Daigo no Hanami (醍醐の花見)
Daigo no Hanami refers to the blossom-viewing party held in grand style at Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto on April 20, 1598 by Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI with about 1,300 people, including feudal lords and their vassals, as well as his family members such as Hideyori TOYOTOMI, Kodaiin and Yodo-dono.
The order of palanquins is also recorded, which shows Kita no mandokoro in the first place, Yodo-dono in the second, Tatsuko KYOGOKU in the third, Sannomaru-dono in the fourth, Princess Mahime in the fifth, followed by Hoshunin (the legal wife of Toshiie MAEDA), who was not Hideyoshi's concubine, but whom he had known for long.
It is known that at the party, Yodo-dono and Matsunomaru-dono fought about who would accept a cup after Hideyoshi's legal wife, Kita no mandokoro, and Hoshunin took the control of the situation well.
The Tanzaku (long, narrow card on which a Japanese poem is written vertically) of Waka (Japanese poem) which were composed at this blossom-viewing party are still kept at Sanboin Temple.
Jugo Gien, the eightieth head priest and chief restorer of Daigo-ji Temple, which had been deserted since the Onin War, had a good relationship with Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, overseeing his entry into the priesthood, and since he felt that Hideyoshi was near the end of his life, he quietly made arrangements for the Daigo no Hanami so that the greatest hero of the age would have an appropriate stage. Hideyoshi died about six months later.
While presenting varied gifts and attractions from all over the country, the feudal lords were already maneuvering and sounding each other out, both in secret and in the open, about how the government should be run following Hideyoshi's death.
Even now, Daigo-ji Temple holds 'Hotaiko Hanami Gyoretsu' (Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI's procession to view blossoms) on the second Sunday of April each year, based on this event.