From Meiji Period to prewar of Showa Period, there was an effort to show Hideyoshi as a model of people for the policy of increasing wealth and military power because he had promoted to Kanpaku Daijodaijin in spite of lowly origin; and he was often seen favorably (an aspect is pointed out that seeing Hideyoshi positively led to looking down Ieyasu and coming down Edo Shogunate, and that, as a result, it led to boosting up legitimacy of Meiji Government).
明治から昭和の戦前にかけては、富国強兵政策や身分が低いながらも関白太政大臣になったということで民衆の手本にしようという試みもあり、好意的に捉えられることが多かった（秀吉を肯定することで家康を貶め、しいては江戸幕府の評価を下げることで明治政府の正当性を高めるという側面もあったとも指摘される）。