Click here to go to the YouTube video The Jesuit missionary Luis Frois, in his book “History of Japan,” described the man as follows. “He was short, of hideous appearance, and had six fingers on one hand. His eyes were protruding, and he had few whiskers like a Chinaman.” 宣教師のルイス・フロイスは著書『日本の歴史』の中でその男を次のように描きました。「彼は小さく見た目が醜悪で片手に６本の指がある。目は突き出ており中国人のように髭が薄い。」と。 The man was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the man who ended the Sengoku Period and shaped Japan’s modern era. その男とは、戦国時代を終わらせ、日本の近世を形作った豊臣秀吉です。 Hideyoshi’s origins are not clear. He was of low birth. His original name was Kinoshita Tokichiro, and he later changed his name to Hashiba Hideyoshi. He rose to prominence and rose through the ranks after serving Oda Nobunaga. 秀吉の出自は明確ではありません。低い身分の出で、元の名を木下藤吉郎といい、後に羽柴秀吉と改名しました。織田信長に仕えてから頭角を表しました。 When Oda Nobunaga…