Page "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" Paragraph 5

Around 1557 he returned to Owari Province and joined the Oda clan, now headed by Oda Nobunaga, as a lowly servant.

He became one of Nobunaga's sandal-bearers and was present at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 when Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto to become one of the most powerful warlords in the Sengoku period.

According to his biographers, he supervised the repair of Kiyosu Castle, a claim described as " apocryphal ", and managed the kitchen.

In 1561, Hideyoshi married Nene who was Asano Nagamasa's adopted daughter.

He carried out repairs on Sunomata Castle with his younger brother Toyotomi Hidenaga and the bandits Hachisuka Masakatsu and Maeno Nagayasu.

Hideyoshi's efforts were well received because Sunomata was in enemy territory.

He constructed a fort in Sunomata, according to legend overnight, and discovered a secret route into Mount Inaba after which much of the garrison surrendered.