olitically wise choice, so he sided with Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi�s forces were victorious, and although Toshiie pleaded with Hideyoshi to spare Katsuie's life, it was to no avail: Shibata Katsuie committed suicide in the flames of his castle.
By 1590 Toyotomi Hideyoshi had unified Japan, and was the undisputed master of the realm. However he was not eligible for the coveted title of �Shogun� as he was not of Minamoto descent � by this time it had become customary that the Shogun was a member of the house of Minamoto, the first Shogunate house, but Hideyoshi, being of low peasant stock, couldn�t even pretend to be connected. So he had to be contented with the lesser title of Taiko, Grand Regent.
Hideyoshi was anxious about his young son Hideyori's future, and in 1595 asked Toshiie to be his guardian. In his Will, Hideyoshi wrote "I have known Toshiie for many years, and his uprightness is well known. I wish to install him as Hideyori's guardian." However Hideyoshi was argued out of leaving Toshiie as sole regent, largely by Toshiie himself, and so a council of regents was set up to govern until Hideyori would be of age. In 1595, Toshiie, along with Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mori Terumoto, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Ukita Hideie, was chosen by Hideyoshi to act as regent. Ieyasu was the most powerful of the daimyo under Hideyoshi, but Toshiie was probably the second-most: Toshiie may not have as high a rank or as many provinces as Ieyasu, but he was much more the distinguished soldier, trusted by Hideyoshi and was far more popular. The Chief Regent was however, in terms of money, power, and title, Ieyasu. Nevertheless, Toshiie had been asked by Hideyoshi to take full responsibility for Hideyori, which showed that he was actually the one Hideyoshi trusted most. Hideyoshi realised that after his death the one who would be the greatest threat to his government would be Ieyasu. Loyal Toyotomi generals like Ishida Mitsunari did not get along with Ieyasu, and this led
