A carving on it included the two characters for Ieyasu (家康), but they were separated by another character, which he interpreted as representing a curse against the Tokugawa clan. However, Ieyasu took objection to the newly cast bell that would be used in dedication ceremonies. The Toyotomi family rebuilt Kyoto’s Hōkōji temple, which was closely associated with Hideyoshi. To ensure the Tokugawa dynasty would last, Ieyasu looked for a way of removing his rival at Osaka Castle. When Ieyasu met him in 1611 for the first time in several years, he found Hideyori had grown into an astute youth. Yet he remained a potential threat who might win support from other daimyō for his claims. Removing a RivalĪfter the Battle of Sekigahara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s son Hideyori was reduced to the rank of daimyo, with territory yielding 600,000 koku. However, Ieyasu continued to wield power from bases at Fushimi Castle and Sunpu Castle. This was a public demonstration that the position of shōgun would be passed down among the Tokugawa family. These efforts helped Edo to flourish and grow from a small settlement to a city with a population in the tens of thousands by Ieyasu’s later years.Īfter just two years as shōgun, Ieyasu stepped down in 1605 and was succeeded by his son Hidetada. Road transportation was improved, and the bridge Nihonbashi was designated as the starting point for five major highways connecting Edo to Kyoto and other parts of the country. This included the construction of canals and reclamation of a great deal of land around the Hibiya inlet. In 1603, Ieyasu ordered major civil engineering work in and around Edo Castle. A full-fledged political system was not established until the time of Ieyasu’s grandson Iemitsu. Politically Ieyasu was advised by men like the daimyō Honda Masanobu, the Zen priest Konchiin Sūden, and the Neo-Confucian philosopher Hayashi Razan. Including his various allies and vassals, he could command hundreds of thousands of soldiers, giving him total military control over the country. Having won mastery of the country, in 1603 Ieyasu received the title of shōgun and formally established samurai rule in Edo. This meant that if daimyō whose loyalty was more uncertain started to revolt, they could not quickly reach Edo or Osaka.Ī monument marking the location of the Battle of Sekigahara in Gifu Prefecture. Strategic areas including major cities like Edo and Osaka, their environs, and transportation routes were either directly under Tokugawa control or that of the clan’s longstanding allies. While many new vassals who submitted after the battle enjoyed increases in territory, most were relocated to distant parts. After the battle was over, Ieyasu confiscated land from 93 daimyō on the losing side, with a total farming income of more than 5 million koku (a unit equivalent to around 180 liters of rice), and redistributed it. The defeated Mitsunari was executed in Kyoto. When forces led by Ieyasu and Mitsunari clashed at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu sealed victory in just a few hours. Ishida Mitsunari, one of Hideyoshi’s top administrators, joined with Mōri Terumoto, another of the Five Great Elders, to raise an army to topple Ieyasu. Ieyasu, however, soon began forging alliances and acting as if he ruled the country. Hideyoshi died in 1598, and Ieyasu was the most powerful of the Five Great Elders, who were meant to govern until Hideyoshi’s young son came of age. After the 1590 destruction of the Hōjō clan in Odawara, Ieyasu was ordered to move to the Kantō region and he based himself in Edo (now Tokyo). When Toyotomi Hideyoshi acted quickly to become Nobunaga’s successor after the warlord’s sudden death in 1582, he and Ieyasu initially clashed, but in the end Ieyasu agreed to become his vassal. He then gradually increased his territory, first destroying the Imagawa through a pact with Takeda Shingen, and later conquering Takeda land. By allying with Nobunaga, Ieyasu was able to escape Imagawa influence and subjugate Mikawa Province, becoming a daimyo himself. However, Oda Nobunaga won a devastating victory over Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle, Aichi Prefecture (left), and his statue can now be seen in Okazaki Park. During this time, his father was killed by one of his vassals, and the family’s land effectively became Imagawa territory. While still a young boy, the future founder of the Tokugawa shogunate was sent as a hostage first to the Oda family in neighboring Owari Province, and then to the daimyō Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga and Tōtōmi Provinces. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Mikawa Province (now Aichi Prefecture) in 1543.
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