azuchi-momoyama period covers the years from 1568 to 1600. during these years, different parts of japan became united again. japan's military power grew. in 1592, japan wanted to conquer china. at that time china was ruled by the ming dynasty. toyotomi hideyoshi was one of the main leaders of japan. he sent an army of 160,000 samurai to korea. the japanese could not win and retreated back to japan. in 1597, japan again sent an army to korea. in 1598, toyotomi hideyoshi died. after his death, the japanese dropped the idea of conquering korea and china.