Hideyoshi’s Tooth
The object encased in this elaborately fashioned gold reliquary is perhaps the most unique item housed in the Treasure Museum: one of Hideyoshi’s teeth. Hideyoshi presented this tooth to Kato Yoshiaki (1563–1631), one of seven valiant heroes known as the Seven Spears of the Battle of Shizugatake. Accompanying the tooth is a letter from Hideyoshi entrusting it to Yoshiaki.
Experts have identified the tooth as an upper-left molar that clearly came from the mouth of an elderly person. Judging from the condition of this tooth (covered all around with plaque), there were no other teeth surrounding it when it was removed or fell out, and it may very well have been Hideyoshi’s “last tooth.”
The gift of someone’s tooth may not typically be considered a welcome present, but when given by one’s lord and master, the item takes on a different dimension, somewhat akin to a holy relic. The importance accorded to this gift can be seen in the manner of the tooth’s preservation. The reliquary-like container in the shape of a Buddhist pagoda dates from the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1603). Analysis of the tooth has shown that Hideyoshi’s blood type was O.