The Hashiba clan (羽柴氏)
The Hashiba clan was a clan founded by Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI.
Its honsei (real family name) was Taira at first, and changed to Fujiwara at the time when Hideyoshi was appointed Kanpaku (chief adviser to the Emperor), and then became Toyotomi after bestowed by the emperor. It was also the original family name of the head family of TOYOTOMI. Besides, it served as the title given to daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) who were patronized by Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI.
Summary
Hideyoshi Tokichiro KINOSHITA, who was the vassal of Nobunaga ODA, a busho (Japanese military commander) in the Sengoku period (period of warring states), became one of the powerful vassals in the Oda family by rendering the distinguished service in war. Hideyoshi changed his family name from Kinoshita to Hashiba during the period from 1572 to 1573. The oldest document showing the family name of Hashiba was the one issued by Hideyoshi dated on August 27, 1573, collected in Rikyu Hachiman-gu Monjyo (historical documents). Additionally, the name 'Tokichiro KINOSHITA' was used in Shincho koki (Biography of the Warlord Oda Nobunaga) up to August 1572, while 'Hideyoshi HASHIBA' was shown after October 1572. Thereafter, the family of Hideyoshi also called themselves HASHIBA.
It is said that "HASHIBA" was originally named after '羽' (Ha) from 丹羽長秀 (Nagahide NIWA) who was the senior vassal of the Oda family and after '柴' (Shiba) from 柴田勝家 (Katsuie SHIBATA). This family name seemed to be given by Nobunaga.
Hideyoshi, who seized power in the central government after the death of Nobunaga ODA, started to issue the letters simply signed by the name of 'Hideyoshi,' instead of the name of 'Hashiba.'
After becoming an adopted child of Sakihisa KONOE and receiving an imperial proclamation to become kanpaku in August 6, he was given the family name, TOYOTOMI, in October 21, 1586. After that, Hideyoshi and Hideyori simply called themselves TOYOTOMI no Ason Hideyoshi and TOYOTOMI no Ason Hideyori, and the family name, HASHIBA, continued to be used as the title for daimyo of their vassals during the Toyotomi regime. However, it had not been used after the destruction of the head family of TOYOTOMI in Osaka Natsu no Jin (Summer Siege of Osaka) in 1615.
Due to the death of Hideyori and Kunimatsu in Osaka no Eki (The Siege of Osaka) in 1615, the direct line of the Hashiba family as Daimyo family was extinguished. Although the daughter of Hideyori (Tenshu-ni) was spared, the direct family line of Hideyoshi was extinguished due to the death of Tenshu-ni in 1645.
Family tree
Solid line and dotted line show the biological children and the adopted children, respectively, and the change of the family name is as shown in the left (from the Kinoshita clan to the Hashiba family and then the Toyotomi family.)
Daimyo who were given the title, HASHIBA
Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI started to give the family names of TOYOTOMI and HASHIBA to territorial lords around the time he became Kanpaku in 1585. Contrary to the view of 'shinsei' (bestowing a surname) and 'granted' in the family names of TOYOTOMI and HASHIBA, Kenichi NIKI guessed that it had been the custom of the territorial lords to write 'the family name of HASHIBA' in an official manner at that time.