Toyotomi · Azai → Toyotomi
Lady Chacha (Yodo-dono)
Eldest daughter of Azai Nagamasa and Nobunaga's sister Oichi. As a child she saw the fall of Odani Castle, and after Shizugatake lost her mother Oichi and stepfather Shibata Katsuie at Kitanoshō. She became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's consort, bore the long-awaited heir Hideyori, was called Lady Yodo and wielded great power. After Hideyoshi's death she supported the Toyotomi house as guardian of the young Hideyori, but fell out with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the Winter and Summer Sieges of Osaka she took her own life with Hideyori in the burning castle. She was a woman who had seen her home castle fall three times.
- Domain / base
- Osaka Castle
- Side
- Toyotomi
- Lived
- 1569–1615 (aged 47)
Life
- Tenshō 1 The Fall of Odani Her father Azai Nagamasa was destroyed, and she was rescued with her mother and sisters.
- Tenshō 11 The Fall of Kitanoshō After Shizugatake she lost her mother Oichi and stepfather Katsuie at Kitanoshō.
- Bunroku 2 Birth of Hideyori Became Hideyoshi's consort, bore the heir Hideyori and was called Lady Yodo.
- Keichō 20 Summer Siege of Osaka Took her own life with Hideyori at Osaka Castle, and the Toyotomi house was destroyed.
Battles in this archive1 battles
Related sites
- Osaka Castle (Osaka)
- Yōgen-in (Kyoto)
- Odani Castle ruins (Nagahama, Shiga)
FAQ
- Who was Lady Chacha (Yodo-dono)?
- The eldest daughter of Azai Nagamasa and Oichi, who became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's consort and bore his heir Hideyori. Called Lady Yodo, she wielded great power, but took her own life at Osaka Castle when the Toyotomi house fell at the Siege of Osaka.
- Why is Chacha said to have seen "three castles fall"?
- Because she saw her home castle fall three times in her life: her father's Odani as a child, then Kitanoshō with her mother and stepfather Shibata Katsuie, and finally her own and Hideyori's Osaka Castle.
- How were Lady Yodo and Nene related?
- Both were Hideyoshi's wives, but Lady Yodo was the consort who bore Hideyori, while Nene was his principal wife. After Hideyoshi's death a distance is said to have grown between them over their positions.