What was the Azuchi-Momoyama period like?

During the Warring States period, Oda Nobunaga went on to defeat one rival after another.
However, just before he could achieve unification of the country, he was killed by his own vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide.
The person who succeeded him was another of his subjects, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Azuchi-Momoyama covers the period when political control was held by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The short, roughly 30 year span beginning in 1568 (some sav 1573) was a crucial period in terms of the development of Japan's feudal society.
The two policies which deserve attention are the cadastral survey and the sword hunt.
The cadastral survey, which appraised the area and productivity of agricultural land, and the sword hunt, which confiscated all weaponry held by peasants, served to establish the domination of the warrior class and entrench the status of the peasant.
In terms of culture, this period gave rise to what is known as the Momoyama culture, which saw the weakening of Buddhist influence and the emergence of a free and sumptuous style.
Typifying this culture were the building of castles with soaring towers and the creation of wall and screen paintings glittering with gold leaf.