Ishikawa Goemon was a legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor. He and his son were boiled alive in public after their failed assassination attempt on the Sengoku period warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His legend lives on in contemporary Japanese popular culture, often giving him greatly exaggerated ninja skills.
Goemon as played by kabuki actor Arashi Hinasuke II (an 1863 painting by Toyokuni III)
Bandō Mitsugorō III playing the role of Ishikawa Goemon in the kabuki drama Sanmon Gosan no Kiri, which was staged in 1820 at the Nakamura-za theater (print made by Utagawa Toyokuni I)
Execution of Goemon Ishikawa (a late 19th-century picture by Toyokuni Ichiyōsai)
A goemonburo bathtub
Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō and Hashiba Hideyoshi , was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the late Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan. Although he came from a peasant background, his immense power earned him the rank and title of Kampaku and Daijō-daijin , the highest official position and title in the nobility class. He was the first person in history to become a Kampaku who was not born a noble. He then passed the position and title of Kampaku to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as Taikō (太閤), the title of retired Kampaku, until his death. It is believed, but not certain, that the reason he refused or could not obtain the title of shogun (征夷大将軍), the leader of the warrior class, was because he was of peasant origin.
Nakamura Park in Nagoya, traditionally regarded as Hideyoshi's birthplace
One Hundred Aspects of the Moon No. 6, by Yoshitoshi: "Mount Inaba Moon" 1885, 12th month. The young Toyotomi Hideyoshi (then named Kinoshita Tōkichirō) leads a small group assaulting the castle on Mount Inaba.
One Hundred Aspects of the Moon No. 67, by Yoshitoshi: The Moon and Hideyoshi at the Battle of Shizugatake.
Battle standards of Toyotomi Hideyoshi