Who Is Matsushita Kahei?
The first master to see young Hideyoshi's talent
Matsushita Yukitsuna
Matsushita Kahei was a warrior of Totomi Province (today's western Shizuoka Prefecture) who took the young Hideyoshi into his service while the boy was wandering the provinces. His given name is said to have been Yukitsuna.
In the Taikoki he sees the talent in the young wanderer and hires him, but his other retainers grow jealous at seeing a newcomer from elsewhere promoted, and the boy eventually leaves the household. Kahei can be called the first master to discover Hideyoshi's ability.
As a figure from the time before Hideyoshi served Nobunaga, he plays a large part at the starting point of the story. When Hideyoshi later came to rule Japan, Matsushita is said to have received land and become a daimyo (feudal lord), and this is sometimes told as a tale of a favor repaid.
