Gōhime

Gōhime (豪姫, July 1574 – June 18, 1634) was a Japanese noble woman and a member of the Maeda clan who lived during the transition from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period. She played a significant role as the lawful wife of Ukita Hideie and was the fourth daughter of Maeda Toshiie and Maeda Matsu. Gōhime was also known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's adopted daughter and held various titles such as Hashiba no Tsubone, Bizen no Kata, and Kyō. She took the baptismal name "Maria."

Biography

Gōhime was born in 1574 as the fourth daughter of Maeda Toshiie, a retainer of the Oda clan, in Arako, Owari Province (present-day Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture). Her mother was Matsu (also known as Hōshun-in).¹

When she was two, her father Toshiie, in an effort to strengthen his ties with Hashiba Hideyoshi (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi), who had no children of his own, offered Gōhime to be adopted as Hideyoshi's daughter. Gōhime became cherished by Hideyoshi and his wife Nene as their adopted child.² This decision to adopt a two-year-old child into Hideyoshi's family demonstrates the trust and goodwill between Toshiie and Hideyoshi.³

Marriage to Ukita Hideie

In 1588, Gōhime was married to Ukita Hideie, a daimyo of Bizen Province (present-day Okayama prefecture) and lord of Okayama Castle. Initially referred to as "Bizen no Kata," her title was changed to "Minami no Kata" in 1591. Gōhime and Hideie had children, including Hidetaka, Hidetsugu, and Yuki no Kata, who first married Yamazaki Nagatomo and later Tomita Nobutaka. However, their marriage faced challenges due to political events.⁴

Sekigahara Campaign

When Hideyoshi died, Toshiie also died some time later, so Japan, which had been unified under the Toyotomi clan, split into two factions, causing civil war again. The two factions were split between the Western army led by and the Eastern army led by , the struggle between these two army became known as the