Hideyoshi is often described as a person who did not like to kill people, but he seemed to have a cruel aspect at least as hard as other warlords not only in his last years but also when he was a vassal of Nobunaga; shown by such facts as he annihilated Kohoku Ikko Ikki (a riot by people who believe Ikko-shu) in 1571 (according to Matsushita Record and Nobunaga Kouki (Nobunaga's biography) and that he executed more than 200 women and children by impalement for children and crucifixion for women in 1577 (from Hideyoshi's letter as of December 5).
ドラマなどでは人を殺すことを嫌う人物のように描写されることの多い秀吉であるが、実際には元亀二年に湖北一向一揆を殲滅したり（松下文書や信長公記より）、天正五年に備前・美作・播磨の国境付近で毛利氏への見せしめのために、女・子供二百人以上を子供は串刺しに、女は磔にして処刑する（十二月五日の羽柴秀吉書状より）等、晩年だけでなく信長の家臣時代でも、少なくとも他の武将並みの残酷な一面があったようである。