Born at Osaka Castle in 1593 as the second son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (effectively his heir, as the first son Tsurumatsu had died young). He was the long-awaited successor for the 57-year-old Hideyoshi, who prepared the Five Elders and Five Commissioners system for Hideyori's future and had the daimyo swear loyalty to him. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, Hideyori became head of the Toyotomi at just age 6. However, when Tokugawa Ieyasu seized real power after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Toyotomi effectively fell to the status of a 650,000-koku daimyo in Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi. As he grew into an imposing man said to be nearly 2 meters tall, Ieyasu grew alarmed at his ability and reputation and systematically weakened the Toyotomi. In 1614 the Hokoji Bell Inscription Incident was used as a pretext for the Winter Siege of Osaka. After a truce, the Summer Siege of Osaka followed in 1615, and despite the valiant efforts of ronin like Sanada Yukimura (Nobushige), they were defeated. In June 1615, he took his own life with his mother Yodo-dono in Osaka Castle, ending the Toyotomi line. He was 23.