan and other ''sengoku daimyo'' in the Tōhoku region who were reluctant to show their deference. Hideyoshi had his subordinate [[Maeda Toshiie]] question Masamune, who had arrived late to give the order to participate in the Siege of Odawara, but after hearing Masamune's bold attitude, he decided to meet with Masamune. Masamune showed his reverence by appearing before Hideyoshi in a pure white death robe, ready to be executed. Hideyoshi placed his staff on Masamune's neck and said, "If you had come a little later, you would have been beheaded," and Masamune pledged his reverence to Hideyoshi. He did not lose his life, only some of his territory was confiscated. He was later interrogated by Hideyoshi on suspicion of inciting a peasant uprising and participating in the rebellion of [[Toyotomi Hidetsugu]], but he defended himself with his usual courage and dignity and was not punished.<ref name="toukendate"/><ref name="kotodate">{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BC%8A%E9%81%94%E6%94%BF%E5%AE%97-93740|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611111757/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BC%8A%E9%81%94%E6%94%BF%E5%AE%97-93740|script-title=ja:伊達政宗|language=ja|publisher=Kotobank|date=|archive-date=11 June 2023|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>

He was on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the [[Battle of Sekigahara]], and as the first lord of the [[Sendai domain]] during the [[Edo period]], he developed [[Sendai]] and laid the foundations of the city as the center of the present-day Tōhoku region. In 1613, he sent [[Hasekura Tsunenaga]] as an ambassador to Europe, where he was granted an audience with the [[Pope Paul V]].<ref name="toukendate"/><ref name="kotodate"/>