Kyoto's Higashiyama had an obscure temple called Hoko-ji. Its founder was Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Inside stood a large bell inscribed with "Peace and Tranquility for the Nation" and "Prosperity for Sovereign and Subjects." This became Tokugawa Ieyasu's pretext for launching the Osaka Campaign, and the bell was therefore counted alongside those of Tōdai-ji and Chion-in as one of Japan's three great bells.
Yet Toyotomi Hideyoshi's original purpose in building Hoko-ji was not the bell, but to house a great Buddha. This statue had been intended to rival the Great Buddha of Nara, which had been erected in the Nara period by the Mikado to protect the nation.
The Japanese called Kyoto "Luoyang," but it had actually been modeled after Chang'an. And Kyoto was not the only city they built in imitation of Chang'an; there was also Nara. After unifying Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a new, wholly Japanese-style castle in Osaka—Osaka Castle Keep. His son Hideyori and others later committed suicide within Osaka Castle.
The construction of Hoko-ji went poorly. It took from 1586 until 1595 to complete, and the great Buddha inside was not even made of bronze, but wood covered in gold leaf. It then collapsed in the great earthquake of 1596. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had the Tathagata from Zenkō-ji in Shinshu brought over because of this, but legend said he suffered retribution for it and fell gravely ill. The day before his death, he returned it to its original place.
Legend had it that Toyotomi Hideyoshi suddenly fell seriously ill while viewing cherry blossoms at Daigo-ji one day in March, then died of illness at Fushimi Castle in May.
Japanese aesthetics had three central principles: mono no aware, yūgen, and wabi-sabi.
At least by the time of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, "wabi tea" already existed. They often held tea