The is a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

, who rose to the office of '' taikō'' during the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventi ...

. The

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

scholar (1564–1640) published the work in 1626 during the rule of the third Tokugawa

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...

Iemitsu. The work was published five times between 1626 and 1710. The complete work spans 22 scrolls. The ''Taikōki'' shows the influence of Hoan's individual views of history and interpretations of historical materials. Modern historical novels based on the ''Taikōki'' include the ''Shinsho Taikōki'' by

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as '' The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', ...

, ''Ihon Taikōki'' by

Sōhachi Yamaoka from Niigata was a Japanese author. He wrote a number of historical novels. Politician Kenji Yamaoka is an adopted son. In 1968, he won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for his historical novel ''Tokugawa Ieyasu''. Awards * 1958 - Chunichi Prize * 1 ...

, and ''Shinshi Taikōki'' by

Ryōtarō Shiba , also known as , was a Japanese author. He is best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the r ...

. Yoshikawa's novel was the basis for the yearlong

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

television Taiga drama '' Taikōki'' (1965). Shiba's novel and others of his works gave the story to ''

Kunitori Monogatari is a 1973 Japanese television series. It is the eleventh NHK ''taiga'' drama. Plot The series is set in the Sengoku period. Based on Ryōtarō Shiba`s novel of the same name. The story chronicles the lives of Dosan Saito and Nobunaga Oda. Pro ...

'' (1973), another Taiga drama.

References

Edo-period works Toyotomi clan {{Japan-lit-stub