Tokugawa Ieyasu

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Tokugawa Ieyasu : biography

January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616

At the same time (1583) a war for rule over Japan was fought between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie. Ieyasu did not take a side in this conflict, building on his reputation for both caution and wisdom. Hideyoshi defeated Katsuie at Battle of Shizugatake—with this victory, Hideyoshi became the single most powerful daimyo in Japan.

Ieyasu in popular culture

See People of the Sengoku period in popular culture

Ieyasu as a person

Handprint of Ieyasu at Kunozan Toshogu Precepts on the secret of success in life drafted by Tokugawa Ieyasu from the collection of Nikkō Tōshō-gū.]]

Ieyasu had a number of qualities that enabled him to rise to power. He was both careful and bold—at the right times, and at the right places. Calculating and subtle, Ieyasu switched alliances when he thought he would benefit from the change. He allied with the Late Hōjō clan; then he joined Hideyoshi’s army of conquest, which destroyed the Hōjō; and he himself took over their lands. In this he was like other daimyo of his time. This was an era of violence, sudden death, and betrayal. He was not very well liked nor personally popular, but he was feared and he was respected for his leadership and his cunning. For example, he wisely kept his soldiers out of Hideyoshi’s campaign in Korea.

He was capable of great loyalty: once he allied with Oda Nobunaga, he never went against him, and both leaders profited from their long alliance. He was known for being loyal towards his personal friends and vassals, whom he rewarded, He was said to have a close friendship with his vassal Hattori Hanzo. However, he also remembered those who had wronged him in the past. It is said that Ieyasu executed a man who came into his power because he had insulted him when Ieyasu was young.

Ieyasu protected many former Takeda retainers from the wrath of Oda Nobunaga, who was known to harbor a bitter grudge towards the Takeda. He managed to successfully transform many of the retainers of the Takeda, Hōjō, and Imagawa clans—all whom he had defeated himself or helped to defeat—into loyal followers.

He had nineteen wives and concubines, by whom he had eleven sons and five daughters. The eleven sons of Ieyasu were:

  • Matsudaira Nobuyasu (松平 信康)
  • Yūki Hideyasu (結城 秀康)
  • Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠)
  • Matsudaira Tadayoshi (松平 忠吉)
  • Takeda Nobuyoshi (武田 信吉)
  • Matsudaira Tadateru (松平 忠輝)
  • Matsuchiyo (松千代)
  • Senchiyo (仙千代)
  • Tokugawa Yoshinao (徳川 義直)
  • Tokugawa Yorinobu (徳川 頼宣)
  • Tokugawa Yorifusa (徳川 頼房)

(In this listing, the two sons without surnames died before adulthood.)

His daughters were Kame hime (亀姫), Toku hime (督姫), Furi hime (振姫), Matsu hime (松姫) and Ichi hime (市姫). He is said to have cared for his children and grandchildren, establishing three of them, Yorinobu, Yoshinao, and Yorifusa as the daimyos of Kii, Owari, and Mito provinces, respectively.On the subject, see the article Gosanke. At the same time, he could be ruthless when crossed. For example, he ordered the executions of his first wife and his eldest son—a son-in-law of Oda Nobunaga; Oda was also an uncle of Hidetada’s wife Oeyo.

After Hidetada became shogun, he married Oeyo of the Oda clan and they had two sons, Tokugawa Iemitsu and Tokugawa Tadanaga. They also had two daughters, one of whom, Sen hime, married twice. The other daughter, Kazuko hime, married Emperor Go-Mizunoo of descent from the Fujiwara clan.

Ieyasu’s favorite pastime was falconry. He regarded it as excellent training for a warrior. "When you go into the country hawking, you learn to understand the military spirit and also the hard life of the lower classes. You exercise your muscles and train your limbs. You have any amount of walking and running and become quite indifferent to heat and cold, and so you are little likely to suffer from any illness.".Sadler, p. 344. Ieyasu swam often; even late in his life he is reported to have swum in the moat of Edo Castle.