Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 6th Finger

The Great Unifier Toyotomi Hideyoshi had Six Fingers on One Hand!

Ask anyone what Hideyoshi’s nickname was, and most will tell you, Saru, or Monkey! The TV, the movies, even the history books tell us his master, Oda Nobunaga, called him Saru, or Monkey. Most Japanese believe that story too. However that account is apocryphal, and there are no records of such a nickname ever being bestowed upon him. The earliest such characterization dates from early to mid Edo period semi-historical novels. As is often the case with Kabuki re-enacting popular scandals of the day such as the Chushingura or 47 Ronin Incident, and with novels, to appease the Tokugawa rulers, names and details were changed, and a form of character assassination, an attempt at reducing Hideyoshi’s image may have come into play here. Diaries and letters show Nobunaga referred to Hideyoshi as the “Bald Rat”.  Although he is often shown sporting a long, yet thin beard — expected of a warrior in the Sengoku period — he was unable to grow one himself, and so the “beard” was a stuck-on hairpiece, hence the Bald Rat moniker. According to various reliable sources, he was also nicknamed "Rokutsume" by Nobunaga. Directly translated, Rokutsume means “Six Fingernails”. Strange sort of nickname to call someone don’t you think?