Setsugekka: Yamashiro, Daido hana, Kampaku Hideyoshi, Yodogimi. (Yamashiro, Flowers of Daigo-ji, Chancellor Hideyoshi and Lady Yodogimi.)

The military dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) who is regarded as Japan’s second ‘great unifier’, particularly enjoyed viewing cherry blossoms at the Buddhist temple of Daigo-ji, south of Kyoto. Here he appears with his attendants and his concubine Yodogimi, entertaining other samurai, such as those of the Tokugawa family. Hideyoshi is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms and promoted the tea ceremony that became an integral part of Japanese tradition and created demand for fine porcelain amongst the ruling class. In 1583, Hideyoshi began construction of Osaka Castle. Inset: Cherry blossoms. From the series Setsugekka. ‘Snow, Moon, Flowers’.