abstract:The council of five elders, also known as the five Tairō (五大老 go-tairō), was formed in 1595 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to rule Japan in the place of his son, Hideyori, until such time as he came of age. Hideyoshi chose his five most powerful daimyo: Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mōri Terumoto, and the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu.