A Fort Built in One Night: The Legend of Hideyoshi's Sunomata Castle
The legend of Toyotomi Hideyoshi building a fort overnight at Sunomata — the origin story of Japan's most famous rags-to-riches warrior.
A deep read
In 1566, the young retainer Kinoshita Tokichiro (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi) solved the impossible task of building a fort in enemy territory by pre-assembling all materials upstream and floating them down by raft overnight. This feat caught Nobunaga’s attention and launched Hideyoshi’s rise to power.
Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi — the greatest rags-to-riches story in Japanese history
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Gifu Castle — Nobunaga's base in Mino Province, the ultimate target of Sunomata fort
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Azuchi Castle restoration model — after Sunomata, Hideyoshi became key to Nobunaga's castle projects