Hiyoshi is a boy from a humble family, the son of a samurai turned farmer. Small and ugly, everyone knows him as “Monkey Face”, being a constant object of jokes and ridicule. But behind his wrinkled face, Hiyoshi hides great virtues: he is a tenacious, intelligent, tremendously persuasive boy, in addition to possessing unusual impudence and ambition. Armed only with his bare hands, Hiyoshi sets out to make his way into the intricate world of warlords.
Based on the real life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1537-1598), a key figure in Japanese history, Taiko takes the reader on an exciting journey through feudal Japan, immersing them in a frenetic parade of epic deeds, battles and military expeditions. It's set at the end of the 16th century, the last years of Sengoku, a time of bloody and long civil wars, and describes a decisive time, in which Japan was pacified. A feat carried out by the three great daimyos or feudal lords, known as the unifiers of the country. The charismatic but brutal Nobunaga, the cunning and intelligent Hideyoshi and the patient and mature Tokugawa.