or One (1546-1624) was an aristocratic lady during the Sengoku

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 and Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

s of Japanese history

History of Japan

The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...

 known for her intelligence and marriage to Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

. She was also praised for her elegance and wisdom, and was said to be a beautiful woman.

She was born in about 1546, the daughter of Sugihara Sadatoshi.

Hideyoshi's wife

In about 1561, she married Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

, a man who would later become one of the three great unifiers of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, although at the time of their marriage he has yet to gain much fame. Nene was his principal wife and also one of his favorite wives.

In 1585, after Hideyoshi was appointed to the post of Kampaku

Sessho and Kampaku

In Japan, was a title given to a regent who was named to assist either a child emperor before his coming of age, or an empress. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the emperor, but was the title of both first secretary and regent who assists an adult emperor. During the Heian era,...

, Nene took on the title of "Kita no mandokoro", by which she is most commonly known by in English.

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

Kinoshita Iesada

was a samurai of the Sengoku through early Edo periods. His family name means "under the tree." He was the brother-in -law of the general who would become known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi....

 (Nene's brother), Kobayakawa Hideaki

Kobayakawa Hideaki

Kobayakawa Hideaki was fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada and the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.He was adopted by Hideyoshi and called himself Hashiba Hidetoshi and Shusen . He was then again adopted by Kobayakawa Takakage and renamed himself Hideaki...

 (Nene's nephew) and Asano Nagamasa

Asano Nagamasa

was the brother-in-law of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and one of his chief advisors. Asano also fought for Hideyoshi in a number of campaigns during the Sengoku period of the 16th century of Japan....

 (Nene's brother-in-law). The last of these characters would serve as an important official in Hideyoshi's later administration.

Nene was known to have been an intelligent woman who, at times, advised Hideyoshi on matters of governance by sending him letters. When Hideyoshi repealed the tax exemptions he had granted to the residents living in his headquarters at Nagahama, Nene appealed to him to reinstate the exemptions, and he did. It is also recorded that Hideyoshi frequently wrote letters to Nene to tell her about how his campaigns were going. Hideyoshi did this after his invasion of Sassa Narimasa

Sassa Narimasa

, also known as Kura-no-suke , was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama period. He became a retainer of Oda Nobunaga in 1550 and was granted Etchū Province as a reward for helping Shibata Katsuie fight the Uesugi clan. After Nobunaga's death, in 1584 he joined Tokugawa Ieyasu...

's territory in Japan's Hokuriku region

Hokuriku region

The is located in the northwestern part of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan....

 and after his campaign against the Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan

The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...

.

When Hideyoshi unified Japan, Nene often went with him to attend parties. Nene was courteous and respectful to her guests on every occasion. When Emperor Go-Yozei visited Hideyoshi's mansion with his entourage in 1588, Nene freely distributed a plethora of gifts to Hideyoshi's visitors. Nene worried about Hideyoshi often when he was on his deathbed. Eventually, as Hideyoshi was on his last throes, she even petitioned the Imperial Court to sponsor a sacred dance ritual to pray for and expedite Hideyoshi's recovery.

Though adored, Nene often found herself competing with other women for Hideyoshi's attention. In a letter to Nene, Oda Nobunaga also noted that Hideyoshi was somewhat dissatisfied with Nene. Hideyoshi took up several concubines for himself because Nene did not bear him any children.

Letter to lady Nene from Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

 

...It has been quite sometime since I last saw you, but your beauty grows day by day. Tokichiro (Hideyoshi) complains about you constantly and it is outrageous. While that "bald rat" (Hideyoshi) flusters to find another good woman, you remain lofty and elegant. Do not be envious. Show Hideyoshi this letter...

Hideyoshi's widow

After Hideyoshi died in 1598, Nene became a nun, taking the name Kōdai-in and establishing a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 temple, Kōdai-ji

Kodai-ji

, formally identified as , is a temple of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan—the largest subtemple of the Kennin-ji branch. It was established in 1606 by Nene , the widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to pray for her late husband...

, in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, to which she moved. It became the burial area for her husband, his mother, and later Toyotomi Hideyori

Toyotomi Hideyori

was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....

. During the contest between Toyotomi Hideyori and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 for supremacy, Nene took the side of Ieyasu.There is also a rumor that Toshiie Maeda had a crush on Nene before she was married to Hideyoshi. After her death in 1624 she was posthumously given the name of Hikari no Tenshi or "Angel of Light" and entombed at the Hikari no Shrine in Kyoto.

The life of this prominent resident of Kyoto is still commemorated in a short street which bears her name. remains lined with structures built in traditional Kyoto style. Nene-no-Michi is located in Higashiyama Ward

Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

' is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku. During the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, which was an independent town until its merger into the city in 1931...

 in eastern Kyoto near Kōdai-ji, Maruyama Park

Maruyama Park

' is the main center for cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, Japan, and can get extremely crowded at that time of year . It also becomes busy in the New Years Eve Festivals. The park's star attraction is a weeping cherry tree which becomes lit up at night...

 and Yasaka Shrine

Yasaka Shrine

', once called , is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri , the shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage.-History:...

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