Customer Reviews

Toyotomi Hideyoshi: The background, strategies, tactics and battlefield experiences of the greatest commanders of history

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Stephen Turnbull continued to be the master of Japanese history to the general readers of the English language. In this book, he wrote a short but well detail military biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the first man during the Sen-joku Period to unite all Japan under a singular ruler. And this is after over 100 years of civil wars that been raging throughout the land.

The book is well presented with illustrations, photos and excellent maps that aids the narrative. The book is well researched as it reflects on the author's profound knowledge of the Japanese history of this period. However, the writing may not be up to par of many of his previous works because at times, the book appears to be too jammed with information. However, the reader will get a pretty fair understanding of who Hideyoshi was and what made his accomplishments so spectacular in annals of military history.

The book stated that Hideyoshi was Japan's greatest samurai leader of his period. His accomplishments clearly proves that as he conquered Japan with combination of war and diplomacy unheard of for that period. Policy of sparing his enemies and turning them into his allies proves to be a novel concept that succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. What even make this more remarkable is that Hideyoshi was born a farmer's son. What are the chances of a farmer's son becoming a King of England by the time he passed away? Zero to none? That what make Hideyoshi's accomplishments even more remarkable that he beat that odds.

But he was a military dictator and when he died, it was at the worst moment for his heir who was only five years old and his family rule did not translate into a lasting dynasty.

There are couple of gripes and I took away a star for it. Stephen Turnbull continued make this assumption that Battle of Sekigahara was fought between pro-Toyotomi versus anti-Toyotomi forces. That is clear only from the historical hindsight per say but he always forget to look at the order of battle for the "anti-Toyotomi" side led by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Its full of die-hard Toyotomi followers!!! For many who fought this battle, this was a Toyotomi Civil War. Only in hindsight do we (as well as them) understand that Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of this victory to gain power over the Toyotomi family. But most of key units of his Tokugawa army at Sekigahara were all Toyotomi loyalists. The author continual misreading of this part is puzzling in other books and it continued even to this book toward the end. Also the author failed to touch on Hideyoshi's personal life where it counted. His heir was a son of his concubine, Yodo while his wife, Nene was more or less push aside. This naturally led to resentment on the wife's part and that help many Toyotomi loyalists to fight against Ishida who was considered to be pro-Yodo. (It didn't help that it was said that Ishida had a major personality flaw...he irritated people into enemies by his arrogant mannerism.)

Nevertheless, this book come highly recommended for anyone who got a partial interest in Japanese samurai history and the story behind one of the most remarkable individuals who ever rose to power in any land or culture.

This is a new Osprey series for me--"Leadership, Strategy, Conflict." This slender volume is 64 pages long. In it, we meet Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who came to be recognized as a talented military leader and a fine leader overall. His military prowess and political skills helped unite Japan. He lived from 1536-1598 and, according to the book, has been compared with Napoleon Bonaparte. While brief, the book does provide a solid introduction to this major historical figure.

The book begins by summarizing what very little we know about his early life. We do know that he followed in the footsteps of his father, who had provided military service to a local leader, Oda Nobuhide. Hideyoshi, in turn, came to join the military ranks of Nobuhide's son, Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga was a capable military leader--and ambitious. He began a process of expanding his dominion over other lords. And Hideyoshi was with him all the way, rising through the ranks from soldier to military leader. Too, one of Nobunaga's other leaders was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would rise to ultimate power in Japan, on the back of Hideyoshi's body of work.

An important event was the assassination of Nobunaga. After a short while, Hideyoshi assumed power in his old boss' realm. And then he began expanding his empire. Between military victories and diplomatic prowess, he not so slowly continued his expansion, until--late in his life--he had effectively united Japan under his rule (whether direct or indirect). The book ends by telling of Tokugawa's ascension to power, beginning the Tokugawa dynasty that was to last for two and a half centuries.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is my favorite character from Japanese history. A commoner, he came to unify Japan during a time of crisis (sorry if that's a spoiler) and became the de facto ruler of the entire country.

The book is wonderfully illustrated, with maps of all his major campaigns and pictures sort of creatively re-enacting various scenes from his battles.

The only downside is that you are left wanting more - he alludes to a lot of details in this short book that he doesn't elaborate on, such as letters and conversations with others. I'm going to have to buy a separate book on Toyotomi Hideyoshi to get those details. But it's okay, in just a few pages, Turnbull encapsulates his entire life.

In the 1460s, the Japanese shogunate lost its power and authority after a succession struggle. Japan entered a period that was called the Age of Warring States, when it became fragmented into multiple territories ruled by military warlords without any central governmental authority. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) was a farmer's son who became a samurai warrior and reunited Japan through an astute combination of military conquest, diplomacy, and occasional bribery.

This book is part of the Command Series by Osprey Publishing, which consists of short books (each 64 pages in length) on famous military leaders in history (such as Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Saladin, Marlborough, Napoleon Bonaparte, and George S. Patton). Despite its relative brevity, this book provides a readable and informative look at the life and career of Toyotomi Hideoyoshi and shows how he achieved his goal of reuniting Japan by combining military conquest, shrewd diplomacy, occasional bribery, and brilliant improvisation in the face of unexpected developments.

The book has interesting illustrations and maps that complement the text. The author also provides a one-page "Further Reading" section that identifies other books, and chapters in books, that discuss Toyotomi Hideoyoshi. Because of its brevity, this book is not a complete or definitive study of the life and career of Toyotomi Hideoyoshi or his reunification of Japan. But, it is a good introduction to both those topics.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is a fine choice for any military history library. It covers the life of the greatest military commander in the history of samurai, charting his importance to the military and social world of early Japan and following his offensives in 1587 and 1590. A fine, rare survey covers both strategy and history.

Never judge a book by its cover. The cover looks good and Stephen Turnbull knows his subject but this book is a mere 63 pages, a thin brochure of a book that merely scratches the surface. Rather disappointing, and you are left to look for another book to go into the depth that you want. The illustrations are rather disappointing also.