Kodai-in (d. 1624)

• Born: 1542 or 1549
• Died: 1624
• Other names: One, Nene
• Title: Kita no madokoro
• Japanese: 高台院 (Koudai-in)
• Distinction: Wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Kôdai-in was the daughter of Sugihara Sadatoshi and married Hideyoshi around 1561. She proved a trusted confidante to her husband and many letters written to her by Hideyoshi survive. She was given the title Kita no mandokoro after Hideyoshi assumed the post of Kampaku in 1585. Her husband died in 1598 and she afterwards became nun, retiring in 1601 to the Kôdaiji in Kyoto (where the tombs of Hideyoshi, his mother, and, later, Toyotomi Hideyori came to rest). Despite their over 30-year relationship, she produced no children with Hideyoshi. She built Kôdai-ji in Kyoto 1605, and Kôdai-in and Hideyoshi were buried in the temple.

References

• Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
• Koudai-In From Japanese Wikipedia
• 101 Letters of Hideyoshi : The private correspondence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. edited and translated by Adriana Boscaro. Sophia University, 1975 (Monumenta Nipponica monographs:54).