Kōdai-in

(died October 17, 1624), formerly known as Nene, One, Nei, was an aristocrat and Buddhist nun, founder of the temple Kōdai-ji in Kyoto, Japan. She was formerly the principal samurai wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi under the name of Toyotomi Yoshiko. When she rose in higher political status, she took the title of "Kita no mandokoro". As the matriarch figure of the Toyotomi clan, she led all diplomatic affairs that had to do with the imperial court, and monitored the daimyos' families who were being held hostage at Osaka Castle. Kōdai-in was born in Owari Province between 1541 and 1549. She was the second daughter of ja, a descendant of Taira no Sadamori, and the Emperor Kammu (735-806). She was adopted by her maternal uncle Asano Nagakatsu, a descendant of the Toki clan, of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944-1021), and the Emperor Seiwa (850-881). According to the "Hankanpu" (Genealogy of the Protectors of the Shogunate), she was first supposed to marry Maeda Toshiie, but she became the wife of Hideyoshi. Around 1561, she married Hashiba Hideyoshi, a man who would later become one of the three great unifiers of Japan, although at the time of their marriage he had yet to gain much fame, and despite her mother Asahi-dono's opposition to this marriage, because of the difference in social status with her husband. Nene was his principal wife and also one of his favorite wives. In 1585, after Hideyoshi was appointed to the post of Imperial Regent (Kampaku), Nene took on the title of "Kita no mandokoro." As the wife of Hideyoshi, Nene is most famous for being one of his closest aides and confidantes. The daughter of a samurai, she had many familial connections that netted Hideyoshi several retainers. Among these retainers were Sugihara Ietsugu (Nene's uncle), Kinoshita Iesada (Nene's brother), Kobayakawa Hideaki (Nene's nephew) and Asano Nagamasa (Nene's brother-in-law). The last of these characters would serve as an important official in Hideyoshi's later administration.