Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu is a name you will run into many times in Tokyo - whether you're a fan of history or not.

Why? It was Tokugawa who established a new government - his government - in Edo in 1603.

So why the references to Edo when we're talking about Tokyo? This makes more sense when you realize that Tokyo is the modern name for the area that used to be referred to as Edo.

Tokugawa's Life And Times

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Tokugawa lived from 1543 - 1616 and is famous for establishing the Edo Period of history in Japan - or as it is sometimes referred to, the Tokugawa Period - from 1603 - 1867.

Until Tokugawa became Shogun, Japan was run largely by the Daimyos - landholding military lords. There was a continual rivalry between these landowners as each sought to improve his position, and peace was a very rare commodity. Cross border tussles were a regular feature on the annual calendar.

Tokugawa himself did not come from a powerful family, but he positioned himself in such a way that he gradually won the favor and trust of those around him - and he built a powerful network of allies, whilst duping others into thinking he was happy to follow them. Then came the day that he finally decided to take control.

At the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa finally defeated those he had pretended to support, and became the ruling Shogun of Japan with the blessing of the Emperor.

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A Feudal Society

His was a strongly feudal society in which the Samurai served as his protectors and followed the laws of Bushido. Once he gained power as Shogun, he took charge of the country. Governmental rule and authority was his to devise and control.

During the initial years of his Shogunate, he encouraged relations with the English and the Dutch, and in 1615, finally conquered Osaka Castle. This, in essence, sealed his, and his successors' governance of the country as a whole - his power, and that of the Tokugawa clan was, at this time, absolute.

Tokugawa Ieyasu died in 1616 safe in the knowledge that he had unified Japan and brought it under one rule - something that certainly hadn't existed at the time of his rise to power.

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