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Born around 1549 as the daughter of Sugihara Sadatoshi in Owari Province (some sources cite 1546). The Sugihara family was also related to the Asano clan. Around age 18 she married Kinoshita Tokichiro (later Hideyoshi) and continued supporting her husband's rise through her devoted domestic efforts when he was still merely a foot soldier in Oda service. Known as a wise and caring wife, it is said that even Oda Nobunaga praised her as "too fine a wife for that bald rat." After Hideyoshi unified Japan, as Kita-no-Mandokoro she managed the Toyotomi household and exerted great influence as a spiritual mother figure to protégé warriors like Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, and Asano Nagamasa. After Hideyoshi's death she took Buddhist vows under the name "Kodai-in." In the Battle of Sekigahara of 1600 she reportedly favored Ieyasu's side, which is said to have contributed to the split of her protégé warriors between east and west. After her death at age 76 in 1624, Kodai-ji temple was built on the eastern hills of Kyoto in accordance with her wishes.

Wise and magnanimous, she endured Hideyoshi's infidelities with grace. Beloved by his protégé warriors as a true mother figure. Her political acumen helped her navigate the turbulent Sengoku era.

As the conscience of the Toyotomi house, she remained a spiritual pillar for warriors after Hideyoshi's death. Kodai-ji temple stands in Kyoto as a symbol of the love between Hideyoshi and Nene.