portion of believers for their friendship. This story argues Yoshitsugu had died of his illness within a year of contracting it and that the Yoshitsugu at Sekigahara was actually a heavily ailed Hideyoshi in disguise. While an interesting concept, it needs to prove Hideyoshi had somehow survived his historically accepted death date and adds more fuel to the debate. In any case, speculation over whether the two men truly considered one another friends continues to this day. He is not known to have had an official wife, but he supposedly fathered three sons and one daughter. His second son died with him at Sekigahara while his other two argued male offspring either fell with the Toyotomi family at Osaka Castle or lived past the wars in seclusion. Yoshitsugu's daughter, Chikurin-in was a wife of Sanada Yukimura and mother of his two heirs: Sanada Daisuke (Yukimasa) and Sanada Daihachi (Morinobu). A purposed folktale states Yoshitsugu had one concubine prior to Sekigahara, who went insane with grief after his death. Service under Hideyoshi Coming from unknown beginnings. Under Hideyoshi, Yoshitsugu become kōshō, who took charge of secretarial affairs, in particular acting as a human shield to protect their lord at the risk of losing their own lives (for this reason, Kosho had to not only be knowledgeable and have impeccable manners, but also be skilled in the military arts). Yoshitsugu could have entered Hideyoshi's services as a low rank kōshō or became Mitsunari's yoriki in the mid or late 1570s (either in his mid teens or mid-late twenties). Several stories will state that his intellect and charm had earned him many friends, but the legitimacy of the claims are still debated. His early achievements with the Hashiba family are not known, but most sources argue that he was among the 700 or so named individuals who sided with Hideyoshi after the Incident at Honnōji. He joined Katō Toranosuke, Fukushima Ichimatsu and other kōshō to take Nagahama Castle away from Shibata Katsutoyo, Shibata Katsuie's nephew. Hideyoshi has been romanticized to have said the following for Yoshitsugu at this time, "Give me a million troops and I would love to see him guide them." Once the Battle of Shizugatake commenced, Yoshitsugu was said to have taken part within the Toyotomi ranks. What he did—if anything—is scattered among legends and folklore. One account states that he was the one who used his wits to convince