In the history of Japan, the was a group of five powerful formed in 1598 by the Toyotomi Hideyoshi, shortly before his death the same year. While Hideyoshi was on his deathbed, his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was still only five years old and as such Hideyoshi needed to create the council in order to ensure his heir would be able to succeed him after coming of age. They also acted as advisers for the , which had also been established by Hideyoshi to govern Kyoto and the surrounding areas.
Creation of the Council Leading up to the creation of the council Hideyoshi's demeanor slowly changed as the invasions of Korea (attempts to conquer both Korea and China) were failing. Hideyoshi himself had not joined the Korean Campaigns and assigned vassals in his command to head the campaign. He sent his final force of 140,000 to Korea in 1597, but the efforts were fruitless.
Hideyoshi's execution of family members was another reason for questioning his sanity during this period. Before the birth of his son Hideyori, he had adopted his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, to be his heir in 1591 because Hidetsugu had helped Hideyoshi in his campaigns. Once Hideyori was born, he ordered Toyotomi Hidetsugu to commit ritual suicide on Mount Kōya, this causing Hideyoshi's only possible heir to be his infant son Hideyori. The people closest to Hidetsugu, such as his family and retainers, were also put to death.
In 1595 Toyotomi Hideyoshi officially announced five laws and ordinances (Gokajo No Goseimon) to maintain the stability of the regime and overcome the upheaval of politics after the removal of Hidetsugu.
On the "fifteenth day of the seventh month", the senior daimyō under order gathered at Maeda Toshiie's residence in Fushimi to renew their pledge of loyalty to Hideyori. On the "fifth day of the eighth month", 13 days before his death (on the 18th day of the 8th month of the third year of the Keichō era), Hideyoshi issued an order to the Elders requiring that children of various generals go to Osaka Castle, once Hideyori had moved there.
Hideyoshi's health declined after he fell ill in the later half of 1598. Realizing he would need to find a way to ensure the installation of his son as heir following his death, he called out to certain trusted daimyō to grant his final request:
There are also accounts that when Hideyoshi called upon Ieyasu to become a regent, he asked him to decide if Hideyori is fit to rule when he reaches a ripe age and that Ieyasu rejected this request.
Choosing the council The members of the council were all daimyō chosen due to their relation to the taikō and the amount of power they held in the country. Hideyoshi chose powerful daimyō to prevent authority being concentrated on a single daimyō. Maeda Toshiie and Ukita Hideie were chosen due to their closeness with Hideyoshi as Maeda Toshiie was Hideyoshi's friend who had also served Oda Nobunaga. Maeda Toshiie was also chosen due to the respect he had from the Toyotomi family and Hideyoshi wanted to prevent Ieyasu from holding absolute power among the Five Elders. Ukita Hideie had been adopted under the name of Yuushi () by Hideyoshi and his closeness with Hideyoshi also led him to be appointed as a member of the five elders. These daimyō had also all served under Hideyoshi for many years in his house administration.
Even before the creation of the council, Hideyoshi treated the five differently from other daimyō. One reason for this was the absence of a Toritsugi (). Toritsugi acted as mediators that went between the daimyō to help with the communication of orders. This allowed each daimyō to talk directly to Hideyoshi, and it also meant that Hideyoshi would not intervene in the business of the daimyō in ruling their own domain. For the Shimazu clan, Ishida Mitsunari was appointed as the toritsugi, which also meant that Mitsunari and/or Toyotomi had power to intervene in Shimazu's domain. Hideyoshi expected the daimyō under his control to govern their lands and serve military services.
The larger the domains of the daimyō were, the more experienced those daimyō were at governing their lands. As such, Hideyoshi treated them differently than smaller daimyō, who needed Hideyoshi to intervene in local governance. In the 1588 Sword Hunt Policy, it is assumed that Hideyoshi only ordered smaller class daimyō to enforce the policy. The larger daimyō followed even without orders, but Hideyoshi did not strictly expect them to enforce the policy. Initially the sword hunt was intended to confiscate weapons to restrict formation of military forces, ensuring that no one could take the country by force. Hideyoshi could rely on the large daimyō, who were experienced and equipped with large military forces, to suppress local powers if they rebelled. In this way, Hideyoshi's treatment of the larger daimyō, Tokugawa, Maeda, Mori, and Uesugi, was exceptional.
Subgroups related to the council Hideyoshi also appointed the Five Commissioners who were tasked to oversee the "basic business of the realm"; while the Elders were tasked to make sure that Hideyori would succeed Hideyoshi. During this time the Five Commissioners were Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori, Ishida Mitsunari, Natsuka Masaie and Maeda Gen'i.
The Elders had assistants known as chūro () who acted as mediators, the Five Elders and the Five Commissioners. The chūro at this time were Nakamura Kazu-uji of Suruga, Ikoma Chikamasa of Takamatsu, and Horio Yoshiharu of Tottori.
Oath of Allegiance On the "fifth day of the eighth month", 1598, the Commissioners and the Regents signed the following articles:
That they should serve Hideyori with the same single-minded loyalty they had shown to Hideyoshi. The rules of Hideyoshi's house would not be altered. When the Five Commissioners were unable to determine a course of action for administration of public affairs, they were to consult their master (Hideyori) through Ieyasu and Toshiie; or if taking action, they were to consult the Emperor. There were to be no factions among them. Personal considerations and partiality of every kind were to be excluded from their counsel. The Five Commissioners, or overseers, were to strive to work together in the administration of public affairs, suppressing all petty jealousies and differences. In settling matters the opinion of the majority was usually to be followed. But at the same time if the opinion of the minority showed no signs of being dictated by any personal interests, it should be duly considered. If only a few of the overseers were present when a question was settled, the absentees had no right to object unless it was quite evident that the private interests of the Commissioners present at the meeting prejudiced their minds in a wrong direction. In that case another meeting might be called. It goes without saying that all accounts had to be kept in a manner that was above suspicion. There were to be no irregularities and no pressing of personal interests. Whatever Hideyoshi desired to be kept secret, whether it were connected with his private life or with the Government, would not be allowed to leak. If any of the Commissioners or their followers found that unconsciously they had acted contrary to the orders given to them, they would immediately report this to their superior officers, who would then deal leniently with them.
Hideyoshi used a talisman ( Gofu) called Kumano-goufu () from Kumano Shrine when making an oath with daimyō, and it is said that when Hideyoshi's death was near, he made the five elders to write vows to remain faithful to him after his death. This vow is known in Japanese as Kishomon ().
Origin of the name "Go-Tairō" After the death of Hideyoshi, the five commissioners, including Ishida Mitsunari referred to Ieyasu and the other elders as Go-bugyoshu () and referred to the five commissioners as Toshiyoridomo () on Kishomon. He purposely used the term Go-bugyoshu to remind the elders that their job was to support Hideyori with their lives. On the other hand, Shimazu Yoshihisa referred to the five elders as Go-rojushu () and Kato Kiyomasa called them the Nihon-Gotoshiyorishu (). They both called the five commissioners Go-bugyoshu (). People were calling them differently depending on their relationship with the five elders and the five commissioners, but there is no document that gives evidence that the Five Elders were actually called as Go-Tairo. The word Tairo () was the name of the highest position that was temporarily a higher position than Roju (), under the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is believed that the Five Elders were referred to as the Go-Tairo after the title of Tairo was created in the Edo Period.
The Five Elders
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu controlled eight provinces in the Kantō region surrounding Edo (present-day Tokyo), and among the Five Elders, held the most power measured in koku. He was also entrusted by Hideyoshi with the order of Soufujirei () to take control of Kanto and Okuryogoku (Mutsu Province and Dewa Province) in 1587. After the Hidetsugu Incident () in 1597, Ieyasu was appointed to act as Regent temporarily until Hideyori reached 15 years of age and requested him to reside in Fushimi. Before the establishment of the council, Hideyoshi awarded the province of the Hojo to Ieyasu after the successful Odawara campaigns in the Kanto region. This action demonstrated the power that Hideyoshi had over Ieyasu.
After the collapse of the Council, Ieyasu became the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate, which effectively ruled Japan from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
Ukita Hideie Ukita Hideie was the daimyō of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture). He was a military commander and feudal lord during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Also referred to as Hachirō (). At the age of 26, Ukita was elected to be one of the five elders when he returned from the Imjin War, also known as the Japanese invasions of Korea. While he was an elder, he was also serving as a daimyō during the Warring States period. He was banished to Hachijō Island after the Battle of Sekigahara.
Maeda Toshiie Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Referred to as Chikuzen in the letters by Hideyoshi. He became one of the Five Elders at the age of 53. Hideyoshi entrusted the province of Kaga and Etchū to Toshiie after taking the province from the daimyō Sassa Narimasa. While he was an elder, he also had a position as senior second rank ( Gon-Dainagon) and had the authority to pass his opinions on to the national government. After the death of Maeda Toshiie, his son, Maeda Toshinaga was to succeed him as a member of the Five Elders.
Uesugi Kagekatsu Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai and daimyō during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the primary lord of the feudal domain of Yonesawa. He was elected to be a part of the Five Elders at the age of 43. Since the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, he had cooperated with Hideyoshi by aiding him during battles, and he was one of the earliest daimyō to render homage to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi had made alliances with Kagekatsu because he had the potential power to attack Ieyasu from the Echigo province in the north.
Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto was a Japanese daimyō during the Azuchi-Momoyama period and the Edo period. He was a descendant of the feudal lord of the Choshu domain. He became one of the Five Elders at the age of 46. Terumoto fought against Hideyoshi before the latter's rise to power, but lacked enough supporters. Realizing that Hideyoshi would be the next leader of the country, he began to build trust by sending gifts to celebrate Hideyoshi's victory at the Battle of Shizugatake and helping him in the Kyushu Campaign in 1587.