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came a difficult time. Hideyoshi had to figure out a way to keep power over
Japan without instigating revolt or a sectioning-off of provinces. First
Hideyoshi concentrated on eliminating the possibility of men banding together
to fight against him or against each other. In 1588, all weapons of farmers
and religious institutions were confiscated in the Sword Hunt. All samurai
were banned from any farming activity and they were forced into castle towns.
All of this was done to create a very clear social class distinction to
increase the government's control over the people. Hideyoshi made class
a permanent status for individuals and their offspring. In particular, he
made the samurai, "servants" who were Japanese professional soldiers, into
a separate class and forbade anyone from the non-samurai class to carry
weapons or armor. He also ordered a huge land survey in 1583 and a census
in 1590. Hideyoshi's own castle, Osaka, was completed in 1590.
As time went on, the original goal of preventing the lower class from taking
Hideyoshi's power turned into a goal of absolute control over the people.
In 1587, he issued an edict expelling all Christian missionaries. (Franciscans
could enter Japan in 1593 and the Jesuits remained active in the West.)
He intensified the Christian persecution in 1597 and executed 26 Franciscans
as a warning. He saw Christianity as the primary obstacle to achieving his
goal of complete power over the people. For the most part, Hideyoshi's tactics,
brawn, and single-mindedness worked. He rose from obscurity and became the
complete master of Japan by 1590.
After uniting Japan, Hideyoshi's next goal was to conquer China. He made
his first and decisive move in 1592 as the Japanese army invaded Korea and
captured Seoul within a few weeks. All looked well at first, but the Japanese
army was then pushed back by the much stronger Chinese army the next year.
Hideyoshi's lust for power would not allow him to give up. He pushed on
until the final evacuation of Korea in 1598. Hideyoshi died the same year
and his dreams of extending the Japanese empire over the whole of Asia died
with him.
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